Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019.

Snyder was considered a possible Republican Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2012, although ultimately Paul Ryan was selected.

A report by the University of Michigan School of Public Health concluded Snyder bore "significant legal responsibility" for the Flint water crisis.

[9] In 2020, an article was published in Vice detailing evidence of corruption and a cover-up by Snyder, including that he was warned repeatedly about the dangerous effects of the decisions he had made about the Flint water supply.

[28] In 1997, Snyder returned to Ann Arbor to found Avalon Investments Inc., a venture capital company with a $100 million fund, along with the co-founder of Gateway, Ted Waitt.

In the general election in November, Snyder faced Democratic nominee Virg Bernero, the mayor of Lansing, and three minor party candidates.

[46] Snyder was considered vulnerable in his bid for a second term, as reflected in his low approval ratings,[47][48][49][50] however, Schauer suffered from a lack of name recognition.

This shift in tax burden led State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer to criticize the budget, saying that it did not involve "shared sacrifice", but instead was balanced "on the backs of our kids, working families, and our seniors" and "picks out who he's willing to leave behind.

[59] On March 16, 2011, Snyder signed a controversial bill into law that gave increased powers to emergency managers of local municipalities to resolve financial matters.

[66] In May 2012, Snyder joined a bipartisan effort urging the U.S. Congress to pass a measure to affirm that States can collect sales taxes on online purchases.

[69] On December 10, President Barack Obama visited Daimler AG's Detroit Diesel factory in Redford, Michigan, and told employees the legislation was about the "right to work for less money.

[91] On December 27, 2013, Snyder signed a bill into law which nullified Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, which contained a controversial provision that allowed the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.

[92] On January 23, 2014, Snyder announced plans to offer visas to 50,000 immigrant workers with advanced degrees to help jumpstart the Detroit economy.

[93] In June 2014, Snyder appointed a 15-member commission for improving and reforming Michigan's public defense efforts for the poor in the criminal justice system in order to effectively meet and ensure the rights safeguarded by the Constitution.

[94] On September 10, Detroit reached a deal with three Michigan counties over regional water and sewer services that was hoped to eliminate one roadblock to federal court approval of the city's plan to adjust its debt and exit bankruptcy.

The deal with Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties created a regional water and sewer authority, but allowed Detroit to maintain control of its local system.

[96] In November 2015, Governor Rick Snyder declared his opposition to permitting Syrian refugee relocation to the state of Michigan.

In 2014, emergency manager Darnell Earley was responsible for changing the source of drinking water for the city to the Flint River, which has trihalomethanes (TTHM) in it.

[107] Details were released by the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News on 26 February 2016 that Valerie Brader, Snyder's senior policy adviser and deputy legal counsel, and his chief legal counsel Mike Gadola had expressed concerns to him about Flint's water in October 2014, nearly six months after Flint had begun using the river water to save money, despite Governor Snyder claiming he was unaware of the issue until very recently.

[108] A petition from Angelo Scott Brown, a Flint pastor and former Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, to recall Snyder was denied by the Board of State Canvassers.

[109][110] Filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore has called for Snyder's arrest on charges of corruption and assault, and has started a petition on his website.

[119] According to The Detroit News and NPR, "...in March 2016 Snyder released a new 75-point action plan to address the contamination crisis, calling for a "much higher standard" for drinking water regulations but stopping short of advocating for complete replacement of all underground lead service lines in the city.

"[122] However, the Detroit Metro Times reported that the governor left town on April 23 to spend the week touring Europe for trade discussions, breaking his promise.

In the essay article the authors referred to the findings in a study "Toxicohistrionics": Flint, Michigan and the Lead Crisis published in the June issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.

The article was published by Vice News, written by Jordan Chariton and Jenn Dize, the co-founders of Status Coup, with photos by Brittany Greeson.

[127][128] On January 12, 2021, It was announced that nine former government officials including Rick Snyder would face charges resulting from the Flint water crisis.

[13][12][131] Following its practice of paying the legal costs for state employees charged with a criminal offense, the administrative board of Michigan approved an up to $1.45 million contract with Warner Norcross & Judd law corporation to defend the former governor Snyder.

[134] On July 3, he tweeted that he was "turning down" the offer: "It would have been exciting to share my experiences, both positive and negative; our current political environment and its lack of civility makes this too disruptive.

"[135] Snyder endorsed Democrat Joe Biden during the 2020 United States presidential election, alleging that "President Trump lacks a moral compass.

He ignores the truth" and that the president "also demonstrated that he does not fully appreciate policy matters, including public health, the economy and foreign relations, nor does he seem to want to learn.