It may have been the most unexpected ad of the Super Bowl: Businessman Perry Johnson declaring his candidacy for governor of Michigan.
“I have everything that I could ever dream of and thought that it would be in my best interest to see what I could do to help the country and the state of Michigan,” said Johnson, a Republican, during a visit to Hillsdale on March 5.
The ad, which cost $800,000, labeled him a “quality guru” and boasted of his experience in the auto industry.
“Can you really think of a profession more desperately in need of quality than government?” he asked in the ad, which was part of an initial $1.5 million spending blitz.
Johnson pledged to keep schools open and maskless and to re-energize Michigan’s economy.
Johnson was born in a middle-class military family. His father was a pilot in World War II and his mother was a nurse in the army. In high school, Johnson said, he was a decorated Eagle Scout and worked hard to get where he is today.
“I had to work in the summer in the steel mill. My parents didn’t have the money for tuition,” Johnson said.
Unwilling to let money deter him, Johnson went on to graduate school, which brought problems of its own. He struggled to pay the bills, received several eviction notices, and had his gas shut off a couple times.
“The greatest gifts you can be given are to be born healthy with two loving parents and to be born an American,” Johnson’s father told him.
Though Johnson had what his father deemed as the greatest things in life, he said he struggled as a graduate student but kept his nose to the grindstone.
“In America, you can be anything you want, it’s up to you,” Johnson said.
Sticking to this motto, Johnson landed a job at BorgWarner in the auto industry, which launched his career. During his time there, Johnson said he learned about manufacturing and competition within the market. Japan was producing higher quality goods than the United States, which eventually led the businessman to take action and garner the title “quality guru.” Johnson began writing books about improving quality in the auto industry. He said he hopes to bring quality back to the state of Michigan.
Johnson said he is running for governor because “I think that we are moving in the wrong direction.”
Johnson said he would address many issues as governor, chiefly the state of the economy, which struggled even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a change in administration in 2019. Under Snyder the economy grew two percent a year for eight years. The very next year she [Gov. Whitmer] took office, our overall economic growth dropped 60 percent,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Michigan’s per capita growth has shrunk from number four in the country to 31st. This was before COVID-19.
Johnson said COVID-19 gave Whitmer new powers to lock Michigan down. Johnson compared her response to the situation to a general who adapts to change.
“Fortunately our governor was not a general,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the governor withheld Michiganders’ fundamental right to liberty by closing down their businesses and schools.
“Boy, she made a huge error there,” he said.
The response to COVID-19 affects more than healthcare, according to Johnson, impacting education and small businesses.
“When she saw the schools were open, she remained closed, and when she saw the restaurants open, we remained closed,” Johnson said.
In a town hall Monday, Johnson announced his plan to keep schools open without masks and give parents and students more choices and authority. Johnson also said he plans on tracking quality and implementing new educational standards.
In a press release, Johnson announced an $800,000 advertising campaign targeted toward bringing a quality education to Michigan.
Johnson said he hopes to enact change and put Michigan back on track, to “give back something to the state.”
“I want quality schools and quality decisions,” Johnson said.
Johnson joins a crowded field of 12 other Republican candidates for the Aug. 2 primary, according to Ballotpedia.
