Flint water to Detroit's progress: Gov. Snyder reflects on time in office

As he prepares to hand the reigns over, Gov. Rick Snyder reflects on his time in office, including what he's proud of and what he's learned.

"Look at Michigan. We are 50 out of 50 economically and we're a top 10 state today. Look at Detroit. Look at the progress in the city because it's not about me, it's what we've done together. We've been a big success in the state and I just encourage people to keep that up -- keep up that spirit of relentless positive action," Snyder said.

Snyder spoke at the Detroit Economic Club, touting both Michigan and Detroit's economic resurgence during his time in office. He's hopeful that progress will continue, but worries America's divisive political climate may be our undoing.

"I do view the lack of civility in our country is the greatest threat to our nation," he said. "If you go look at my track record, how many people have I criticized? How many people have I called names in all these years? Haven't we gotten a lot done by not doing that?" 

For many, Governor Snyder's term will be defined by the Flint water crisis. His critics say his emergency manager law encourages cutting costs, at the expense of the people, and directly lead to the Flint people being poisoned. The governor says there were failures at all levels of government.

"We had multiple failures at the local, state and federal level in temrs of people making errors. The point is is that we tried to respond strongly and we did, with lots of resources, lots of good things. Progress has been made in Flint and we learned lessons from that," he said.

Snyder also addressed his replacement, Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer. She takes office in January and Snyder says he's offered to help with the transition.

"I'm going to encourage her and the legislature to find common ground issues," he said.