Politics & Government

Rick Snyder 'Disappointing,' But Not That 'Disappointing': Poll

Beleaguered Gov. Rick Snyder included in Fortune magazine's "world's 19 most disappointing leaders" poll over Flint water crisis handling.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is catching a break in an election for a title he doesn’t want.

The personal finance magazine Fortune last week asked its readers to rank the “world’s 19 most disappointing leaders” in an unscientific poll, and Snyder jumped to an early lead.

He had amassed about 7,200 votes Friday evening, and that sounds like a lot. But he’s been eclipsed by Brazilian President Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, a political prisoner hailed as a hero during the country’s 21-year military regime now facing impeachment for allegedly cooking the country’s books.

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Rouseff had 84,000 votes Friday.

Snyder earned the dubious nomination over his handling of the Flint water crisis. The magazine said:

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“Snyder and his team sparked national outrage after an attempt at cost-savings left the impoverished city of Flint, Mich. with a lead-tainted water supply that is being blamed for illness and brain damage, especially among its youngest residents. Called to testify before Congress, Snyder, who touted his competence in his gubernatorial campaign, labeled the experience the ‘most humbling’ of his life — then attempted to shift blame. He described it as a ‘failure of government’ and blasted the Environmental Protection Agency for its ‘dumb and dangerous’ rules on allowable amounts of lead in water systems.”

Here’s the full list, along with Fortune’s take on why they’re disappointing:

  • Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: “Don’t Blame Me, I’m Just The Governor Award”
  • Martin Winterkorn, former chairman of Volkswagen: “The Burned Rubber Prize”
  • Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes: “The Black Box Award”
  • Martin Shkreli, founder and former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals: “The Shkreli Prize”
  • Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer: “I Lost My Strategy Under the Sofa, Special Citation”
  • Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh: “The Leon Trotsky Prize for Reorganization”
  • Former Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad: “The George Costanza Medal for In-Office Frolics”
  • Outgoing Valeant CEO Michael Pearson: “The ‘Welcome Back, Now Please Leave’ Certificate”
  • Former FIFA chiefs Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini: “The ‘We Are Shocked — Shocked! — To Discover Payoffs’ Award”
  • Former J. Walter Thompson CEO Gustavo Martinez: “The ‘What Wouldn’t Don Draper Say?’ Medal”
  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: “Prize for the Most Breathtakingly Craven Political Move of the Year”
  • Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: “Second Most Breathtakingly Craven Political Move of the Year”
  • Chipotle co-CEOs Steve Ells and Montgomery Moran: “The ‘This Time We Swear We’ve Fixed It’ Prize”
  • Former COO and CEO of the Wounded Warrior Project Al Giordano and Steve Nardizzi: “Big Spenders Award”
  • Former United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek: “The Back Scratch Prize”
  • Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff: “The ‘Don’t Blame It On Rio’ Award

If you’d like to vote, go here.

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