Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE -- From balancing the state budget, to dealing with a declining automobile industry and a recession, to trying to establish a new, green industry in Michigan, it's been a busy eight years for Governor Granholm.

But during her term, how did she fare?  Well, the answer really depends on who you talk to.

"I'm sorry to see her go.  I think she's done a wonderful job; she walked into a mess, and she has done her very best to be a governor for all of the people of the state," says Tom Spencer of Marquette.

"I know she really tried to do the best she could, but I think she fell short," says Joe Twa of Rapid River.

Retired Politicial Science Professor Bob Kulisheck says that Granholm was not dealt the best of hands.

"Well, I think as you look at Governor Granholm's time in office, the first thing you have to do is put it into context--that she was confronted with a very difficult economic situation, not of her own making," says Kulisheck.

In her first year of office, Granholm was faced with the task of dealing with a $1.7 billion deficit.  In her last year in office, she was dealing with an unemployment rate in the low teens.

Now it will be up to her successor, Rick Snyder, to see if he can turn things around.

"Just the new approach of how to accomplish a goal, even if it's the same goal, I think he'll be much more effective," says Dan Adamini, Chair of the Marquette County Republican Party.

Snyder will take the oath of office this Saturday.