LANSING — Her first year in office began with a record cold snap that exposed a weakness in Michigan's energy grid.

It ended with sickly green liquid oozing onto a major freeway near Detroit, raising fresh worries about long-standing environmental failures now bubbling to the surface.

In between, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law bills intended to reduce Michigan's highest-in-the-nation auto insurance premiums, legalize Internet gambling and sports betting, and reform the criminal justice system by raising from 17 to 18 the age at which accused offenders are routinely treated as adults.

But Whitmer fell far short of fulfilling her signature campaign pledge to "fix the damn roads," ultimately approving a 2020 budget that allocated $375 million less to repair roads and bridges than the version recommended by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Analysts' appraisals of Whitmer's 2019 performance vary widely.Some say Whitmer fared better than could be expected in advancing her priorities in the face of GOP opposition. Others view her handling of the state budget negotiations, in which she sought to pressure lawmakers by vetoing close to $1 billion in spending — not all of which has been restored — as disastrous. The most common view is somewhere in between.

But the events that bookended Whitmer's first year demonstrate how the governor in many ways spent the year responding to crises — including crumbling roads — that predate her administration. What she does in 2020 to shape events and circumstances while confronting new challenges may prove a more instructive test.

Those tests include whether she can:

Pass a new road funding plan, expected to be announced around the time of her State of the State address this month, to replace her proposed 45-cent gas tax hike, which was widely panned.

Begin to make changes to Michigan's K-12 education system to reverse years of underperformance on basic subjects such as reading and math.

Implement the new auto insurance legislation in a way that brings true rate relief, as promised, especially to hard-hit Detroit residents, and ends rate discrimination based on where one lives. Since the law does not take effect until July 1 and because rate-setting is complex, Whitmer's Department of Insurance and Financial Services can play an important role in ensuring that reductions for medical coverage are not offset by hikes in other parts of the premium, such as liability coverage.

Parlay either public approval of her performance or unhappiness with Republican inaction on her key priorities into a flip of state House control from Republican to Democratic in the November 2020 election.

Help restore Michigan and its 16 electoral votes to the Democratic column in November after President Donald Trump won the state for Republicans in 2016 for the first time in a presidential election since 1988.

Using executive powers

Faced with GOP majorities in the House and Senate, Whitmer tested the limits of her executive power, issuing a record 147 line-item vetoes during the extended fight over the budget and making unprecedented use of the State Administrative Board to shift funds within state departments away from the purposes the Legislature intended.

She announced an executive directive intended to make 200,000 more workers eligible for overtime pay, angering large sectors of the business community, went to court to try to stop a crude oil pipeline plan through the Straits of Mackinac approved under her predecessor, and in a move that has been temporarily frozen by judges, used emergency administrative rules to try to ban the sale of flavored vaping products as a public health measure.

Whitmer's actions brought accusations of overreach. Whitmer pointed to her election mandate and said that while she prefers to work collaboratively with lawmakers, she won't hesitate to use the full extent of her executive powers when she deems it necessary.

"In your first year, you set a tone for what you're going to accept, and how you're going to operate, and we did that," Whitmer told the Free Press.

Who deserves credit/blame?

Amid some signs of a softening economy, Whitmer touted announcements by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Co. that together are expected to bring 10,000 or more jobs to Detroit and southeast Michigan.

But just as Whitmer could not be blamed for energy supply problems that prompted her to ask Michiganders to lower their thermostats during a record January cold snap, following a fire at a Consumers Energy compressor station, Whitmer can take little credit for automotive industry announcements that have been years in the planning.

In fact, the leaking detected in December of highly contaminated water from an I-696 embankment in Madison Heights, traced to a nearby former metal-plating factory, could mark Whitmer's transition from the "not on my watch" variety of issues to those that mostly are.

Pollution at Electro-Plating Services dates back several years. But Whitmer's Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy has also acknowledged that it said in March — incorrectly — that there was little likelihood that contaminated chemicals would migrate beyond the site of the plant on 10 Mile Road.

The pundits weigh in

Asked recently to grade herself on her first year in office, Whitmer said this:

"I'm humble enough not to give myself an A+, even though I think our effort has been an A+."

Here is how others see it.

Julie Metty Bennett, CEO of Public Sector Consultants, a nonpartisan public policy consulting firm in Lansing, said Whitmer's first year was mostly about establishing a relationship with the Republican-controlled Legislature.

"It takes two to tango and get things done," Bennett said.

Though that relationship was at many times "rocky," Bennett said that Whitmer and Republican leaders "spent the year testing each other's limits" in ways that will prove important for 2020.

Whitmer showed "she isn't afraid to wield the powers of the executive office," and "is not going to get rolled," Bennett said.

In the process, she "notched a few wins," including the deal to reform no-fault auto insurance, she said. Getting an early deal on that exceeded the expectations of many observers, she said.

Whitmer's proposed 45-cent gas tax hike was "definitely a bold move" that would have given Michigan the highest fuel taxes in the country, Bennett said.

But "starting out bold can be a wise move," she said. In terms of testing boundaries and getting to know Republican leaders, "she played her biggest card with her first hand, and I don't criticize her for that."

With the groundwork that was laid in 2019, Bennett said she is optimistic for 2020 on two key Whitmer priorities — infrastructure and education.

Heather Lombardini, president of the Republican political consulting firm, Sterling Corp., said she gives Whitmer an F grade.

"She talks a good talk when it comes to working with both sides, but her lack of leadership and skills showed through" during an extended impasse with Republican leaders over the 2020 budget, Lombardini said.

"She is definitely still in the learning phase of transitioning from Senate minority leader to our leader," she said. "I am hoping 2020 shows improvement."

More:Governor Whitmer to Michiganders: Let's work on the things we all care about

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More:Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs bills restoring vetoed spending, funding prisons

Karen Dumas, a Democratic communications strategist in Detroit, said she respects and supports Whitmer and wants to see her succeed.

"Any time you have someone who is new, your expectations are probably increased," but Whitmer took office facing many challenges, including a Republican-controlled Senate, and "it would be almost unfair to give her a grade," said Dumas, who was communications chief for former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.

"I would have liked to see her be a little bit more aggressive," and push back harder against Republican lawmakers on several issues, including roads, she said.

"Republicans don't like potholes any more than Democrats do."

Proposing a 45-cent gas tax hike "was shortsighted," and "wasn't really well thought out," partly because it would be felt the most by those least able to afford it, Dumas said.

"Maybe her team isn't adequately preparing her," and could have helped to produce a proposal that was more realistic and better researched, she said.

Dumas doesn't believe Michigan's problem of excessively high auto insurance premiums has been solved, either.

"Detroiters are disproportionately carrying a burden that other parts of the state don't bear," she said.

Under the new legislation, people may get relatively small savings on their premiums, but they will lose far more in the event of a catastrophic injury from a car accident, she said.

Dumas noted that Ann Arbor-area businessman Shri Thanedar — not Whitmer — got the most Democratic gubernatorial votes in Detroit. She said it remains to be seen whether Whitmer can motivate Detroiters to show up at the polls in large numbers.

Choosing Garlin Gilchrist, who was a 2017 candidate for Detroit city clerk, as her running mate and lieutenant governor was "a pretty smart move" which has helped Whitmer in Detroit, Dumas said.

But so far, "as a resident, we don't see the results. We're still talking about roads," Dumas said.

"I want to see the toughness that I know exists."

Whitmer by the numbers

Whitmer signed 178 public acts in 2019. That's the fewest since 1960, when 163 bills were signed into law, Michigan Information & Research Service, Inc. reports.

But most would agree that the volume of new laws is not a good measure of a governor's performance, especially when the governor and the Legislature come from two different political parties.

Whitmer's approval and job performance ratings in her first year, as measured by Lansing pollster EPIC-MRA, generally exceeded the first year numbers of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who unveiled an unpopular tax on pension income in his first budget.

But Whitmer's numbers have never topped 50%. In the most recent poll, conducted in August, 46% of respondents said they had a favorable impression of Whitmer, while 27% said they had an unfavorable impression, and the rest did not know or would not say. On Whitmer's job performance, 43% gave her a positive rating and 45% gave her a negative rating.

How Independents view Whitmer

Since Michigan governors generally receive strong support from members of their own party, how Independent voters view them can be crucial.

The Free Press, in an unscientific survey, interviewed five Michigan voters who identified themselves as Independents in past telephone surveys conducted by EPIC-MRA.

Kenneth Marks, 63, of Niles, said he has not yet formed a positive or negative impression of Whitmer.

"The roads around here are getting fixed," said Marks, whose top issue in the 2018 election was improving Michigan's roads. However, "it's still December," he said. "January and February are when they get torn to pieces."

"I don't see anything really outstanding or breathtaking going on," said Marks, who works at a manufacturing facility in Elkhart.

Marks said he would love to have lower auto insurance premiums, but it remains to be seen whether he will get them as a result of legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Whitmer.

"Saying ain't doing, as the saying goes," said Marks, who describes himself as disillusioned with both major parties. So far, "they haven't gone down a bit."

Cheri Kuslick, 65, a retired steelworker who lives in Plainfield Township in Iosco County, said she feels Whitmer is more interested in public relations and taking credit than getting things done.

"I don't think she understands the plight of the people of Michigan," Kuslick said. "Most of the people I know are pretty much poor."

Kuslick said she is hopeful the auto insurance legislation Whitmer signed in 2019 will reduce her premiums in 2020, but would like to see Whitmer focusing onissues related to improving health care. That includes pushing for a single-payer health care system, which is a federal issue, as advocated byIndependent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination supported by Kuslick.

She said she does not support Whitmer's position in favor of more immigration.

"We don't have the jobs for our own children," she said.

Michael McIntosh, 69, a retired elementary schoolteacher, said he feels Michigan's state government is broken under term limits, with lawmakers more interested in laying the groundwork for future lobbying jobs than working for the people.

GOP lawmakers in Michigan's Legislature are "doing to her what the Republicans (in Congress) did to Obama," McIntosh said. "They're not going to help," and that fact makes it difficult to form a judgment about Whitmer's performance, he said.

"They're just going to make it very difficult for her to do anything" that she would get credit for, he said

As for the auto insurance legislation, McIntosh, of Chelsea, expects premiums will not come down much and many accident victims will not receive the health care treatment they need.

Though he blames Republican lawmakers for their unwillingness to work with Whitmer, McIntosh said Whitmer also made a mistake by proposing such a high gas tax increase. Whitmer should have foreseen that the GOP would be unwilling to negotiate with her or offer a reasonable counterproposal, he said.

"She boxed herself into a corner," he said.

Jonathan Chapman, 32, a business owner who lives in Huron Township, said he's not impressed by Whitmer's performance in her first year.

"I think she wants to raise taxes quite a bit," said Chapman, who believes he voted for the Republican candidate, former Attorney General Bill Schuette, in 2018.

Instead of significantly raising gas taxes, Chapman wants the state to spend existing road dollars more effectively and efficiently and wants to know what happened with the money generated from a 2015 road funding agreement that hiked registration fees 20% and increased the fuel tax by 7 cents per gallon.

Chapman did not approve of the line-item vetoes Whitmer used during the budget impasse with legislative Republicans.

"She basically threw a temper tantrum and didn't get anything for it," he said. "I'd honestly like to see her recalled."

A former smoker who used e-cigarettes to help kick the habit, Chapman did not approve of the ban Whitmer imposed on flavored vaping products.

"I think what she did to the vaping industry was horrible," he said.

He does not believe the auto insurance legislation will significantly reduce premiums and believes a better solution would be to scrap Michigan's no-fault system.

Michael Martin, 33, a Farmington Hills musician, said he has not formed an opinion about Whitmer.

Martin feels there has been no progress on roads, but he approves of the recent legalization of Internet gaming.

He would like to see less regulation of the recreational marijuana industry to allow for more retail outlets.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.