After almost 11 years away from Michigan government, James Blanchard wants back in.

The 59-year old who served two terms as governor from 1983 to 1991 and as the U.S. ambassador to Canada from 1993-1996 addressed the University"s College Democrats last night, hoping to build a group of core supporters for his 2002 campaign to reclaim the governor"s office.

"I have 10 years of new and different and unique experiences that give me a fresh perspective in Michigan," he said.

In addition to being heavily involved in defeating the state"s voucher proposal, Blanchard also serves on the board of directors of several companies, including Brampton, Ont.-based Nortel Networks. Prior to serving as governor, he spent four terms as a U.S. representative.

Defeated for a third term in 1990 by current Gov. John Engler, Blanchard wasted little time before taking shots at Engler, who is barred from running again by term limits.

"We"ve been through record prosperity in the past seven years and we went from the motor capital of the world to the pothole capital of the world," Blanchard said.

Blanchard used his prior experience to position himself against the four other Democratic gubernatorial candidates. When asked how he would deal with a Legislature that likely would be Republican-controlled, he pointed out that many members of the House and Senate will have had only a few years in experience in Lansing due to term limits.

"The executive has a lot more power now than then, so I can hit the deck running," he said.

With Michigan facing an economic downturn and many state colleges and universities substantially raising their tuition rates, Blanchard emphasized the need for fiscal restraint.

The governor, he said, should "jawbone" the schools into lowering their tuition, as he did three times.

"Tell them you"re going to cut (higher education) appropriations if they don"t lower tuition," he said.

Throughout the "town-hall meeting," the former governor talked about his role in setting up and implementing the Michigan Education Trust, which allowed parents to pay for their children"s college tuition in advance, thereby guaranteeing that their tuition would not be raised. He asked those in the audience how many of them were "MET students" and several raised their hands. Blanchard then passed out a notepad for MET students to add their names to so he could contact them in the future.

Blanchard is the marginal frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. The top two candidates behind him are state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Mt. Clemens, with state Sens. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township and Alma Wheeler Smith of Salem Township trailing far behind.

Engler"s longtime ally, Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, is the frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, trailed by state Sen. John Schwarz of Battle Creek.