Michigan Politics
Ex-Governors Remain in Limelight
By George Weeks

They have retired from public office, but Michigan's three living ex-governors have not faded from the public stage.

Republican John Engler (1991-2002) is the high-profile president of the National Manufacturers' Association and still an active spear carrier for President George W. Bush on such things as confirmation battles for pro-business Supreme Court and other nominees.

Engler was not the campaign "firewall" he vowed to be for Bush in Michigan, but he remains a well connected White House ally.

Democrat Jim Blanchard (1983-90), narrowly defeated by Engler, became President Clinton's ambassador to Canada; unsuccessfully sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination won in 2002 by nowGovernor Jennifer Granholm; stumped for 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry; and now touts Granholm's reelection.

"She's done an outstanding job," Blanchard said on public TV's "Off The Record" program. "I actually think she'll win (reelection) decisively."

Of late, there has been a bit of splash for Republican Bill Milliken (1969-82), who was co-chair of Granholm's advisory commission on land use, but has had a relatively quiet retirement, even while speaking out on occasion for a more moderate GOP and more aggressive pursuit of environmental protection.

Recent focus on Milliken comes from publication of "William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate," co-published by University of Michigan Press and Petoskey Publishing. It's written by Dave Dempsey, former Blanchard environmental adviser and current policy adviser for the Michigan Environmental Council.

The latest signing event for the book was last week in Traverse City, where Brian Lewis of Petoskey Publishing said some 250 books were sold, about the same as at an earlier event in Lansing. Lewis said the reception Milliken received "was warmer than anything we've ever seen" at book signings.

(Personal disclosure: I once worked for Milliken, and Lewis was 2005 co-publisher of a book I wrote on the Sleeping Bear Dunes.)

Lewis said he expects sales of the Milliken book to be "very comparable" or exceed the 6,000 or so of "John Engler: The Man, the Leader & the Legacy," published in 2002 by Sleeping Bear Press, then owned by Lewis, and written by Engler speech writer Gleaves Whitney.

One of the best books I have read on Michigan governors - I suspect I have read all or most - is "Soapy: A Biography of G. Mennen Williams," published last year by University of Michigan Press and written by Professor Thomas J. Noer of Carthage College.

Ex-Governor Williams (1949-60) is a giant and transforming agent of the Michigan Democratic Party. As assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Kennedy/Johnson administrations, he was the U.S. agent during Africa's winds of change.

While with United Press International in Washington, I closely covered Williams. But not closely enough. Noer, by tapping the archives of the State Department and those of the two presidents he served, reveals much about Williams that has not been reported.

And so it is with the Milliken book by Dempsey, who mines many a previouslymum source.

Reporters may do first drafts of history. Authors do the more compelling next drafts.

Family Ties

Michigan political history abounds with sons, wives, and other relatives running for office in the shadow of incumbents atop the family tree.

So it was when Milliken won the state Senate seat once held by his father and grandfather.

Downstate, there's U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-Dearborn), dean of the House and in line to become the longest-serving ever, holding the seat once held by his father.

Now come the sons of U.S. Representatives Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) and Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloomfield Hills) running for the Michigan Legislature.

Andy Levin, upon filing for the state Senate, said in the Detroit Free Press: "The reason that I'm running and my connection - it's not about my name, but it is about family." The family includes Senator Carl Levin, brother of Sandy, and a cousin who was a Michigan Supreme Court justice.

Marty Knollenberg is running for the state House.

George Weeks recently retired after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features.