Sen. Riegle; Statesman, Mentor, Friend

This is a column I hoped I never would write and I won’t even pretend to be objective.

Former U.S. Senator Donald Wayne Riegle, Jr., passed away unexpectedly on April 24 at age 88. He was a true public servant, a mentor to me and a friend for many years.

I first met Don in 1966. He was 28 years old and the Republican nominee for Congress in Michigan’s old 7th District.

I was 18 and working for his opponent, Democratic Congressman John C. Mackie. Wherever I traveled for Mackie, Riegle was either there or had already been there. His bumper stickers were everywhere. He won.

I sent him a congratulatory letter offering help and “best wishes for a successful term of office.” A couple years ago, he found the letter in his files and returned it to me.

I followed his career, corresponded on key issues and, to my surprise, he switched parties and became a Democrat in 1973, breaking with Richard Nixon and the Republicans over the conduct of the Vietnam War and other issues. I worked with and for him closely from then on. (Ironically, Mackie switched parties later, also.)

Riegle was very proud of his hometown, Flint, Michigan. He often signed his notes to me “Flintstone.”

He never forgot where he came from and dedicated his 28 years of public service to the working men and women of Michigan like those he’d met in the factories in Flint.

After ten years in the House of Representatives, in 1976 he ran for the U.S. Senate against Republican, Marvin Esch. Riegle had boundless energy, crisscrossing the state over and over.

On Nov. 2, he received more than 52% of the vote. He was seated on Dec. 30, when Sen. Phil Hart died and Gov. Milliken appointed Riegle to fill the rest of the term, thus giving him a seniority advantage over other incoming Senators.

For the next 18 years, Riegle fought for the people of Michigan. In a statement released after his passing, his family said, Don was a kind, loving, courageous, leader who taught us to stand up for justice, economic opportunity, and fairness for everyone.

He tirelessly fought for the rights of the working men and women of Michigan and led the Senate opposition to NAFTA, the trade agreement that resulted in the loss of many jobs in Michigan. He dedicated much of his life to public service, always seeking to make life better for those in need.

In the Senate, Riegle led the fight for the Chrysler Corporation Loan thus saving thousands of American jobs.

Riegle became Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs where he led the most significant reform at that time of the banking system.

He helped create a system of community development banks through the “Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994” and eliminated restrictions on interstate banking through the “Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Efficiency Act of 1994”.

When thousands of Gulf War veterans were suffering from illnesses which later became known as “Gulf War Illness,” Riegle used the jurisdiction of the Banking Committee over the Export Control Act to determine whether chemical agents had been exported to Iraq under the dual use authority.

It took until last October for the CDC to recognize Gulf War syndrome as a medical illness meaning that veterans can now be treated for a medical illness rather than a psychological disorder.

Senator Edward Kennedy described him as “one of the strongest defenders of Social Security and Medicare that those two vital programs have ever had,” Riegle was also a leader on health care insurance, childhood vaccinations, care for latch key-children, and economic development for Michigan.

In 1993, the Senator called me and asked me to come to Washington as his Communications Director. I had the honor of working with him for the remainder of his Senate career.

He told me to call him Don (or Flintstone) but I almost always called him “Senator” out of respect for him and the office. After he retired, we continued to work on projects and communicate regularly until his passing.

In a recent email, he told me, “Looking back over 28 Congressional years, we were able to do much important work. But getting that endless Vietnam War stopped was by far the most important.

As it is, sadly, there are more than 58,000 names chiseled on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington. Far too many, but I believe that what our staff and I did to end the war kept thousands of more names off the wall.”

You can read the story of his opposition to the war in his book “O Congress,” available at your local library.

Riegle was a smart, kind, honest, gentle man. Not perfect…who is? But in my humble opinion he was a true statesman. He really believed that one person could make a difference and that everyone should try.

Senator, you made a difference. Thank you. Condolences to Lori, Ashley, Allison and the entire Riegle family.

Contact Rick at dave@tri-citytimes.com