Send “people” news for Turnstiles to Dome.
Lana Pollack’s end-of-year retirement from the Michigan Environmental Council ended her 12 years of leading Michigan’s umbrella environmental organization. Dome caught up with the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame member and former Democratic state senator from Ann Arbor to ask a few questions.
Dome: What’s with the retirement? Aren’t you too young and active to retire?
Pollack: Haven’t you heard? “Change” is in. After 12 great years at MEC, change will be good for this organization and for me.
D. What are your immediate plans?
P. To join at least a million other hopeful people on the nation’s Mall on January 20 and celebrate a new beginning for America.
D. How would you assess the current state of environmental protection efforts in Michigan compared to 10, 20 or 30 years ago?
P. It depends on what you’re measuring. On the one hand, we’re worse off than ever because the legislature has all but stopped appropriating money for so many important programs. We’re entirely out of funds for cleaning up brownfields. (Remember, Polluter Pay that used to get money from polluters to pay for cleanups was gutted in 1995). Frequently the DEQ can’t even respond to calls for help when there’s an obvious violation of Michigan or federal law. On the other hand, we’re much better off from a leadership point of view. When the Engler regime ran the show there was obvious disdain for environmental and natural resource law enforcement. So you can take your pick, which you think is worse.
D. How about the current state of advocacy for environmental protection?
P. We’re doing much better. MEC has a number of very strong member groups and statewide allies. As a whole, the community of advocates is more sophisticated politically; we know how to apply effective pressure and when to negotiate the best deal possible for Michigan’s environment by working with legislators in both parties. The results of this were obvious in the results on water and energy this year.
D. What do you look at as your greatest accomplishment? Your biggest disappointment?
A. The greatest achievements came in 2008 with ratification of the Great Lakes Water Compact and Michigan’s strong implementation language, and the package of energy bills that will bring us more renewable energy and better efficiency measures. I have three big disappointments: 1) The Detroit 3 stuck with their SUV game plan, and fought back against CAFE reforms in Washington while losing market share and alienating needed allies in the political world. Now we’re all paying the price. 2) Michigan kept building housing developments and sprawl malls on beautiful farmland (at least until the recession hit). We should have been investing public and private dollars to make our older cities vibrant...and we wonder why our bright young college graduates move to Chicago, New York and Atlanta. 3) The best part of beautiful Jean Klock Park on the shore of Lake Michigan, which had been given to the children of Benton Harbor to have forever, was taken from the children and is being turned into an expensive golf course. I think I’m most disappointed that all of the land conservancies in Michigan looked the other way. None of them would stand up to the governor who sanctioned this or to the Whirlpool folks who led this grab of one of the prettiest shoreline parks in Michigan.
D. What’s your greatest hope for Michigan’s environment as you leave? Your greatest fear?
P. With the governor’s passionate determination to put Michigan on the clean energy map we have a shot at creating a new economy based on ambitious investments in high and low technology efficiency measures, public and private investments in wind, solar and other renewables — with an auto industry that produces cars for a low-carbon world. My greatest fear is that Michigan will settle for doing things the way we’ve been doing them and that Michigan will permit new coal plants (there is no such thing as “clean coal”).
D. Anything else on your mind?
P. We need to get rid of term limits.
•
by Susan J. Demas
Paul H. Todd Jr., a former congressman, entrepreneur and family planning pioneer, died on November 18 at age 87.
Todd rode into Congress representing the Kalamazoo area in the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide and was swept out alongside two other Michigan Democrats in 1966. In his short tenure, Todd introduced the first international population control legislation. After considerable debate over using U.S. funds for family planning, it was adopted. He went on to serve as CEO of Planned Parenthood-World Population from 1967 to 1970.
In 1958, Todd founded the Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Co., now known as Kalsec, whose specialty hops extract is used by breweries around the world. He was known for bringing his Washington, D.C., staff bushel baskets of cabbage, carrots and peas from his farm.
Phil Power served as Todd’s chief of staff, afterwards founding both the 64-newspaper chain of HomeTown Communications and the nonpartisan Center for Michigan think tank in Ann Arbor. He describes Todd as a “towering figure” in Kalamazoo and, as his mentor, teaching him how to be both a successful businessman and “have a broad social conscience.”
“He was the best boss I ever had,” Power said. “If he had asked me to go through a brick wall, I would have asked, ‘Which exact brick do you want me to hit?’”
Todd almost took his seat back in 1974, but Power contends that supporting President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon cost him the election. In reaction to the Watergate scandal, former Gov. William Milliken appointed Todd to his Board of Ethics commission from 1973 to 1976.
A moderate Democrat concerned about the size and efficiency of government, Todd befriended a trio of Republicans from Southwest Michigan, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) and state Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo). Upton had known Todd since 1993 and remembers him as a “real character, with a great smile and a great laugh,” which made it easy for him to work with Republicans.
“He was very well respected, a solid guy,” Upton said. “We were obviously from different parties, but we had a very close relationship. He had a great sense of humor and he cared about people.”
A World War II veteran, Todd earned a Bronze Star for his work in the intelligence agencies of the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the Office of Strategic Services. He hailed from a political family, with his father, Paul Todd Sr., serving as Kalamazoo mayor and his grandfather, Albert M. Todd, also serving a single term in Congress.
Todd is survived by his wife, former Kalamazoo Mayor Caroline Ham, and two sons. His first wife, Terry, died in 1997. Upton requested a moment of silence in Congress to honor him.
Susan J. Demas is a 2006 Knight Foundation Fellow in nonprofits journalism and a political analyst for Michigan Information & Research Service.
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