Debbie Stabenow to leave U.S. Senate at end of current term
Some memories of her earlier career
Even small weekly newspapers, such as the one my wife and I operate, are of interest to candidates at election time. Legislative, judicial, and county candidates, along with those running for the local school board, village, and township races, will often come a calling—although nowadays, they usually start off with an email.
First, comes the announcement of their intent to run for a particular position and then, for many of the local and county races, a request for advertising prices. There’s a caveat to this: we don’t generally hear from a candidate if he or she is unopposed for the office. On the other hand, our publication is an attractive commodity with the hotly-contested ones—low as it is on the media totem pole.
“No rock left unturned when you’re seeking votes’ would seem to be the guiding principle.
I mention this because, given the coverage of our newspaper, I don’t otherwise come into frequent contact with public officials, or those seeking to replace them, beyond the local level. Put another way, I’m not hanging out at the state capitol in Lansing or even the courthouse in Howell or Mason, seeing legislators, judges or the county department heads on a regular basis—unless they happen to also be Fowlerville area residents.
That said, in over 45 years of being a journalist, I’ve gotten to know a number of these officials—those from earlier years who have since passed away, others now gone from the stage, and the current crop. There are those who had or still have long track records; others who were only in the spotlight a brief time.
Given that only one candidate wins a given office and this is often the incumbent or someone highly favored to be next-in-line, the challengers—both the serious ones and others with dimmer prospects—have come and gone. Sometimes they resurface elsewhere in the public arena, but often as not it’s a onetime endeavor.
It was early in my tenure, operating an ill-fated weekly called The Standard, that I became aware of a young lady (about my age) who had been elected to the Michigan House and whose district in Ingham County included Webberville—part of my coverage area.
Her name was Debbie Stabenow.
However, my main focus (then as now) was the Fowlerville vicinity. I rubbed elbows on occasion with the Livingston County officials, but rarely those in Ingham County. The only legislator I knew at that time was Fred Dillingham, our hometown political prodigy. So, I never had cause or opportunity to get to know Stabenow despite this close proximity.
I recall having a photo of her, sent during one of her early campaigns, that I kept in a file with other political figures. She was also a regular at the annual the Leroy Township Fireman’s Field Days & Ox Roast Parade, driving a tractor and waving to the crowd. A few years ago, while sorting through my dozens of photos, I came across one of her doing that.
After we started the Fowlerville News & Views in 1985—which, thus far, has not been ill-fated—I started using Fred’s weekly legislative update in the newspaper. I continued his report after he was elected to the state Senate and added the legislative update sent by his replacement in the House, Susan Grimes Munsell.
Since both were Republicans, I decided to add Stabenow to the itinerary, giving a Democratic perspective to what was happening in Lansing. By then she, like Dillingham, was a state senator.
These columns, I should add, had headers with a mug shot. When I started using Stabenow’s, I fished out her photo from my file—the picture from when she was in her mid-20s.
After several issues, I got an envelope from her office, with a handwritten note asking if I could use the more recent photo that was enclosed. She did look slightly more mature.
With the newly-enacted term limits looming, which would force her out of the Legislature, and I assume harboring higher ambitions, Stabenow announced she was running for governor in the 1994 election, with the goal of challenging the Republican incumbent, John Engler.
She would finish second to Congressman Howard Wolpe in the Democratic Party Primary, but then was selected to be the Lieutenant Governor candidate in the November General Election.
They lost and for the first time since 1974, she was not serving in public office.
But not for long.
Two years later, Stabenow successfully challenged the GOP incumbent, Dick Chrysler of Brighton, for Michigan’s 8th District seat. Livingston County, along with Ingham County, were part of the district and, both during the campaign and afterwards, she was a frequent visitor to this area.
We published photos of her, while she was in Congress, helping build a Habitat for Humanity house in Handy Township and as a guest speaker at a Fowlerville Rotary Club luncheon.
Interestingly, my wife had invited her as a surprise guest to an event being held at the Woodshire Place, honoring one of our local citizens, but she was a ‘no show.’
As it turned out, earlier that day the possibility she could be the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and challenge Spencer Abraham surfaced. She was off and running and, as we know, won that 2000 race and was elected three more times.
Her more direct ties to the Fowlerville-Webberville area—first as a state legislator and then as a Congressional representative—ended with that promotion to higher office some 22 years ago. And understandably so.
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Debbie Stabenow’s announcement last week that she would not seek re-election and would be leaving the U.S. Senate at the end of her current term brought back those memories.
The news (according to the media reports and responses from the political class) came as a surprise, given that it appeared she seemed poised to run again.
But, as we know, “people change their minds.”
Stabenow, in explaining her decision, said that “inspired by a new generation of leaders” who are now on the scene as well as the the turnout and results of the recent election, she felt it was a good time “to pass the torch.”
In her written remarks, she also looked back at having shattered a few ‘glass ceilings.’
“As part of my own new generation, I was elected to the Ingham County Commission in 1974 at the age of 24,” she recalled. “As the youngest and first woman to chair the Board, this began years of breaking barriers, blazing trails, and being the ‘first’ woman to reach historic milestones as an elected official, including the honor of being the first woman from Michigan elected to the U.S. Senate. But I have always believed it’s not enough to be the ‘first’ unless there is a ‘second’ and a ‘third’….
“When I ran for the State Legislature in 1978, there were only eight women serving in the State House and none in the State Senate or top statewide office,” she pointed out. “This year there are 44 women serving in the State House and 15 in the Senate! Women hold the top three statewide elected offices, and we have the first female Majority Leader in the State Senate!”
Stabenow also referenced what she and many others thought was at stake in the recent campaign and why she was heartened by the outcome—at least in our state.
“Under the cloud of unprecedented threats to our democracy and our basic freedoms, a record-breaking number of people voted last year in Michigan,” she noted. “Young people showed up like never before. This was a very hopeful sign for our future.”
The Senator then looked at what she felt have been her accomplishments in that chamber and what she hopes to do during the remainder of her term.
“I am ‘Made in Michigan’,” she said. “My work is deeply rooted in my love of our wonderful state. Whether protecting our Great Lakes, transforming mental health services, or ensuring our state can continue to make things and grow things to be competitive in our world economy, I am proud that my accomplishments have made a difference in people’s lives and created a strong foundation for a healthy and prosperous future for our state.
“For the next two years, I am intensely focused on continuing this important work to improve the lives of Michiganders,” she added. “This includes leading the passage of the next five-year Farm Bill which determines our nation’s food and agriculture policies. It is also key in protecting our land and water and creating jobs in our rural and urban communities.”
Finally, Stabenow said, “I am so grateful for the trust the people of Michigan have placed in me. I am also deeply grateful to my incredible staff, who are the best team in the United States Senate. They continue to set the highest standards for service in Michigan and across our country.
“When my term ends, I intend to begin a new chapter in my life that includes continuing to serve our State outside of elected office while spending precious time with my amazing 96-year-old mom and my wonderful family.”
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Having watched her move up the ladder (albeit from afar) and in comparing her to other campaigners and public officials I’ve seen over the years, I’d say her success is a combination of being a great retail campaigner, exuding a genuine warmth and empathy, hard work in office, attention to constituent services, and being a passionate advocate to the causes she holds dear—not least of which is that of human rights and the dignity of all.
Steve Horton is a mid-Michigan journalist and editor-publisher of the Fowlerville News & Views.
So great to read this review of Debbie Stabenow's political career over time. I remember as a member of the Michigan Nurses Association Board of Directors meeting with her as a group of nurses at the Michigan Women's Historical Museum in Lansing in the late1970s when she asked for our support in her early political career. Thanks for this review of her journey.