  Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 496 Registered: 02-2004 Posted From: 68.61.98.175 |
NPR just reported. Of heart failure. | ||
Zulu_warrior Member Username: Zulu_warrior Post Number: 2510 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
DETROIT - Former Wayne County Executive Edward H. McNamara, a throwback to the political power brokers of an earlier day and mentor to leading state Democrats including the governor, has died. He was 79. McNamara died early Sunday of heart failure at Harper Hospital, said family spokesman Tim Johnson. "We will miss his kindness, his compassion and his wit," McNamara's family said in a statement. "We celebrate his life and his many accomplishments and contributions that he made to Wayne County and the entire region. "He was a great builder of infrastructure and he also believed in investing in people." As chief executive of Michigan's most populous county from 1986-2002, McNamara oversaw a work force of more than 5,000 people and an annual budget of nearly $2 billion. He was mayor of Livonia from 1970-86. He devoted much of his energy to improving Detroit Metropolitan Airport. A $1.6-billion makeover had as its centerpiece the lavish, spacious terminal designed by its main tenant, Northwest Airlines, and formally called the Edward H. McNamara Terminal at Northwest World GateWay. McNamara also mentored leading Democrats including Jennifer Granholm, the one-time county corporation counsel who went on to become state attorney general and later governor; Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan; and former U.S. Attorney Saul Green. "To those of us who had the privilege of working for him, he gave a sense of possibility, toughness and duty to serve others," Granholm said in a statement. His organization also played a significant role in Kwame Kilpatrick's election as mayor of Detroit in 2001. McNamara eliminated the $135 million deficit he faced upon taking office, restored the county's bond rating on Wall Street to investment grade and started construction on a new juvenile detention facility in Detroit. McNamara also helped negotiate deals for new baseball and football stadiums in downtown Detroit, and launched an environmental initiative to clean and preserve the Rouge River and other waterways. But McNamara's 40 years in politics ended under a cloud of suspicion. FBI agents and state police raided his office in November 2002, seeking evidence for a federal grand jury investigating alleged corruption in airport contracts and campaign fundraising by his administration. McNamara was never charged. McNamara was born Sept. 21, 1926 in Detroit, the son of a janitor who was an Irish immigrant. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then worked briefly in an auto plant. McNamara took a job with Michigan Bell Telephone Co. as a service engineer while attending the University of Detroit at night. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1959, majoring in philosophy and political science. A classmate, future Detroit Mayor Jerry Cavanagh, introduced McNamara to politics by persuading him to run for neighborhood precinct delegate. McNamara ran unsuccessful campaigns for the Michigan Senate in 1965 and for lieutenant governor in 1970. Associated Press Writer Jim Irwin contributed to this report. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/U PDATE/602190405 | ||
Rustic Member Username: Rustic Post Number: 2077 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.163.181.81 |
McNamara: the last of the Detroit Irish Catholic pols of the Democratic machine. Of all of the last generation of those guys: if back in the olden tymes ya had to pick who would survive the inevitable rise and stunning fall of Detroit's black political ruling class to grow and thrive amidst the rubble I doubt ANYONE woulda picked McNamara ... Yay Detroit! It is quite a place! | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 716 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 70.233.7.222 |
Some may say he was corrupt, but you cannot deny his power. He will be missed, especially by his loyal contingency. The last great political machine. God Bless. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 3254 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 65.222.10.3 |
An old-school Democrat. Those hard-asses actually had some balls compared to the Democrats of today. He actually managed to get shit done. | ||
Supersport Member Username: Supersport Post Number: 9895 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 64.118.137.228 |
The machine is alive and well, in Detroit, Wayne County, and Lansing. | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 718 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 208.39.170.77 |
Gee, thanks for clarifying that.... | ||
Publicmsu Member Username: Publicmsu Post Number: 602 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 129.188.33.222 |
You're my boy, blue! |
