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Our guest speaker was our very own Dan Pierce. Dan served in the Air Force during the Korean War. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Dan practiced Law for many years in the area. He served in the State Legislature from 1965-1985. During that time he was Chairman of the House Environment Committee and the Revenue Committee. He returned to private life for a brief time. In 1987, he was elected Mayor of Highland Park, serving for a total of 12 years. Dan shared his memories of his time in the Legislature and as Mayor. He felt most proud of his achievements while in Springfield the passage of special education bill for school age children; and the Pollution Control Act in 1969, a year before the Federal Government took action. For Highland Park, he felt the city's greatest benefits are: 1) its proximity to Lake Michigan; 2) its connection to Chicago through the train; 3) our public schools and their improvement through the years; and 4) our housing stock. The challenges he sees for the city is maintaining a healthy downtown and residential middle ground especially in the current economic turmoil of curating a physical retail presence. His disappointment lies with the property taxes being so high that it is difficult for our adult children and other young people to return to the area and settle here. On the subject of politics through the last half century, with the observation of so many of our Governors who have gone to jail, there are two who remain in his opinion among the best - Ogilvie and Thompson. But Dan feels the number one political concern when you look at our nation today is the cost of running a campaign. You must be very rich to run for office - even on the smaller scale like Governor or Mayor of a major city. Costs like television ads push the price of campaigning sky high. Even the press will not report on where a candidate stands on issues, but rather on how much is in their campaign war chest. Women coming into organizations, business, and politics has had a positive impact. Where fifty years ago many women ran the home, they shifted into business and sharing the raising of children with their husbands. They instill their moral compass in their children and carry that with them into business and politics. Another evolution is the declining influence of organizations in our community because of the shift in the population. Those organizations are the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and the League of Women Voters. These once were very powerful in the political forefront, but as their collective numbers dwindle so does their power. While some elected officials drift away from their Rotary membership when their term is up, Dan, however became an active member. In fact, while some people would think at this time of their lives ("their sunset years") they would slow down, those around Dan are certain he's never heard those words. Dan is currently serving as President of the Board of the Water Reclamation District as well as the American Legion Board. He is also serving on the Highland Park Health Care Foundation Board. Dan married his incredible wife Rhoda 36 years ago and between the two of them they have 5 sons. Dan Pierce taking us through a half century of politics. -mb |
