Across the Aisle: Bringing Civility & Bipartisanship Back to Politics - Softcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Charles "Fritz" Benson retired in 2010 after a 31-year career as a partner in the multi-client lobbying firm, Michigan Legislative Consultants (MLC). He came to MLC after serving on the staffs of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Thomas M. Kavanagh and two Senate majority leaders, Sen. Bill Fitzgerald and Sen. Bill Faust.Prior to his political career he earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from Michigan State University while working with delinquent youth at the state Boys Training School and at Starr Commonwealth. Fritz then taught middle school and coached for six years before his career at the Capitol.He lives in East Lansing with his wife, Cathy, and they have three grown children, Nick, Lauren and Jack.

James Blanchard was born on Aug. 8, 1942, in Detroit and completed degrees at Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota Law School. He entered federal public service in 1975, serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan's 18th congressional district. While in Congress, Blanchard authored key legislation providing federal loan guarantees that rescued the Chrysler Corp. from near bankruptcy. Elected as Michigan's 45th governor in 1982, the Democrat served two terms from 1983 to 1991, during which he turned around a severe state budget deficit and established the nation's first prepaid college tuition program (the Michigan Education Trust). Following his governorship, President Bill Clinton appointed him as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Blanchard subsequently returned to private law practice while remaining active in public diplomacy, non-profit boards and international affairs.

John Engler was born on Oct. 12, 1948, in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and went on to earn degrees from Michigan State University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He began his political career early, winning election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1970 before advancing to the Michigan Senate, where he served as Senate majority leader. Running as a Republican, Engler was elected as Michigan's 46th governor in 1990 and subsequently served three consecutive terms from 1991 to 2003. During his tenure as governor, he focused heavily on state tax cuts, welfare reform, job creation and major public school finance reform through Proposal A. Following his time in public office, he spent over a decade leading national corporate advocacy groups as president and CEO of both the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable. Engler later returned briefly to higher education governance when he served as interim president of Michigan State University from 2018 to 2019. Currently, Engler sits on a number of boards including the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and works with major corporations as a consultant.