dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
Talk about calendars got me to look at May, where I have Richard Austin's birthday noted.
I work for him for 15 years until his retirement, a day I still recall. There was a big event with speeches and a reception line, and it was the last time I shook his hand.
The average citizen here no longer remembers his big push as Secretary of State to place at least one branch office within every Michigan county. Prior to that most of the State had to travel or rely on duties delegated to sheriffs and police departments, a secondary function they weren't enthusiastic about despite the money it brought them.
He was sharp, commanding but kind, and had a real "presence" about him. People really missed him when he left office.
I work for him for 15 years until his retirement, a day I still recall. There was a big event with speeches and a reception line, and it was the last time I shook his hand.
Richard Henry Austin (May 6, 1913 – April 20, 2001) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the Michigan secretary of state from 1971 to 1995, the first African American elected to the position, the first to win election to any statewide office in Michigan except the Supreme Court, and the longest-serving Secretary of State in the state. Also the first Black certified public accountant in Michigan, he previously served from 1967 to 1971 as the first Black Wayne County auditor, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Detroit in 1969.
The average citizen here no longer remembers his big push as Secretary of State to place at least one branch office within every Michigan county. Prior to that most of the State had to travel or rely on duties delegated to sheriffs and police departments, a secondary function they weren't enthusiastic about despite the money it brought them.
He was sharp, commanding but kind, and had a real "presence" about him. People really missed him when he left office.