Tagged: Howard Wolpe

A large turnout is expected today at a memorial service for former Michigan congressman Howard Wolpe.  

Wolpe died October 25th at his home in Saugatuck. He was 71.  

Former Michigan congressman Mark Schauer will be among the speakers at the memorial service at Western Michigan University. He says Wolpe was a mentor and inspiration. 

"He made his decisions based on principles and values…and intelligence. And always trying to do what’s right for the people he represented," says Schauer.  

Wolpe represented Kalamazoo in Congress for seven terms and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1994.

Howard Wolpe died Tuesday night, and even though he wasn’t terribly old, chances are you don’t remember him. That is, unless you follow politics closely, or grew up in Kalamazoo.

He was a good and decent man who ran one of the worst campaigns for governor I can ever remember, and who, oddly enough, was the only man ever to beat Debbie Stabenow.

And his doing so was the best thing possible for her career, which proves how crazy politics can be.

Former Michigan Congressman and Democratic candidate for Governor Howard Wolpe died Tuesday night at the age of 71.

“Congressman Howard Wolpe was a champion for Michigan and one of the strongest Democrats I've ever known," said current Michigan Congressman Gary Peters (D-09) . "Howard was a true representative of the people and his legacy will never be forgotten. I'm deeply saddened to learn of his passing and my condolences go out to his family, friends and loved ones.”

Wolpe served in the Michigan Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House in 1978. For seven terms he represented Michigan’s Third District. Redrawn district boundaries prompted him to retire in 1992.

Wolpe also served as a diplomat in  the Clinton and Obama administrations.