The Nature Of The Relationship

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ne year ago, when the gov-
ernor spoke at the Jewish
Community Council's an-
nual meeting, he said: "I
would like to emphasize how im-
portant it is to me that the posi-
tive relationship between my ad-
ministration and the Jewish
community continue to grow and
flourish."
Today, as the governor begins
to wrap up his term, it may be a
good time to ask if the relation-
ship between Gov. Engler and the
Jewish community has "grown
and flourished."
The governor says it has.
"The relationship has deep-
ened and developed into one of
mutual understanding and co-
operation in solving Michigan's
problems," he said in a recent in-
terview. "I've seen significant in-
volvement among the Jewish
community in so many of our
challenges. My understanding of
the community and its issues has

also increased. The Jewish com-
munity has a strong social con-
science and looks to improve con-
ditions for those who are less
fortunate. The community is
prominent in terms of business
activities and maintains a strong
commitment to education."
One of Gov. Engler's commit-
ments to Michigan's Jews in-
cluded establishing a bilateral
trade team that would boost
trade between Michigan and Is-
rael. He announced those inten-
tions during last year's JCCoun-
cil appearance.
Last summer, the governor
said the team would be estab-
lished soon. During an interview
last month, he said, "M I know
is the existence of it (the trade
team)."
However, at the time, his staff
was still in the process of finding
people to help accelerate Michi-
gan and Israel trade ties. On
Monday, the governor appointed

Peter Alter, James Safran,
Michael Stein, Michael Traison
and Elizabeth Williamson.
The governor, who sent his top-
level staff members to participate
in a JCCouncil-sponsored trip to
Israel, recently joined a group of
U.S. governors and movie direc-
tor Steven Spielberg in giving
11th- and 12th-grade students
the opportunity to see Schindler's
List at no cost. The program also
provides teachers with optional
study guides on the Holocaust.
Gov. Engler said he is not in
favor of implementing a man-
datory Holocaust curriculum be-
cause he feels mandat-
ing what educators teach would
"strip away local control."
Jewish reaction toward the
governor is mixed. But those who
have discussed the needs of the
Jewish community with him say
he has definitely made the effort.
"The last few years have been
a period of getting acquainted,"

said David Gad-Harf,
executive director of
the Jewish Commu-
nity Council. "While
the Jewish commu-
nity has a fuller un-
derstanding of him,
their opinions have
gone in two opposing
directions. There are
those who are strong-
ly opposed to him. On
the other hand, he
has taken steps that
are appealing to some
segments of the Jew-
ish community."
"I think he has a
fairly good grasp of
what the community
is about," added Den-
nis Muchmore, a
Lansing-based lobby-
ist for the Jewish
Federation of Metro-
politan Detroit and
other area Jewish
agencies. "I don't Gov. John Engler
think he has a sub-
stantial inroad, but the Jewish a good job finding common
community and he have don ground."

People In Politics

Gubernatorial candidates Howard Wolpe, Larry Owen, Debbie Stabenow and Lynn Jondahl.

Candidate Forum Season

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ithin the next two
months, until the Aug.
2 primary, voters can
expect to be bombarded
with pamphlets and political
messages. Welcome to another
season of partisan campaigning.
The campaign season also
means candidate forums. So far
the Jewish community has been
involved with three.
On June 8, the Maple/Drake
Jewish Community Center be-
gan hosting a series of political
discussions featuring candidates
running for U.S. Senate.
The first speaker in the Deci-
sion '94 series was Democratic
candidate William Brodhead.

Democrat Carl Marlinga will ap-
pear June 15 and Republican
Ronna Romney is slated for June
22.
The following week, on June
29, the Center will host a panel
discussion with Democrats John
Kelly and Joel Ferguson. Spencer
Abraham, the other Republican
candidate, will make his appear-
ance on July 6 and Lana Pollack
on July 13. Bob Carr will com-
plete the series on July 20.
All candidates will speak be-
ginning at 7 p.m.
On June 20, George Cantor,
a Detroit News columnist, will
moderate a U.S. Senate Candi-
dates Forum beginning at 7:15

p.m. at Adat Shalom Synagogue.
The event is sponsored by eight
Jewish organizations.
The Southfield/Lathrup Mul-
ticultural Coalition hosted De-
mocratic candidates Howard
Wolpe, Debbie Stabenow, Lynn
Jondahl and Larry Owen, along
with a representative from Gov.
Engler's office, during a May 19
gubernatorial candidates forum.
Crime, education, and welfare
were among the issues discussed.
But, typical of when candidates
come together, a few cheap shots
were taken and some voters said
they still do not have a clear
picture of who they will support.

W

Namara's campaign when he ran
for Wayne County executive, is
now responsible for supervising
a staff of 30.
"The most challenging aspect
of my job is building coalitions,"
he said. "It is tough when people
have different interests and pri-
orities. Getting the county board,
the mayors and school leaders to
agree on something can be diffi-
cult.
"What's rewarding- is to see the
fruits of your labor. We are work-
ing hard to modernize Metro Air-
port. Ws kind of neat to see all the
things we've worked on there."
Mr. Katz said he has no in-
tention of running for office and
once his boss leaves he will find
something else to do.

W

aina Stein, a junior at
Berkley High School, was
one of a handful of Michi-
gan students selected to at-
tend the National Press Club's
Washington National Journal-
ism Conference last month.
Ms. Stein, who edits and start-
ed the newspaper at her school,
said she learned practical jour-
nalistic techniques, toured tele-
vision stations and met with po-
litical and media figures. 111

est Bloomfield resident
Rochelle Sable is a
close relative of the vice
president — the vice
president of Costa Rica, that is.
In May, her niece, Rebecca
Grynspan, 38, was sworn in as
one of two vice presidents of the
republic. Ms. Grynspan is one of
a handful of Jews elected to office
there. Her husband, Saul
Weisleder, was elected to the Cos-
ta Rican Congress.
Mrs. Sable, whose family left
Germany for Costa Rica after
World War II, said her brother's
daughter was an economist and
worked for the government be-
fore being elected to office. Mrs.
Sable also said Ms. Grynspan has
visited her in Michigan on a few
occasions.
hen Wayne County Ex-
ecutive Ed McNamara
needed a chief of staff
he knew exactly who to
appoint — his former adminis-
trative assistant and later assis-
tant county executive David
Katz.
Mr. Katz, a Livonia native, be-
gan working for Mr. McNama-
ra when the county executive was
mayor of Livonia. Mr. Katz, 35,
who was a volunteer in Mr. Mc-

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