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A special evening with:
Kate Wenner
author, ``51.1-in. 5._ 'Fime
pact
2/22
2002
16
prooiver of 2.0/2.0
March 12, 2002
7:30 PM
at Temple Israel
Cover Story
Andrea Fischer Newman meets with Governor Engler, right, and Jim Greenwald,
vice president of Facilities and Airport Affairs, Northwest Airlines.
whom to call," she said.
"I have a lot of old friends who are
back at the White House, such as
Andy Card, the former secretary of
transportation, who is now the presi-
dent's chief of staff," she said.
But Newman's success is based on
her ability to build bipartisan support,
as she did in helping to obtain more
than $50 million in federal funding
for the airport project through the
efforts of senior congressional
Democrats, such as U.S. Rep. John D.
Dingell, D-Dearborn.
However, no one could have pre-
dicted the challenges she would be fac-
ing after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
on America.
"Sept. 11 impacted all of us,
Newman .said, "but especially those in
the airline industry." As Northwest's
top lobbyist, her focus became the Air
Transportation Safety and System
Stabilization Act. Congress enacted the
legislation by the end of September to
provide aviation disaster relief.
"I worked long and hard on that
one and then on the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act [guide-
lines on searching for explosives, bag-
gage checks, etc.]. Fortunately, it did-
n't have any impact upon the midfield
project as the funding was already in
place. Midfield had all it needed and
was compliant under the act,"
Newman said.
Newman "never anticipated being a
lobbyist. I went to law school and I
wanted to be a real lawyer. I guess I
still consider myself a lawyer, but I've
definitely been more involved in the
public policy side as an advocate, as
opposed to the straight legal side. And
adding in the federal portfolio has
been a lot of fun. It's a lot more work
because there are a lot of people that
are involved in airline issues."
Newman works with a staff of 11 in
Northwest's Washington office. She
meets regularly with members of
Congress and regulatory agencies. "I
guess it's not really lobbying," she said.
"A lot of it is educating, working to
explain what Northwest is all about,
what we're doing either to correct a
problem or to make a difference."
When she is working in Detroit, she
spends most of her time coordinating
with the airport, the state, the county,
the mayor. I get involved in a fair
amount of community issues ... The
reason it works that way is because
although this is Northwest's largest
operation, we don't have a headquar-
ters staff here. I'm sort of the catchall.
If something doesn't fall somewhere
neatly, it can fall in my lap."
At one point last year, Newman was
flying between Detroit, San Francisco
and Washington on a weekly basis.
Her husband, Frank Newman, left his
job as an executive with Eckerd Drugs
in Florida to take over an Internet
company in San Francisco. He sold it
in November 2000 before the
"dot.com " collapse. He's currently
writing a book and doing some con-
sulting. The couple have two children,
Lauren, 15, and 5-year-old David.
Despite her political connections,
Newman has no political aspirations
"other than staying where I am on the
University of Michigan Board of
Regents." She was elected in 1994.
"That, to me is perfect. I love being
involved in the politics, but more
important than that, I really enjoy
higher education."
It was through working on a 1987
fund-raiser with Max Fisher that