The
following history comes from The MCCEA: The First 25 Years, 1969-1994,
which was written by the MCCEA 25th Anniversary History Committee and published
by the MCCEA. Members of that committee included Nancy Tyler, Paul Rozycki, Grayce Scholt, Fred Cross and Leatha Terwilliger. Currently, a
new EA
History Committee is working on an oral history of our
MCCEA: An Emerging Political Force . . .
Though the
official birth of the political arm of the MCCEA was several years away, a
number of MCC faculty members were involved in the first campaign to elect an
independent board of trustees when MCC, then Flint Community Junior College,
became independent of the K-12 system and Flint in 1969.
With that independence came the selection of the
After that initial foray into
board politics, the official organization of a politically active group in the
union would wait until 1975. After a change in the MCCEA bylaws, the "EA
Public Affairs Council" was organized with Jim Hanley as chair. Other
members were Anna Bradley, Bill Bradley, Fred Cosway,
Earl Ferrell, Tessie Sharp and Dick Saunders. The activities of the Public
Affairs Council were financed through voluntary contributions of EA members.
In the years that followed,
the Public Affairs Council would become the MCCEA Ed-Pac and would be regularly
involved in political campaigns of concern to the college and its faculty, most
importantly the election for the MCC Board of Trustees.
Every two years the members of
the Ed-Pac interview the candidates running for the board, endorse those who
seem to embody the goals of the faculty and the college and work for their
election. For every board election, Ed-Pac worked the polls and Ellen Howe,
though a number of faculty supported Jesse Sirna. Bailey and Howe won. Sirna
finished third.
In 1979, Ed-Pac did not choose to endorse.
In 1981, with Guy Yeaster
as chair, Ed-Pac worked for the election of Kay Huber, Jesse Thompson and Frank
Goodroe. Huber and Thompson were elected.
In 1983, Jim Campbell served as chair, and
Ed-Pac again endorsed Archie Bailey and Ellen Howe. This time both won.
In 1983, the committee,
chaired by Paul Rozycki, endorsed Lenore Croudy and
Jerry O'Rourke. O'Rourke
won.
In 1987, in a campaign coordinated with
other area unions, James Bettendorf, Lenore Croudy
and Hal Keim received the group's support.
In 1989, Ed-Pac endorsed Bill Cavanaugh,
John Snell and Bill Walworth. All were elected.
In 1998, the endorsees were Jerry O'Rourke
and Ramona Sain. O'Rourke was elected to his second
term.
In 1993, with Rozycki still chairing the
committee, Ed-Pac endorsed Jim Bettendorf, Lenore Croudy
and Tom Donnellan.
Ed-Pac's activities have gone beyond the
MCC Board election. The group has worked for the college bond issues and has
kept in contact with other elected officials on matters of concern.
With the help of Ed-Pac, the