[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6454]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF RICHARD A. AUSTIN TO THE STATE OF 
                                MICHIGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of the finest 
public servants the state of Michigan has ever known. This past Friday, 
my dear friend Richard Austin passed away. Richard was a man of 
elegance, grace, dignity, honor, compassion and great intellect. The 
citizens of Michigan have suffered a tremendous loss.
  Richard was Michigan's longest serving Secretary of State, having 
diligently served Michiganders for nearly two and a half decades, from 
1970 to 1994. He was a pioneer in many areas, from breaking the color 
barrier by being the first African-American to hold statewide office to 
his numerous original innovations while serving as Secretary of State. 
He was a model public servant, the embodiment of dedication, service, 
commitment and trust.
  At a time when citizens' faith in our institutions was low, he made 
the public sector work, and in doing so, gave government a good name. 
Austin's reforms and innovations during his long service saved the 
people of Michigan time and money, earning him a reputation as a friend 
to the taxpayer. More importantly, he streamlined state services and 
eliminated red tape.
  Before Austin's reforms, renewing your driver's license or getting 
new tags for your license plates could be an all day affair replete 
with frustrations and long lines. Richard understood those frustrations 
and worked to make government work for the average citizen, to 
eliminate the hassles, duplication and inefficiency that are so often 
associated with state services.
  That commitment to protecting the taxpayer and serving public 
interest came from his training as an accountant. Before being elected 
as Secretary of State, Richard was Michigan's first African-American 
CPA. Richard was fiscally conservative and treated the taxpayers' money 
as if it were his own. Indeed, the reforms and innovations he 
implemented saved the state and the taxpayers of Michigan hundreds of 
thousands of dollars.
  But one achievement of Richard Austin's outshines all others, 
including his money-saving reforms, and that is the creation of the 
``Motor Voter'' law.
  Voter registration was near and dear to Austin's heart, and he 
considered it to be the most important function of his office. His 
passion grew out of his association with the civil rights movement and 
the long struggle for voting rights that he witnessed and that was a 
part of his being.
  Richard was raised in Alabama and experienced the ugly face of 
racism, disenfranchisement and bigotry first hand. In Michigan, he 
battled the subtle racism and prejudice of the North. But Richard did 
not let the forces of hate or intolerance deter him. He persevered, he 
broke down walls and ultimately overcame, becoming the first African 
American to hold statewide office in Michigan.
  When Richard was sworn in, voter registration was at the top of his 
agenda. In his mind were the memories of the lives lost during the 
Freedom Rides and the voter registration activities in the South and 
Mississippi. He remembered the black Americans who fought and died for 
the right to cast a ballot.
  Richard Austin knew the disenfranchisement and intimidation that for 
so long was a part of our history. And thus did Austin appreciate and 
understand the importance of the vote, and how precious it is. That it 
is the foundation of our democracy, that ``one man, one vote'' is the 
cornerstone of American freedom, that every man and woman was equal 
inside the voting booth and that liberty, freedom and justice are 
predicated on access to the ballot box.
  Richard thought long and hard about how to eliminate barriers to 
democratic participation, how to make it easier to vote, and how to 
encourage and increase voter registration. Austin's solution was the 
Motor Voter Act. Motor Voter was Austin's brainchild, and it was a very 
simple concept: register voters in the same office where you register 
drivers. Austin championed the idea and saw it signed into law in 
Michigan in 1975.
  To his continuing credit, Michigan's experiment was so successful, it 
served as the model for the federal government when it passed the 
nationwide act in 1993--a full 18 years after Michigan. It is an 
association, an accomplishment and a legacy that has bettered this 
great nation, and it is a fitting tribute to one of Michigan's finest 
public servants.
  Richard is in a better place now. He is survived by his wife of 61 
years, Ida, and their daughter. He will be sorely missed by all. Good 
bye Richard and God Bless you.

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