Words and Actions
The Writings Of Dick VanderVeen
by
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Throughout his tenure, Dick enjoyed observing the institution of Congress—its procedures, traditions, and the characters who peopled it. His promotion to Ways and Means was capped off with a glimpse behind the curtain of the powerful.
N.d. [1992?], “My View of Congress”
Following the election, I was summoned to meet with the chairman [Wilbur Mills]. The meeting was in H-212, a Ways and Means subcommittee room just off the House floor. In the tradition of the Capitol building, H-212 is ornate. It is filled by a conference table seating about twenty. A horde of newsmen buzzed around outside the door. The chairman was seated at one end of the long conference table, its surface outshining even the brass spittoons in the corners. The chairman, as ever, was gracious.
I had difficulty keeping out of my mind the recent news about the chairman and Fanne Foxe. Fanne was known as a local “entertainer.” Wilbur had been discovered early one morning in the company of Fanne, enjoying a reflecting pool near the Capitol.
I was seated and the chairman and I were enjoying some pleasantries. There was a slight rustle behind me. I turned and was surprised to see a rather elderly lady enter the room from the side door. “Meet my wife, Polly. Mrs. Mills, Mr. VanderVeen.”
When Mrs. Mills began to leave, the chairman said: “Sit down, Polly. No need to leave.” Throughout the rest of our meeting, Mrs. Mills sat slightly to my right and behind me, reading the newspaper.
In view of the recent news, one could agree that Mrs. Mills would be well advised to keep her eye on Wilbur, but this, I thought, was a little tight.
Dick made some of his best congressional friends on this committee. One was Otis Pike.
N.d. [1992?], “My View of Congress”
I mentioned that Otis Pike from Long Island in New York had been elected to Ways and Means in the same Special Caucus at which I was elected. Otis had been in Congress fourteen years. I had been a member for eight months.
Soon after the Special Caucus, I was seated one day on the House floor. Otis sat down beside me. Pleasantly, he said: “You recognize who will be senior on the committee between us two, I’m sure.” I was taken aback, not having thought about it, really. “Why I guess you would be,” I said. “You bet your sweet bipee,” growled Otis.
I got to like Otis. He wrote the copy for a newsletter that went out to his constituents at two-week intervals. They were funny and cleverly written. Copies circulated among
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About the Book
In 1974 Dick VanderVeen made national news when he became the first Democrat from Grand Rapids elected to Congress in 60 years. His campaign calling for President Nixon’s resignation had turned the race into a referendum on Watergate, and the victory was a historical turning point in that national drama. From his journals: “What was happening in our special election became political news all around the country. In the last days of the campaign reporters and TV crews from Washington, New York and around the world began to appear. Marion fed a BBC television crew in the kitchen on Edgemere. Mary McGrory, Jack Germond, NBC, CBS and ABC appeared. . . .” From Newsweek, following the election upset: “Worst of all for the president was the damage done his reduced base of support by the Grand Rapids returns—the second straight GOP defeat in a run of five special congressional elections this winter and spring. The first, in Pennsylvania two weeks earlier, was widely termed too ambiguous to read, since the margin was only 400 votes and Watergate was not overtly an issue. “But Democrat Richard F. VanderVeen’s convincing victory in a district that never gave Ford less than 60 per cent of the vote occasioned no such bewilderment; he made the election a referendum on whether Mr. Nixon should stay or go, and the answer, by 51 to 44 per cent, was go.”
About the Author
Richard F. VanderVeen was the U.S. Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district from 1974 to 1976 and served on the House of Representative’s powerful Ways and Means Committee. He was a leading citizen of Grand Rapids, the founder and president of the law firm VanderVeen, Freihofer & Cook, and a prominent member of the state Democratic Party.
In the early 1960s he helped to establish Grand Valley State University and secure the broadcasting license for TV Channel 13. He was appointed by Governors Williams, Romney, and Blanchard to state Mental Health, Highway, and Waterways commissions. In the 1990s he founded and chaired the Ryerson Library Foundation, which spearheaded the $31.5 million renovation of the Grand Rapids Public Library completed in 2003.
Dick VanderVeen’s journals reflect a troubled period in our history, when the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War contributed to a climate of public disenchantment and cynicism. He saw his 1974 Special Election victory as an affirmation of the democratic process, “a triumph for young people,” he called it, “who could see that it was possible to accomplish great things within the political process.” His election—as a Democrat in a solidly Republican district—was read in Washington as a sign of the widespread erosion of support for President Nixon, and it contributed to Nixon’s resignation six months later.
A World War II veteran, amateur sailor, and rare book collector, Dick VanderVeen used his journals to explore questions about faith, culture, education, and America, personal questions, for him, about how a man can make a genuine contribution to the life of his neighbors, his country, and his time.