AG Dana Nessel Remembers Michigan’s “Eternal General” Frank Kelley

Few people have shaped state government in Michigan the way that Frank Kelley did. He defined the role of state attorney general during his 37 years in that office. Voters entrusted him in that role over and over and over, handing him overwhelming re-election wins that seem almost unimaginable in state politics today. He was the longest-serving attorney general in American history.

“What’s interesting is not just the way that Frank Kelley transformed the office here in Michigan, but how he transformed the office of attorney general all across the nation.” — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel

In one of his last interviews, he joked, “I always said I’d run again when I was 100, but as I approach 100 I don’t I will.”

Sadly, Frank Kelley never made it to 100. He passed away over the weekend at age 96. His family said he died of natural causes. 

Listen: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and longtime Michigan political reporter Rick Pluta remember Frank Kelley.

Guests

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says Kelley’s impact on the way we think of a state attorney general’s office extends far beyond Michigan’s borders.

“What’s interesting is not just the way that Frank Kelley transformed the office here in Michigan, but how he transformed the office of attorney general all across the nation,” says Nessel.

She notes that the response to Kelley’s death has been universally laudatory. However, she points out that Republicans in state government likely wouldn’t be so complimentary to his policies and politics today.

“If he was an office now, I think those same Republicans now would be hating his actions and policies. He was a liberal,” she says, noting his commitment to issues of racial justice, environmental protection and others.

Rick Pluta is the senior state Capitol correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He says Kelley enjoyed his status as a legendary figure in state politics, and he says he used that status to elevate the issues he cared most about.

“He loved the celebrity that went along with being a statewide public official, but he used it to a productive effect,” says Pluta.