Mark Hicks The Detroit News Published 11:32 PM EDT Sep 21, 2018 Whether seeking measures in the Michigan legislature or tending to struggling communities abroad, John Kelly worked to improve the lives of others. “He just wanted to help people,” said his wife, Nikki Williams. “It didn’t matter who you were.” Mr. Kelly died Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in Lake Orion. He was 69. The Detroit native’s most visible role was serving four terms in the Michigan Senate. Elected in 1978, the Democrat supported measures to help his hometown and was adamant about higher education, friends and relatives recall. That meant speaking up and reaching across the aisle. “When John got up on the floor of the Senate, people listened,” said Joe Schwarz, a former Republican state lawmaker who became a close friend. “He knew the issue and knew it well. He was trying to find a solution to a problem and not do a lecture.” Mr. Kelly’s efforts sometimes attracted attention. During a debate over a property-tax cut in 1991, he and colleague Gilbert J. DiNello got into a fistfight during debate on the Senate floor. The next year, Mr. Kelly received a certificate from the National Archives recognizing his role in ratifying the 27th Amendment, which made it more difficult for members of Congress to raise their own pay. While in the senate, Kelly also passed bills restructuring Wayne County’s government, had carjacking declared a crime with serious penalties and led the fight to make it easier to try juveniles… [Read full story]
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