EDITORIAL: 20 Years After John Chafee’s Death — We Miss His Vision and Leadership the Most
Thursday, October 24, 2019
John Chafee died 20 years ago today.
The combat Marine in two wars, former state legislator, Governor, Secretary of the Navy, and United States Senator built a resume that matched almost anyone in American history.
To have known Chafee was to have known his sense of fair play and commitment to public service -- and he was relentless on both points.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAt his funeral, his eldest son Zech Chafee said his father could be defined by “cyclonic energy and political courage.”
The author James Brady, who served under Chafee in the Korean War, wrote about Chafee two years before his death when conservative Republicans were circling around him:
“The right-wing attacks on Chafee by 1994 became so ferocious, both in the Senate and back home where he was running for re-election, that Senate Republican whip Alan Simpson defended the Rhode Islander: "You don't want to spend any time trying to detonate John Chafee. He has too many friends here." And a Democrat, Bob Kerrey, warned, "They'll have to put a new party together if Chafee is described as unprincipled."
What made Chafee extraordinary was his vision in his leadership — in so many cases, he was leading years decades before others — Democrats or Republicans.
And he truly led.
“He commanded a rifle company of the 7th Marines and we were fighting the North Koreans and he took scared kids like me and worked us in with the hard men of the company who had fought for and taken this same ridgeline in September. The men of Dog Company idolized Chafee. He was good, he was tough, he was fair, he was cool. And though we lived in filth and never washed or changed clothes, he was almost elegant. That, too, impresses Marines,” added Brady.
Chafee talked about, held hearings and championed efforts to address global warming and coastal sea rise -- in the 1980s. He supported women’s rights, parental leave, gay and lesbian rights -- more than 30 years ago. These were foreign thoughts for most Republicans and Democrats.
He took on social issues of equity years before others. As Governor in the mid-1960s, he bucked Democrats and Republicans to push through fair housing legislation.
In the 1980s, Chafee led the fight against the efforts of President Ronald Reagan’s administration to roll back critical environmental standards. It was Chafee who championed the effort to preserve and strengthen the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.
Nearly every major public health and environmental regulatory framework that makes the country's -- and Rhode Island's -- waters clean, swimmable and fishable, and air breathable, were a direct result of Chafee.
In Rhode Island, many of the beaches and parks were created under Chafee’s leadership. Pick your favorite spot in Rhode Island, Chafee probably helped preserve it or create it.
As Governor, he pushed the state forward creating one of the nation’s boldest environmental programs — the “Green Acres” program.
He was driven, relentless and focused. He got things done. His legacy can be seen by the Newport Bridge built under his leadership as Governor and the Jamestown Bridge constructed through his effort to secure the funding as Senator.
He was dogged about providing access to the environment.
When federal and state transportation officials told him that regulations would not allow travelers on the then-proposed Jamestown Bridge to see through the railings while traveling, he demanded they redesign it so travelers could see Narragansett Bay. A small detail that has created a million memories.
Now, 20 years later the legacy lives on, but maybe the biggest void is his leadership, decency, and vision. Is anyone ready to step up?
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- EDITORIAL: 20 Years After John Chafee’s Death — We Miss His Vision and Leadership the Most
