Clark Durant

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="044005a0exvipq.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Copperplate Gothic Bold" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eastside Republican Club"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B>  </B><B> </B></FONT><B>  | </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Copperplate Gothic Bold" ><B>Eastside Republican Club</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="erc_meeting_dates.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><B>Events</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="eastside_republican_review_summary.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ERC Review"><U><B>ERC Review</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="michigan_s_13th_district.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Congressional District News"><U><B>Congressional District News</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="civic___governmental_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="erc_officers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Clark Durant</B></div> <div> <A HREF="link_to_michigan_gop.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michigan Republicans"><U><B><IMG SRC="05358580.gif" border=0 width="88" height="88" ALT="Michigan GOP" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="michigan_s_13th_district.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Congressional District News"><U><I><B>Congressional District News</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="erc_testimonials.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What Theyre Saying About Us"><U><I><B>Read what they've said about us</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="erc_meeting_dates.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><B><IMG SRC="81b871f0.gif" border=0 width="135" height="31" ALT=">>Events" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="top_of_page"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <I><U>Offers Fresh Approach</U></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG SRC="1c8ab4210.jpg" border=0 width="180" height="289" ALT="Clark Durant" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="3"></B></FONT></div> <div> <B>Durant Promises to be Stabenow's Nightmare</B></div> <div> <B>With Campaign Focused on Constitutional Principles</B></div> <div> Confident, thoughtful, but determined. That was Pointer Clark Durant during his January 17 talk to the Eastside Republican Club Forum at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.</div> <div> With conviction and some hyperbole, Durant -- one of the leading candidates in the race to beat incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow -- proclaimed, “I will be able to penetrate the territory of my opponent, and have people voting Republican who haven't voted Republican since Abraham Lincoln!”</div> <div> Pointing to what's “broken,” such as out-of-control entitlements, crony capitalism, and lack of respect for the U.S. Constitution, Durant explained, “My life has been taking things that are broken and finding ways to make them work.”</div> <div> He ticked off examples, including his work in improving the education of Detroit students at Cornerstone Schools, putting the subsidized Ann Arbor Railroad into private hands and then onto the tax roles, and his stint as chairman of the board for the federal Legal Services Corporation.</div> <div> Durant cited example after example of points distinguishing him from other candidates, and then added a clincher, “I have the resources to wage a tough campaign.”</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="402" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 294 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c7f90200.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="288" ALT="Clark Durant, right, with local Republicans at January 17, 2012, ERC Forum" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 335 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c8190490.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="329" ALT="Clark Durant takes audience questions during January 17, 2012, Forum" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 428 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c8390a60.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="422" ALT="Clark Durant, seated, poses with friends after January 17, 2012, Forum" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> “I am Debbie Stabenow's worst nightmare,” he said. <A NAME="three_reasons"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> He explained that everywhere he goes, people ask one question, “Why are you doing this?” Durant offered three reasons.</div> <div> <I><B>Fix What's Broken</B></I></div> <div> “First, I love my country and my country is in trouble,” he said.</div> <div> Durant recounted an August 2011 discussion he had with his son, John.</div> <div> He told the ERC, "He pointed a finger at me, and said my generation, both Republicans and Democrats, have put our country at risk. He said it was a 30-to 40-year problem of being irresponsible.”</div> <div> “Dad, you've always taught us that when you break something, you have to fix it,” John told his dad.</div> <div> Then the clincher, “Well, Dad, it's broken.”</div> <div> “That's when my family and I agreed it was time to help fix the problem," said Durant.</div> <div> <I><B>Commitment to Founding Ideals</B></I></div> <div> Offering his second reason, Durant said, “If I'm honored by being elected a U.S. Senator, the dialogue going on will affect our country for a generation.”</div> <div> He sees his campaign as a movement committed to a second American Revolution to restore freedom and constitutional government.</div> <div> “I want to be part of that debate,” he said.</div> <div> “Our country was founded on an idea-not on geography, religion, or conquest.”</div> <div> Durant then offered an historical perspective, saying, “Only four times in our history have we faced such a crossroads.”</div> <div> He pointed to the 1800 inauguration of Thomas Jefferson who sharpened the lines between responsibilities of the States and the concept of federalism.</div> <div> Durant said that in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln, voters decided whether to continue to be half slave and half free.”</div> <div> In 1932, the Roosevelt New Deal expanded the federal government and the “reach” of the Constitution's commerce clause.</div> <div> Finally, in 1980 Ronald Reagan ushered in a worldview fundamentally different from his predecessors.</div> <div> Bringing it to 2012, Durant said, “No election is more important in our lifetime than this one.”</div> <div> <I><B>Offer a Choice</B></I></div> <div> Durant said the third reason he is seeking the Senate seat is to offer a choice.</div> <div> Further touting his candidacy he noted, “Spending and debt are out of control.” Yet, he said his chief opponent for the nomination voted to increase the debt ceiling time after time, just like Sen. Stabenow.</div> <div> Because Sen. Stabenow voted against the Wall Street bailout -- a position shared by many in the grass roots -- and Pete Hoekstra voted for it, should he be the nominee Stabenow could position herself to the right of Hoekstra on this in the General Election.</div> <div> According to Durant, the sum of federal entitlements exceeds the combined equity of all U.S. companies, both private and public. “Madness,” he called it.</div> <div> Yet, he noted, Hoekstra voted for the biggest entitlement of our lifetime, Medicare Part D, while Stabenow voted against it.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="305" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 329 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c852c430.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="323" ALT="Clark Durant has a conversation with the audience during January 17, 2012, Forum" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 252 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c872cf60.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="246" ALT="Overflow crowd spills into next room for Clark Durant at January 17, 2012, Forum at War Memorial" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 359 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c892c610.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="353" ALT="Marie Hackleman greets Clark Durant at January 17, 2012, Forum in Grosse Pointe Farms" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Durant said this voting record would present a handicap for any Republican campaigning to replace Stabenow.</div> <div> Co-founder of Detroit's Cornerstone Schools, Durant concluded by answering questions from the audience. He commented, over regulation should be rolled back as the federal government must trust people to have more control over their own lives.</div> <div> He pledged a fight to repeal the “Patient Affordable Care Act,” also known as ObamaCare. With respect to energy, Durant said that instead of importing, “We should export energy.” <I>>></I><A HREF="http://www.clarkdurant.com/home/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.clarkdurant.com/home/"><U><I>Learn more</I></U></A>.</div> <div> <I><B>Durant's Roots</B></I></div> <div> Now a local attorney and Farms resident, Durant was born in Detroit in 1949 and attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he studied economics, graduating in 1971.</div> <div> To earn extra money while attending university, he started two businesses: a coupon book offering local deals, and a cake delivery service for mothers who wanted to surprise their kids with a birthday cake.</div> <div> At Tulane, Durant was enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. When President Nixon instituted the draft in 1970, Durant received a high draft number, yet remained in ROTC and graduated as an Army Second Lieutenant. After active duty service at Fort Eustis, Virginia, he was honorably discharged as a Captain and served in the Army Reserves.</div> <div> <I><B>Hillsdale College </B></I></div> <div> Durant returned to Michigan where he served as assistant to the president of Hillsdale College, and then as the college vice president. While in Hillsdale, Durant helped launch <I>Imprimis</I>, a free monthly publication of the college.</div> <div> Durant also served as the first director of Hillsdale's Center for Constructive Alternatives and established the college's Washington, D.C., intern program.</div> <div> <I><B>Business and Law Background</B></I></div> <div> Durant later attended Notre Dame University law school. While there, he taught an undergraduate course, and in 1976 he received his J.D. and was admitted to the Michigan bar.</div> <div> His first six years as an attorney were spent defending low-income people in a variety of civil and criminal matters.</div> <div> In 1983, Durant was named bankruptcy trustee for the Ann Arbor Railroad, a state-owned, state-subsidized venture with approximately $100 million in debt and claims. He served until 1988, after the state-owned railroad had become a profitable, private-sector enterprise.</div> <div> <I><B>Reagan Administration Service</B></I></div> <div> Durant represented Michigan on the 1984 Republican National Committee platform committee, helping to draft the party platform on which President Reagan won his landslide re-election.</div> <div> He was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the board of the Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal aid to low-income Americans. He served as its chairman from 1984 to 1988.</div> <div> <I><B>Challenging Congress</B></I></div> <div> During his four-year tenure as Legal Services chairman, Durant never requested a budget increase for the agency, challenging Congress to focus funds elsewhere. The day after Durant's testimony, one Senator remarked, “You go back and tell Clark Durant to shut up and to spend the money like everybody else.”</div> <div> As chairman, Durant was invited to give a speech at an American Bar Association past presidents meeting. He emphasized that the greatest barrier to justice for the poor was the monopoly exercised by the U.S. legal profession. The ABA president unsuccessfully called for Durant's resignation as Legal Services chairman.</div> <div> In 1990, Durant ran for U.S. Senate in Michigan's Republican primary, losing to current Attorney General, Bill Schuette. Although a closely contested race, they now are close friends.</div> <div> <I><B>Cornerstone Schools</B></I></div> <div> In 1991, Durant co-founded the Cornerstone Schools with Adam Cardinal Maida and other civic leaders as an independent, inner city school in Detroit. He served as chairman of the board until 2003, and as CEO from 2003 to 2009. He helped establish Cornerstone charter schools in 2009 to increase access to a Cornerstone education in Detroit.</div> <div> In 1994, Durant was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education, and served as its president. The board drew criticism in 1995 when it passed by a seven-to-one vote a controversial <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.clarkdurant.com/mission-statement-from-the-mi-state-board-of-education/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.clarkdurant.com/mission-state"><U><U>mission statement</U></U></A></FONT>, which included religious language, some of it directly quoting the Northwest Ordinance and Michigan Constitution. Four years later, Durant left the board to focus on Cornerstone.</div> <div> Durant has been a member of various educational boards and organizations throughout Michigan. For his work in education, the <I>Detroit News</I> named Durant a “Michiganian of the Year” in 1995.</div> <div> In 2004, Durant worked with Red Poling, former Ford CEO, to co-host the Arnold Palmer Turning Point Invitational golf event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Palmer's victory in the U.S. Amateur at the Country Club of Detroit. The event raised over $6 million dollars in revenue, with proceeds benefiting Cornerstone Schools and other charities.</div> <div> <I><B>Personal Life</B></I></div> <div> While working on Cornerstone, Durant continued his private law practice, and from 1997 to 2001, was director of the Private Management Group at Munder Capital, a Bloomfield Hills investment firm.</div> <div> Durant has been married to his wife, Susan, for more than 30 years. They have four children and two grandchildren.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>~ ~ ~</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.hoekstraforsenate.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hoekstraforsenate.com/"><U>Pete Hoekstra</U></A>, another contender for the GOP nomination to oppose incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow in the November 2012 General Election, spoke to the club in <A HREF="hoekstra196.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pete Hoekstra"><U>November 2011</U></A>.</div> <div> The club will host former Kent County Judge <A HREF="http://randyhekman2012.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://randyhekman2012.com/"><U>Randy Hekman</U></A> at its <A HREF="hekman.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Randy Hekman"><U>February 21 Forum</U></A>.</div> <div> In addition to Hoekstra, Durant, and Hekman, other announced candidates in the Republican primary are <A HREF="http://garyglenn.us/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://garyglenn.us/"><U>Gary Glenn</U></A> of Midland, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, <A HREF="http://www.peterkonetchy.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.peterkonetchy.com/"><U>Peter Konetchy</U></A>, Roscommon businessman, <A HREF="http://www.boman12.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.boman12.org/"><U>Scotty Boman</U></A>, educator and Detroit libertarian activist, and <A HREF="http://www.chuckmarino.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chuckmarino.com/"><U>Chuck Marino</U></A>, Brighton businessman.</div> <div> The Eastside Republican Club Forum is normally held on the third Tuesday of the month from September through June. Admission is free and the public is always welcome.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top_of_page" TITLE="Clark Durant"><U>back to top</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>