Doug Spade (born February 11, 1951) is a

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

politician and radio personality.

Early life

Spade was born on February 11, 1951.

Education

Spade attended the

Michigan School for the Blind The Michigan School for the Blind (MSB) was a state-operated school for blind children in Michigan. Its former academic campus is at 715 W. Willow Street in Lansing, Michigan, and is now The Abigail, a senior apartment complex. The building was l ...

for four years. Spade graduated from Camden-Frontier High School before moving to his current residence,

Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 7th congressional district. History Adrian was founded on June 18, 1826 by Addison ...

, where he graduated from

Adrian College Adrian College is a private liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40 km2) campus contains newly constructed facilities along with historic buildi ...

Career

Spade hosted the WLEN Radio talk show ''Party Line'' for 25 years. On November 3, 1998, Spade became the second blind person to be elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

, where he represented the 57th district. He served in this position from January 13, 1999, to 2004. Spade was succeeded by his brother,

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Spade was the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee for the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

's 17th district, but was defeated by his

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

opponent. Spade was nominated by the Democratic Party in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

for the Michigan Senate's 16th district, but was again defeated.

Personal life

Spade is married to JoAnn. Spade has had multiple Leader Dogs. During his time in the legislature, Spade's Leader Dog was named Toby. Toby was the first seeing eye dog used by a member of the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

. Spade's most recent Leader Dog is Lucky.

References

Living people 1951 births Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Adrian College alumni American politicians with disabilities American blind people Blind politicians Radio personalities from Michigan 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians {{Michigan-politician-stub