Now to reflect on some good news: The Michigan Legislature did accomplish two big things this year:

The first was passage of the Great Lakes Compact, which paved the way for President George W. Bush to sign into federal law this extremely important measure, which protects the Great Lakes from any unreasonable and dangerous withdrawal of its water.

The second was the adoption last month of far-reaching energy bills that set a renewable energy goal of 10 percent by 2015, defined a stable market to encourage utilities to build more power plants and encouraged consumer energy efficiency plans.

Both had to do with complicated yet very important topics. Both involved intense negotiations among interest groups and legislators. And in both cases, the outcome reassuringly provided evidence that our lawmakers are capable of taking timely action when essential. Interestingly, one woman was at the center of both: Sen. Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck), a soft-voiced, 64-year-old former speech pathologist and local government official now in her last term as a state senator representing Allegan, Eaton and Berry counties.

She gets my nomination for Michigan Political Heroine of the Year -- and I'm not alone in this.

Listen to Paul Hillegonds, former Speaker of the House, now senior vice president of corporate affairs at DTE Energy, and as close to a legislative legend as you’ll find around Lansing: "She ran for office for the right reasons – her interest in good government and in conservation. She’s proven her commitment to the state by her continued focus on good policy. She does her homework, has a terrific staff, and works overtime to resolve very complicated issues."

Listen to a deeply experienced Lansing lobbyist who prefers to remain anonymous: "Her credibility transcends the political parties. She has always put the interests of the state ahead of her partisan stands. She has the patience of Job. She is the most civil person I’ve worked with in state government since Paul Hillegonds. I cannot think of anybody more effective on any issue than Patti over the past five years."

My goodness!

When I talked with Senator Birkholz about all this, she seemed a bit taken aback when I asked her what's behind her success.

"Well, my mother always told me we’re all God’s children, so we should treat all people the same, whether or not we agree with them, even if they don’t like us. You always treat them with dignity."

Her resume is sterling. She's the chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Committee. When in the House of Representatives, she chaired the Local Government and Urban Policy Committee and was elected by her colleagues as Speaker Pro-Tempore, which made her the highest-ranking Republican woman in the history of the Michigan House.

She credits her effectiveness in the legislature to her years on local government, where she was Saugatuck Township Treasurer and Allegan County Treasurer. "I served for a long time in local government, and that really helps," she told me. "You see people in their own communities all the time; you’re right in their midst, at the post office or the hardware store or the fire station. If you know your community and do a good job, they’ll want to support you."

Although lots of people have fun these days dumping on state lawmakers, the fact is that if you do it right, it's a hard job, filled with pressure and very long hours. "I figure I work 65-70 hours a week when the legislature is in session," she explains. "When I introduced the energy bill into the Senate, it was nine pages long. By the time we got finished, it was 102 pages, and each one required concentrated study, and word-by-word negotiation."

Patty Birkholz is a staunch Republican, but the source of her power is the ability to work across party lines. "Obviously, we all have our partisan positions. And obviously, you don’t want to give up your values. But we all have to work together to do what’s best for Michigan, find common ground," she explains.

She spent hours negotiating the Great Lakes Compact with her House counterpart, Ann Arbor Democrat Rebecca Warren. Birkholz headed the Senate delegation to the conference committee that hashed out the energy bills.

Being effective as a legislator is made much harder these days by term limits, which restrict state senate members to two four-year terms and representatives to three two-year terms. In a term-limited legislature, people don't have the time to get to know other legislators on either side of the aisle as true colleagues. In this environment, it’s all too easy to focus on the next election, on scoring political points.

"But that’s a mistake," Birkholz said.

Her mantra: "Good policy makes good politics, and good politics makes good policy."

We'd be better off with many, many more like Patty Birkholz in our legislature. After she leaves the legislature in January 2011 – thanks to term limits – she could set up shop teaching new legislators how to get their jobs done, and how to do so with patience, integrity, collaboration and concern for all Michigan's citizens.
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Editor’s Note: Former newspaper publisher and University of Michigan Regent Phil Power is a longtime observer of Michigan politics and economics, and a former chairman of the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is also the founder and president of The Center for Michigan, a centrist think-and-do tank which publishes the Michigan Scorecard. The opinions expressed here are Power’s own and do not represent the official views of The Center. He welcomes your comments at ppower@thecenterformichigan.net.