Legislative Spotlight:
Rep. Morris Hood III
Capital Outlay Chair Talks Life, Politics, and Pray-Harrold
| |
Morris
Hood III
|
Little did he know at the time but the life lessons Morris Hood III learned laboring on
an assembly line would serve him well later in life as chairman of one of the Legislature’s
most powerful subcommittees. Simply put; there is no substitute in life for hard work,
creativeness, and positive attitude, whether assembling a vehicle or piecing together a legislative
compromise.
Having no seniority when he first began his career at Ford Motor Company, a young Morris
Hood filled in where needed on the Dearborn engine plant floor. But he soon grew
tired of never knowing from day-to-day what he would be doing or where he would be stationed.
That is when he and another coworker concocted an ingenious plan. They would create
a role for themselves by volunteering for a job no one else wanted.
The chore they selected involved physically ramming pistons into an engine block. “That
was one of the worst jobs in the building,” says Hood. “No one wanted to
do that job. But we just wanted stability.”
The task called for one of the pair to take a T-shaped tool and slam the piston into the
engine block while a partner held the receiving end firmly into place. Hood punches
the air furiously to illustrate the physicality of the job.
The strain placed on their arms and shoulders forced the pair to trade places every 30 minutes
to avoid injury. It was a demanding task that had to be completed on approximately 1,000
engine blocks a day or about 20,000 pistons a week.
“We became extremely efficient. We became so good at our job that we began to
suggest ways to improve the process. We could spot cracks in the engine blocks or find
problems that others had missed. Management started to give us more and more responsibility
as they saw what we were capable of doing.”
In time, other workers in the plant became jealous at the pair’s success. “They
asked, ‘how come those guys always get to do that job’. It was about attitude. It
was about making a hard job look easy. It was about making the most of a situation.”
Hood nearly left the assembly plant in 1998 when he was narrowly defeated in a bid to replace
his father, State Representative Morris Hood, Jr. Regrettably, Morris Hood, Jr. would
pass away only months after his son’s unsuccessful bid. Hood’s mood turns
slightly melancholy at the thought of his dad not living long enough to see him eventually
win back his old seat.
His father is known to many in Lansing as the longest serving legislator in Michigan history,
serving 28 years. Hood’s lineage also includes his uncle, State Representative
Ray Hood, Jr. who served from 1965 to 1982.
Hood acknowledges that replacing men of such stature does not come without its costs. “You
inherit their friends. You also inherit their enemies.”
But Hood admits the accomplishments of his father and uncle help drive him to be a better
legislator. “You don’t want to do anything to tarnish the good name or work
he (Morris Hood, Jr.) did, as well as the work of my uncle.”
With the election of a Democratic majority in the State House in 2006, Hood was given the
opportunity to assume his father’s old role as Chairman of the House Appropriations
Capital Outlay Subcommittee. It is his subcommittee that determines which university
building projects will receive state funding.
Despite Michigan’s much publicized financial troubles, Hood remains hopeful that there
will be a capital outlay bill some time soon. But he says the subcommittee must work
with the Governor and his GOP counterparts first to make sure there is consensus support for
a new capital outlay bill. “We don’t want to put a bill out there that would
be vetoed. We want to act responsibly.”
But how will he determine which universities should receive state funding for a capital
outlay project? “We have to look at how long universities have gone without a
project.”
Such assurances are good news to an EMU community that has not seen a state capital outlay
project on its campus in over eleven years. Shockingly, all fourteen of Michigan’s
other public universities have seen at least two state capital outlay projects during that
same time span.
EMU’s primary capital outlay request once again is for state funding to renovate the
Pray-Harrold building, the campus’ largest academic building. The nearly 40 year
old structure lacks the technology infrastructure, classroom space, and faculty offices necessary
to accommodate the nearly 10,000 students a day that utilize the building.
Should the EMU community expect to see a renovation of Pray-Harrold in the next capital
outlay bill? “It is definitely at or near the top of our list.”
State Representative Morris Hood III is serving his third term in the Michigan House of
Representatives. He represents the 11th House district; the district in which he was
born and raised. In his first two terms Representative Hood served in various leadership roles
such as Assistant Associate Democratic Floor Leader and Minority Vice-Chair of the Standing
Committee on Insurance. This session he has assumed the roles of Democratic Caucus Chair,
Member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Fiscal Oversight Subcommittee
and Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee.
Representative Hood is the son of the late Morris Hood, Jr., who served in the State House
of Representatives for 28 years. Morris Hood, Jr., the first African American to chair
the House Appropriations committee, passed away in 1998.
Representative Morris Hood III attended Henry Ford Community College and Wayne State University. He
is a member in good standing of the UAW Local 600 and is currently on leave from Ford Motor
Company where he was employed as an auto manufacturing technician.
Active in his community, Rep. Hood is a member of the Michigan Democratic Party, NAACP,
14th Congressional District, Barton McFarland Neighborhood Association, Northwest Youth
Organization and more.
EMU Home | Office
of the President | Government
Relations Home
