Officials plan 30-foot tree sculpture to honor Bonior
Tall tree planned for intersection of 16 Mile and Gratiot
A 30-foot-tall tree sculpture to honor the achievements of onetime congressman David Bonior is expected to be erected next year near the intersection of Gratiot Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway in Clinton Township.
It’s part of a bipartisan effort by township officials who also want to rename the hike/bike path along Metropolitan Parkway (16 Mile) known the Freedom Trail to the Bonior Trail. While in office, Bonior secured funding for the trail, which extends through several communities.
“I believe this will be the one of the most appreciated outdoor art pieces in Macomb County,” Bob Cannon, the Republican township supervisor, said of the tree project.
The potential renaming of the roadway will extend from Union Lake Road to the east and Utica Road to the west.
Funding for the $1.7 million project was initially sought through one of Macomb’s existing congressional members. When things didn’t work out with that method, officials sought a state grant through a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), which is sponsored through SEMCOG.
Grant funding is also being sought for the refurbishment and safety upgrades along the hike/bike trail.
Treasurer Paul Gieleghem, who once worked on Bonior’s staff, said he knew him as a “boss, a mentor, and now I consider him a friend.”
“Here, he was David,” Gieleghem said. “In Washington, D.C., he was Mr. Bonior or representative because he was so incredibly well respected for the positions that he took, the profiles in courage that he made while he was up there, and took on fights that needed to be fought even though they were not the popular fights to be fought.”
Clinton Township agreed to pick up 100% of the non-construction costs such as planning, design, and construction engineering. The township will also operate and maintain the pathway.
Bonior, 77, a Democrat who held office from 1977 through 2002 representing much of Macomb County and a portion of St. Clair County, visited the area this past summer. A former Clinton Township resident, he now lives in Washington, D.C.
During his 26 years in public office, he was known for his work on environmental issues and for handing out his trademark pine seedlings. He reportedly distributed 1 million of them.
The tree statue was inspired by the seedlings, officials said.
Mary Bednar, the township’s public services director, said Bonior “played a key role in the funding and construction of this pathway, is donating funds for a statue to commemorate the benefits the trail has brought to the community.”
The congressman served as the Democratic whip in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991-2002, during a time when Democrats were in the majority, making him the second highestranking Democrat in the House.
He was known for his progressive voting record, although he opposed abortion in most cases, and was a strong supporter for recognition of Ukraine
Bonior left Washington in 2002 and lost a hotlycontested gubernatorial primary against former James Blanchard, who served as governor in the 1980s, and then-Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, who ultimately won the nomination and the general election later that year.