(Community Matters 195) Remembering Dr. Joe Schwarz: Former Southwest Michigan Congressman Fred Upton

This discussion is part of a series of interviews remembering former Battle Creek mayor, lawmaker and statesman, Dr. Joe Schwarz who passed away in May, 2026. 

Former Congressman Fred Upton looks back at what made Dr. Joe Schwarz so effective for Battle Creek. Upton also digs into what Congress could relearn from Schwartz’s straight-talk style and bipartisan relationships. 

ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS
Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on community leaders and newsmakers in and around Battle Creek. Community Matters is heard Saturdays, 8:00 AM Eastern on WBCK-FM (95.3) and anytime at battlecreekpodcast.com.

Community Matters is sponsored by Lakeview Ford Lincoln and produced by Livemic Communications.

Transcript

Welcoming Fred Upton Back

Richard Piet 0:02

Joining us now in Community Matters 18 terms in Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Fred Upton. Hello, Fred.

Fred Upton 0:12

Hello, Richard. Good to see you again. You've been uh a worthy journalist all my years.

Richard Piet 0:18

Well, thank you. It's good to see you again, too. Boy,

Joe Schwarz’s Battle Creek Legacy

Richard Piet 0:22

when we say Joe Schwarz, what comes to mind?

Fred Upton 0:25

Well, he was a leader. He was Mr. Battle Creek. Uh, if he wanted something done in Battle Creek, he was there. Uh, he protected the veterans' home, the hospital there. We worked together on the airport, we worked together on the National Guard base uh to make sure that that uh was was there too. Uh, we worked on even projects like I-94, getting that thing widened. I mean, he was a very active participant. And of course, his background, you know, he was a doctor virtually till the end. Uh, he was a professor. He spoke at the University of Michigan. He was a tenured professor there at the Ford School of Policy. I spoke to his class a number of times. But, you know, his passing his death uh recently, I had no clue that he was in trouble health-wise. I talked and texted to him regularly. I heard with the announcement, of course, of his death, and I heard from a number of colleagues that he served with from Texas and Washington State, all across the country, saying, Oh, gosh, Joe was such a good guy. And even though he was there one term, he made a mark. He was a veteran, and he never stopped working until the end.

Why Widening I-94 Takes Forever

Richard Piet 1:36

Someone else talked about I-94 and his interest in widening it in Battle Creek, which did not happen. But you're acquainted with that, having been behind it in the Kalamazoo stretches. Is that a tough thing to get done?

Fred Upton 1:52

Well, it is. You know, you really have to get an earmark for these things. Uh, you got to work with the state folks. Uh, I had always a good relationship with our governors, whether they be Republican or Democrat. Uh, yeah, to work with the state senator. And of course, he was an acclaimed uh state senator for a good number of years as well to make sure that it got on the wanted list by MDOT. You know, after we had that, I'll call it a fiasco, the the bridge to nowhere in Alaska. Rightly so, we tightened up the requirements uh for highway so that it had to be on uh the state's uh improvement list. And so you got to work with MDOT. I mean, it is a partnership, let's face it, uh, between state and federal authorities. So eventually it's gonna get done. Sadly, not in Joe's lifetime. Hopefully, in mine and yours, uh, we'll see. But ultimately, you know, we started widening that thing uh to six lanes, uh, starting at 131 and going east. I'm always thinking about that as I come to Kalamazoo still quite often and go through. Eventually, it's gonna get done. And, you know, frankly, had we been able to get that missile dispense site there in Battle Creek, and we worked awfully hard on that. That was after, of course, Joe had left the Congress. But that was gonna be part of the grand plan as well, it's part of the state's participation that they would begin to work on expanding that uh four-lane stretch uh to six lanes. A lot of accidents uh in there uh because the medium barrier, the jersey barriers that

What “Local” Representation Looks Like

Fred Upton 3:26

are there.

Richard Piet 3:26

You know, some folks have talked about how Joe would just pick up the phone and call the governor's office, pick up the phone, call whoever he he needed to call to get something done. Did you ever get any of those calls?

Fred Upton 3:36

You know, I went to a service. You know, I I bet it might be the first time we've had three governors under the same roof uh in a long time. Governor Whitmer spoke, Governor Engler spoke, came back from Texas where he lives, Governor Schneider was there. Going to the service, I went back and I looked at the last three years of text messages between Joe and me. Now, whether it be a Michigan football or basketball game, whether talking to one of his classes, uh just a sense of, you know, what's going on in Congress and the mess that's there now for sure. Uh, we shared a lot of stuff together, and uh we were on, I guess you could call it speed dial, back and forth to each other uh quite a bit. We had a big family, my family had a big family reunion last year in in Montana. We had 90 uh folks uh on my mom's side of the family. And I remember that Joe had a place there. I mean, he you know, and I wanted to go, and he had sold it a number of years ago. But I was interested to see maybe if I'd stop by and take a picture, but then I learned it was five hours away from where we were, so it didn't quite happen. But I but I sent him a note then. But no, he was just always so gracious, always call me Joe, what can I do to help? He embraced the community like uh nobody could. And frankly, it it shows the importance of having a member of Congress that really is local, that's there on the beat, uh, listening to folks, seeing how they could help. He had a terrific staff. In fact, when he left office, I hired one of his staff, and uh he served with me to the end. He served like 15 years uh on my team and it was and later became after I left the Congress, they became the chief of staff to another Republican member from Wisconsin, Mark Ratner, from who hails from Battle Creek, but one of the smartest guys on Capitol Hill, and he learned a lot from Joe, as we all did, and had just a wonderful relationship all those years.

Straight Talk And Bipartisan Results

Richard Piet 5:39

What do you think we could take from what we know about Joe Schwarz and put in practice today?

Fred Upton 5:47

Well, you know what? He was a straight shooter. You ask him a question, he'll give you an answer. And it may not be politically correct, but he'll tell you what he really thinks. And I think that's what we're missing now in the Congress. It just seems like there are too much uh on talking points, maybe just going ahead of us in in terms of just giving some rhetoric versus really listening to folks. And frankly, you know, we have divided government, let's face it. I mean, even though the Republicans control the House and the Senate and the White House, that margin is so slim. About the only way you're gonna get things done, and certainly the balance of this year and the next uh couple years is to build relationships on the other side of the aisle. Joe did that. He did that in the state senate when he was there. He certainly did that in the Congress. He had friends, good friends on both sides of the aisle that were meaningful. And, you know, frankly, you look at our districts, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, St. Joe Benton Harbor, where I live and am uh now, people don't really care if you have an R or a D next to your name. They just want the job to get done. Joe did that. He had a wonderful reputation. And when he left office, he still carried it. He still weighed in, he still looked out for Battle Creek. You know, there was gonna be an effort, a serious effort, to close the veterans hospital there. And uh we worked on that together to make sure that we actually wrote language into legislation that was gonna prevent that from shutting down. So he kept an eye and an ear out for Battle Creek, whether it was in office or out of office. And that magic was something that frankly can't be duplicated, I think, for the people in Battle

The Reputation That Outlasts Office

Fred Upton 7:32

Creek. He was a McCain supporter. He was one of the I was a national chair for John McCain when he ran for president. Joe was a state chair uh for him. Even though I'm a you know, I'm a Wolverine. I sleep in the basement when they lose. Uh we cross paths. I'm a season ticket holder. Of course, I don't go to all the games, I go to a few. Uh I was sorry that I missed. He was the hero of the game. Uh, you know, 100,000 plus at the University of Michigan Stadium back uh a couple years ago, uh 2023, I believe it was. They recognized him as a veteran and as a leader, uh, an outspoken supporter of the University of Michigan. And he had a standing ovation as Michigan beat Minnesota 55 to 10. Uh, I looked up that score. I sadly I wasn't there, but I watched it on TV. But uh Joe was a friendly face. He struggled physically at the end. He had a walker, but he was still there whenever he needed him. And he and he gave good advice and he cared. And that's we'll miss him a lot. Already do. All right.

Richard Piet 8:39

Thank you, Fred Upton.

Fred Upton 8:40

You back. Good to see you, Richard. Good to see you.