Brian Manzullo

For nearly 40 years, David and Kathleen “Kathy” Ling have largely defined community involvement.

The couple, who met in the 1960s at Wayne State University, have been steeped in local politics for years, each having served or sought positions as Isabella County and Mount Pleasant City Commissioners.

David recently retired from a long-time professorship at Central Michigan University and Kathy from teaching at Mount Pleasant High School.

But they will continue to hold their place in the community.

Maintaining his place as chair of the Isabella County Board of Commissioners, David will begin another year of service in January, while Kathy will also continue to have a seat on the Mount Pleasant City Commission.

“I think they set the standard for local service and elected officials,” said Sharon Tilmann, who has known the Lings for years and has crossed paths with them in both local politics and at CMU.

“I have the highest regard for both of them,” she said. “I would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t agree.”

Welcome to the board

It was the debate over establishing the Isabella County administrator position in the mid-70s that caused Kathy to seek county office.

“We actually got involved in local government fairly early,” Kathy said. “That helped us to know the community very well and to feel an identification with the community.”

At Wayne State, they discovered a shared interest in debate. They married after David received his degree in 1967. David found a job as a communication and dramatic arts faculty member at CMU and the two moved north from Detroit in 1971.

Kathy said they stayed because Mount Pleasant is a nice place to raise children. The couple would eventually adopt two sons and a daughter.

It wasn’t long before they stepped into community politics. Kathy got involved with the League of Women Voters and successfully ran for the Isabella County Board of Commissioners in 1977, after an unsuccessful bid for a city commissioner seat in 1975.

She worked with the city to capture federal funding for a public transportation system. Though the city reluctantly accepted the first grant, she said her group made efforts to get the item on the ballot in 1975, when it was up for reconsideration.

“That was kind of the beginning of the (Isabella County Transportation Commission) system, which was approved by the voters and has been on the ballot every four or five years,” Kathy said.

Tilmann said she and Kathy have assisted each other’s individual campaigns for Michigan state representative, and recalled several occasions in which they would exchange calls regarding city affairs while they served on the city commission.

“When she wanted some background she’d call because she does tremendous amounts of research,” Tilmann said.

Kathy held the county position for six years, minus a year in 1980, and including one year as commission chair.

“I’m a strong believer in active, local citizens keeping track of what’s going on and letting the commission know how they feel about things,” she said.

In his wife’s footsteps

David was the second Ling to serve on the county commission, elected there in 1996, becoming chairman in 2003.

“I became chair of the county commission exactly 20 years after Kathy,” he said. “My initial political involvement (however) was more on campus. I got involved in the union.”

As a member of CMU’s Faculty Association, David sat on the board and went through the steps to become FA president at one time.

Like his wife’s first try, David’s run for city commission was unsuccessful. He did find a home with the Mount Pleasant Housing Commission for 12 years.

Tilmann said David was vital in the negotiation with contractors and determining how money was allocated when the Isabella County Courthouse, 200 N. Main St., was built in downtown Mount Pleasant in the late 1990s.

She said they completed the project without raising taxes on county residents.

“If he’s going to conduct business, he’s going to do it in a civil, fair and even-handed manner,” she said. “He keeps the focus on the issues.”

Tilmann said he took the “bull by the horns” with Union Township, tasking them with stepping-up their participation with law enforcement.

“County is always sort of the hidden level of government,” David said. “Everything is political in the sense that policy is involved.”

It’s been a long trip

The Lings have also seen the county commission go through several partisan turnovers.

As a Democrat, Kathy first lost her seat with the county in 1980 and again in 1984. She went back to teaching full-time at Mount Pleasant High School where she taught English and social studies for 20 years.

David experienced at turnover in 1996, when his term as commissioner began. Another turnover is expected next year, when several commissioners are term-limited out. Kathy is no stranger to it.

“In 1980 the board went 100 percent Republican, and then in 1982 the entire board changed,” she said. “In 1984, five of the Democrats lost, so it became controlled by the Republicans again. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve never been a fan of straight-party voting.”

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E-mail the author: Jackie Smith