Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/912649
10 December 7 • 2017 jn Rep. Sander Levin announces he will not seek re-election. A fter 35 years of serving Michigan in the U.S. Congress, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, announced Sunday he will not seek re-election in 2018 and will instead join the faculty of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan at the conclusion of his term. In a statement released on Sunday that was published in local and nation- al media, Levin, 86, said it was the honor of a lifetime to serve Michigan in Washington, D.C., where he thanked his constituents for enabling him to address and champion issues such as comprehensive healthcare, trade, promoting civil and human rights, and saving and strengthening Social Security and Medicare. Regarding his joining the aca- demic world after his 35-year tenure in Congress, Levin wrote on his hopes to re-establish trust in the institutions of this country's democracy. "I hope to help renew public trust in public institutions, which is all the more important given the perils of the Trump presidency," he wrote. "And I want to connect directly with our next generation of leaders." According to the Associated Press, the 86-year-old Levin has sat on the House Ways and Means Committee for almost 30 years. He was the top Democrat on the panel from 2010 through 2016 and was chairman dur- ing passage of the federal healthcare law and was also a vocal proponent for a government bailout for the automo- tive industry. Saving the automotive industry, as well as expanding access to healthcare and unemployment insurance to the health of the Great Lakes, is proof that Levin makes the people of Michigan STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER ABOVE: Sandy Levin (right) and Andy Levin (center) celebrate Andy's oldest son Koby's gradu- ation from Swarthmore College (where Carl Levin also attended) with (from left) Ben Levin, Sandy's wife, Pamela Cole, and Andy's wife, Mary Freeman. jews d in the End Of An Era Sander Levin continued on page 12