Doug Spade


Doug Spade is a Michigan politician and radio personality.

Early life

Spade was born on February 11, 1951.

Education

Spade attended the Michigan School for the Blind for four years. Spade graduated from Camden-Frontier High School before moving to his current residence, Adrian, Michigan, where he graduated from Adrian College.

Career

Spade hosted the WLEN Radio talk show Party Line for 25 years. On November 3, 1998, Spade became the second blind person to be elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, where he represented the 57th district. He served in this position from January 13, 1999 to 2004. Spade was succeeded by his brother, Dudley. In 2010, Spade was the Democratic nominee for the Michigan Senate's 17th district, but was defeated by his Republican opponent. Spade was nominated by the Democratic Party in 2014 for the Michigan Senate's 16th district, but was again defeated. In 2019, Spade has announced that he is running for the Michigan Senate's 16th district again.

Personal life

Spade is married to JoAnn. Spade has had multiple Leader Dogs. During his time in the legislature, Spade's Leader Dog was named Toby. Toby was the first seeing eye dog used by a member of the Michigan Legislature. Spade's most recent Leader Dog is Lucky.