May 20, 2008 Denison Preservationists Completely Dysfunctional According to Aubrey McClendon, the Oklahoma billionaire who coldly outbid numerous state and local organizations seeking to purchase the Denison property for preservation, those organizations and their members are "completely dysfunctional." McClendon was quoted in a glowing article in the May issue of Fortune magazine, "Meet Mr. Gas." The Fortune article went on to proclaim that McClendon had "snatched (the Denison property) away from local groups that had been trying to preserve it for decades". There was also praise for some of McClendon's contributions to right-wing political groups, among them Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, apparently founded exclusively to smear John Kerry in his 2004 presidential campaign (and quickly revealed to be less than entirely credible), and Americans United to Preserve Marriage, an organization primarily focused on illegalizing gay marriage. In an interview with the Local Observer, David Swan, President of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance and Co-chair of CCSDSP, said "I read it as a real insult to the state agencies who have been working for 30 years. I see it as a direct insult to (State Senator) Patricia Birkholz, who has made her political career out of being a conservation-minded Republican in Michigan. I see it as a direct insult to (Former Michigan Governor) William Milliken, who specifically addressed the McClendons in doing the right thing in allowing us to protect and preserve the dunes." In the same Observer article Saugatuck Council Member Catherine Simon said "When you say 'snatched up' you make it sound like it was taken away from the people. It was sold from one private individual to another private individual while a citizen group was concerned in trying to acquire it." We would have to agree with Catherine's assessment of the use of the term "snatched", while reminding her it was McClendon's breathless admirers who used it in this context. Return to Concerned Citizens for Saugatuck Dunes State Park Resources & Reference page. www.SaugatuckDunes.org