Dennis O. Cawthorne

Dennis O. Cawthorne is a Republican politician from Michigan who served in the Michigan House of Representatives and as a member and chairman of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. He is a partner in the Kelley Cawthorne lobbying firm in Lansing with former Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelley.

Beginnings Growing up in Manistee, Cawthorne had an appetite for politics and was drawn to the Republican Party. In 1952, he formed a group dedicated to supporting Dwight D. Eisenhower's candidacy for president; Eisenhower later wrote him a letter thanking him for his efforts. Four years later, he worked on Robert P. Griffin's first campaign for Congress. After winning that election, Griffin selected Cawthorne to intern in his office in Washington, D.C.

While he was still in college, Cawthorne took a summer job loading carriages. His manager recognized his potential, and so he was made the manager of the chamber of commerce, a job he had each summer during law school.

When a proposal emerged to eliminate the park's $1.5 million budget and replace it with a per capita tax on visitors coming by ferry, Cawthorne quietly but effectively killed the proposal, putting the money back in the budget in a diplomatic way so that no one lost face. At least some of the park's funding comes via an endowment fund for state parks. He also successfully argued before the Michigan Public Service Commission against a proposal which would have made calls from the island to the mainland long-distance, and worked with the United States Department of Health and Human Services to grant emergency-room status to the island's medical center. The trail's creation was also one of Cawthorne's accomplishments during the mid-1990s.

Cawthorne was the longest-serving chairman in the history of the commission. During his tenure, the Historic Mill Creek State Park was created, the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum was opened, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was reopened, and restoration of buildings and walls at Fort Mackinac were all accomplished. He also oversaw major improvements to the infrastructure of Mackinac Island, particularly at the airport. Cawthorne was also the manager of the Mackinac Island Chamber of Commerce, the founder and owner of the Village Inn, and has organized the Mackinac Island Steak and Suds Society receptions in Lansing.