John C. Mackie

Who was John C. Mackie?

John C. Mackie was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Mackie was born in Toronto and immigrated to the United States from Canada in 1924 with his parents, who settled in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit in 1938 and attended Lawrence Institute of Technology, 1938-1939. He received a B.S. in Engineering from Michigan State University in 1942 and an honorary LL.D. from the same school in 1965. He was employed on airplane engine design in Detroit, 1942 and served in the United States Army Air Corps, from 1942 to 1945. He served in the Pacific Theater until discharged as a first lieutenant.

Mackie was employed by an engineering firm in the Flint area, 1946–1952, and organized the Flint Surveying & Engineering Co. in 1952. He was Genesee County surveyor, 1952–1956 and was elected State Highway Commissioner of Michigan, 1957 and reelected in 1961 to a new four-year term. Mackie was quoted as He was critical of the increasing popularity of compact cars, saying, "They may be socially desirable in some parts of the country, but I think they are a nuisance. If they really take hold—and I don't think they will—then it is inevitable that gas and weight taxes will have to go up, both for the federal and state government." He further claimed that they not only threatened tax revenues, but were also highway hazards. Mackie's criticism's were rebuked by, George W. Romney, then the president of American Motors Corporation and leading proponent of compact cars in the United States. Mackie also aggressively expanded the system of freeways and expressways in Michigan. During most of his administration, Michigan led the nation in construction of its interstate freeway system and was the first to build a cross-state interstate freeway He was president of the American Association of State Highway Officials in 1963.