Man of Great Words
[November/December 2007]

By Kyle Fishburn

A powerful orator and REIT industry supporter, attorney and former Congressman Guy Vander Jagt (R-MI) passed away in June at the age of 75.

“He will be most remembered as a decent, gracious and very kind man,” says Matt Dolan, partner at Baker Hostetler, the law firm Vander Jagt worked with for 15 years. “It is telling that although he had one of the most partisan jobs in Washington, D.C., and worked very hard to compete with Democrats in his role as House Republican Campaign Committee chair, some of the most prominent lawmakers in Washington from both sides of the aisle attended his memorial service. He was a remarkable guy—everyone liked him.”

Vander Jagt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966 and served 14 terms as representative from Western Michigan. During his 28-year tenure, Vander Jagt held senior Republican positions on the Ways and Means Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Trade Committee, the Select Revenue Measures Committee, and the Health and Human Resources Committee. He also served on the House Committee on Science and Astronautics during the early development of the space program, the Conservation and National Resources Subcommittee and the Joint Taxation Committee.

Vander Jagt was widely known for his public oratory skills. “Guy was most known in Washington circles for his speaking skills. He was a throw back to pre-TV speakers who would address an area with a deep, powerful voice,” Dolan says. He notes that Vander Jagt was the keynote speaker at the 1980 Republican convention when former President Ronald Reagan was first nominated. “All of his speeches were from memory and they lasted for over a half hour. No current congressman comes to mind who was anything close to the accomplished speaker Guy was. Everyone loved to be introduced by him.”

Man of Real Estate

Vander Jagt was proud of the work he had done to help promote REITs. He recognized that REITs made it possible for small investors to participate in real estate investment. “Before the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was passed, commercial real estate was mostly privately held. Guy realized that REITs would help empower small investors,” Dolan says.

Realizing that REITs were a powerful investing tool, Vander Jagt took the initiative to work on the 1986 bill and made many strides to have the reform legislation passed. That pivotal bill allowed REITs to be internally managed, precipitating the modern REIT era in the early 1990s. “Guy was interested in helping the REIT industry during his entire tenure in Congress,” says Kenneth Kies, managing director of the Federal Policy Group and former chief of staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. “He did a great job.”

After his term on the Hill ended, Vander Jagt worked for Baker Hostetler where he was a consultant for NAREIT. “His knowledge and love of REITs were infectious,” says Tony Edwards, executive vice president and general counsel for NAREIT. “The REIT industry will remember this dear friend.”