LANSING—Hello, Walter Reuther? Goodbye, Zachariah Chandler?

Or hello, Gerald Ford? Goodbye, Zachariah Chandler?

Maybe.

Some state lawmakers say a statue of Reuther—the legendary late president of the United Auto Workers—belongs in the U.S. Capitol. Some others say Ford—the only president from Michigan—should represent the state in the Capitol.

But making  room for either in the National Statuary Hall Collection means bumping Zachariah Chandler—a largely forgotten mid-1800s Detroit mayor and U.S. senator whose statue has stood in Washington since 1913.

Each state is entitled to only two statues in the U.S. Capitol. The other Michigan statue depicts Lewis Cass, a territorial governor before statehood, U.S. senator, secretary of war, U.S. secretary of state and failed candidate for president in 1848. None of the legislators involved in the debate have called for ousting Cass, whose statue was installed in 1889.

As head of the UAW from 1946 until his death in a 1970 plane crash, Reuther “represents the golden era of Michigan, the rise of the auto industry coupled with the rise of labor unions” said Rep. Fred Miller, the lead sponsor of the pro-Reuther resolution,

Miller, a Mount Clemens Democrat, spent his summers as a child near the Walter and May Reuther UAW Family Education Center in Onaway, northwest of Alpena. He called Reuther “an unsung hero” who worked for “social and economic justice,” and the resolution described him as “an advisor to presidents, an advocate for civil rights and a leader in reaching out to labor organizations around the world.”

But enemies labeled him “the most dangerous man in Detroit” because of his labor activism, and Miller noted that Reuther had been beaten and targeted for assassination.

Roger Kerson of the UAW public relations department said the union didn’t initiate the proposal “but we think it’s a terrific idea.”

Kerson called it appropriate to have “somebody who represents working families” memorialized at the U.S. Capitol and said the statue collection should “reflect the full spectrum of individuals and institutions that have contributed to this country.”

Reuther would be the first labor leader memorialized at the U.S. Capitol.

Co-sponsors of the resolution are Democratic Reps. Ted Hammon of Burton; Bob Constan of Dearborn Heights; Andy Coulouris of Saginaw; and Richard Hammel of Mount Morris Township.

Sen. Bill Hardiman, a Grand Rapids Republican, who met Ford several times and describes the ex-president as “down to earth” and someone who “operated with integrity” is leading the pro-Ford movement.

“The remarkable story of Ford and his leadership as our 38th president is integral to the nation’s history,” his resolution says. Ford was president from 1974 to 1977, succeeding Richard Nixon who resigned in disgrace, and died last December.

Hardiman added, “He was our only president and deserves that spot.”

Most cosponsors are from western Michigan, which Ford represented in Congress before becoming vice president and president. They include Sens. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland; Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, Cameron Brown, R-Fawn River Township; Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt; and Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores, R-Traverse City; Mark Jansen, R-Grand Rapids; and Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck.

Yet nobody’s claiming that Chandler’s career was undistinguished compared with the careers of Cass, Reuther or Ford. The New Hampshire-born Republican moved to Detroit as a young man, became mayor in 1851, lost a race for governor in 1852 and won a U.S. Senate seat in 1857.

He served as a senator until 1875, then became President Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary of the interior and returned to the Senate in 1879—serving less than nine months before dying in office.

Hardiman said Chandler “was an outstanding person and an abolitionist who started the Republican party” but his statue better belongs in a Detroit museum and will encourage Michigan residents to learn about “the contributions he made.” And Miller, who called Chandler a “great American and great Michiganian suggested the displaced statue could end up in Detroit’s Chandler Park.

Under federal law, states can “swap out” statues—as long as they don’t have more than two—in the U.S. Capitol, said Eva Malecki, a communications officer for the Architect of the Capitol in Washington. Only one state has done so—Kansas bumped its former governor, George Glick, to make room for former President Dwight Eisenhower.

If Congress approves the swap, Michigan would have to pay for the new statue and removal of the old one, Malecki said.

The Gerald R. Ford Foundation has “pledged its financial support” and will “underwrite the costs of the entire project” for a Ford statue, according to Hardiman’s resolution. Miller said talks are under way to raise private funds, most likely from unions, to cover the expenses of a Reuther statue.

Both resolutions urge Gov. Jennifer Granholm to approve the statue switch and seek congressional approval. The House Government Operations Committee is considering the Reuther resolution, and the Ford resolution is awaiting action in the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee.