McKay, Frank D., 1883-

Republican politician and Michigan state treasurer, 1925-1931.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 4, 1883, Frank D. McKay left school to work in various manual labor jobs. He was a natural businessman however. As many of his fellow workers were foreign born, McKay set up a small foreign money exchange business for them. He also established a private banking and investing business for these workers. Later on, he became an agent for a number of steamship lines and then branched out into the construction and financing of homes in the Grand Rapids area.

Early in his career, Frank McKay became involved in politics, organizing his friends and associates to back local candidates. He sought no office for himself until 1906 when he was appointed deputy county clerk and assignment clerk for the local circuit court. With his organizational skills, McKay built up an organization that gained control of the Kent County Republican Party, eventually becoming county chairman. Based upon his performance and growing power as a politician, McKay was elected state treasurer in 1924. He was twice re-elected, but did not seek a fourth term in 1930.

McKay preferred working behind the scenes of party politics, using his influence throughout the 1930s at state party conventions. In 1940, he was named a delegate to the Republican National Convention where he was a floor manager for Wendell Willkie. Following the convention, he served as a member of the Republican Party National Committee. At this time, McKay began to face legal problems. He was indicted in federal court in Detroit on charges of graft and conspiracy in connection with purchases by the State Liquor Control Commission. Although acquitted in 1942, these charges were brought in state court in 1944. McKay was again acquitted. Even so, McKay's political fortunes waned. He was removed from the Republican National Committee in 1944. He also lost control of the Kent County Republican organization to a local independent Republican group who called themselves the Home Front. And in 1950, a Citizens Action movement wrested control of Grand Rapids city government away from McKay and his political allies.

McKay remained successful as a businessman, owning and adding on to the Grand Rapids National Bank building, operating an insurance and realty businesses, and founding the Grand Rapids Times newspaper and acquiring the Grand Rapids Chronicle which two papers later merged into the weekly Michigan Times. He also owned a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. He died January 12, 1965.