Oakland Democrats stumble at appointing successor to L. Brooks Patterson's job

Oakland County’s top Democrats appeared to trip over their own feet Wednesday when an effort to appoint a successor from their ranks to fill the shoes of the late county executive L. Brooks Patterson backfired.

County Commission chair Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, on Tuesday called for a special meeting of the county Board of Commissioners to be held Thursday night, at which Woodward reportedly hoped to be voted into Patterson’s job.

Yet, just minutes after Woodward resigned from the commission at 6 p.m. Wednesday to become eligible for Patterson’s job, a requirement of state law, the meeting was canceled by the board’s new acting chair — Commissioner Marcia Gershenson, D-Bloomfield Township.

Gershenson said Wednesday night that she'd done so "because we listened to our constituents" who want "an open and transparent process." She said she was "proud we were able to change our decision" to have the special meeting.

Instead, after Woodward's resignation, the remaining Democratic Party commissioners led by Gershenson "are adhering to the democratic process — small "d" — with an orderly, deliberate and open application period, she said.

More:L. Brooks Patterson dies after leading Oakland County for a generation

More:Meisner blasts board for plans to appoint permanent executive this week

Dropping a hint about the flurry of deal-making that evidently went on all week, Gershenson added: "It's been a tremendously stressful week, and to come out of it with some sunshine is extremely gratifying."

Woodward, as well, said the change of plan was made in the interest of having “an open application process” and giving the board “an opportunity to consider all applicants who come forward.”

Woodward had been jockeying this week with his slim 11-10 majority of Democrats, evidently hoping to gain the appointment to the county’s top job, which by law could happen anytime within 30 days of the office becoming vacant. Patterson died Saturday of pancreatic cancer and his funeral is to be next week.

Months before Patterson died, Woodward had announced his intention to run for county executive in the next election in 2020, when Democrats hope to fill the post for the first time in history. Also planning to run for the job as a Democrat, he said in a public announcement, is Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner of Huntington Woods.

This week, after Woodward called for a special meeting on Thursday night, Meisner became vehement in his objections, warning in a news release without naming names that he considered it “a crime” for commissioners to receive appointments to countywide office and to gain “a $150,000 pay raise in the process.” The county executive’s salary is $201,193, compared with Woodward’s pay of $43,356 as commission chair.

Woodward’s actions conflicted with what some Democratic commissioners had said last year about how to handle the succession, after Patterson went public with his illness. At that time, several said they wanted to avoid giving Woodward or anyone else an unfair advantage going into the 2020 election as an appointed incumbent. They said the way around doing that was to appoint a “consensus Democrat” who would serve as executive until the election without wishing to run for the office.

That plan went off the rails this week when Woodward called for the hurry-up special meeting, aimed at taking place when Commissioner Mike Spisz, a Republican from Oxford, was to be out of town on business and not available to vote. That would’ve given Woodward a 10-9 margin of Democrats, even after resigning from his seat.

The prospect had the Royal Oak Democrats — a club from Woodward’s hometown — sending a news release Wednesday night headed “Dave Woodward to be appointed County Executive!” It went on to call for members to provide a “strong presence” at Thursday’s meeting because Woodward “will likely be appointed to the position of Oakland County Executive.” 

Just minutes later, the same group sent a second release that headed ”Postponed,” which went on to say “Sorry for the multiple emails. The action to appoint Dave as County Executive has been postponed, probably to Monday. Details to follow.”

However, it seems unlikely that Patterson's successor would be chosen on Monday after the county commission, later Wednesday night, announced that the board "will soon be accepting applications from the public for the office of Oakland County Executive," with applications to be accessed starting Thursday at the county website: oakgov.com/boc with a deadline of noon on Tuesday, Aug. 13. 

Woodward, who is no longer on the board, said Wednesday night he did not know when the board would meet to discuss a possible appointment.

“It’s widely known that I’m interested in being the next Oakland County executive, if afforded the chance to share my vision for improving the lives of Oakland County residents and their families and increasing opportunities for all,” he said. Resigning from the board “was a tough decision,” but he resigned "so that I may apply with anyone else,” he said.

After the meeting was canceled, Woodward, a former state representative and former county Democratic Party chairman, said he’d decided that “an open application process is appropriate (and that) I want to be considered like anyone else.” But he also said that there was “a huge urgency” to appoint a successor to Patterson, echoing others on the county board — from both parties — who’ve said this week that leaving the job vacant during the county’s crucial budget-setting season is worrisome. The budget must be adopted by Sept. 30, and this week the county board’s finance chair canceled a budget hearing so that officials and staff could pay their respects to Patterson.

On Wednesday night, Meisner provided this statement to the Free Press:

"I love Oakland County and want us to maintain the high standards that set us apart from the rest. When the County Commission tried to force a hasty appointment of a successor for Brooks Patterson, I called for an open and transparent process where candidates could be identified, vetted and selected based on their merit.

"Published reports of a choice already being made, and the resignation of the Board Chairman to accept the appointment, make me question the integrity of this process and wonder what backroom deals brought about this result."

Woodward said that, despite this week’s postponement, “the board can walk and chew gum, but I believe they need to have the absolute best person appointed as soon as possible.”

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com