Madison Heights City Council updates candidate event, mayoral appointment rules

MADISON HEIGHTS — The Madison Heights City Council has updated its policies about the power of the mayor and who can meet constituents at the Festival in the Park — changes that supporters say are more democratic and inclusive.

One policy was changed Aug. 11, by a vote of 6-1, so that all candidates who filed to run for council or mayor can have a table at the annual festival in June. Previously, only elected officials representing Madison Heights were allowed to set up tables at the event.

Quinn Wright, who is running for mayor, was the only council member to vote no.

Other policies were changed so that the entire council now nominates appointments for certain boards and commissions, rather than just the mayor.

Before, only the mayor could nominate appointments to the Elected Officials Compensation Commission, which determines how officials are paid.

The mayor also nominated appointments to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Environmental Citizens Committee and the Crime Commission.

Now, the policy has changed so that all council members can nominate appointments.

Wright and City Councilmember Emily Rohrbach were the only no votes on changing the policy for the compensation, parks and environmental boards July 28. Wright alone voted no on changing the Crime Commission policy July 14.

Wright said he voted no to make a point.

“I knew I didn’t have the number of votes needed (to keep the old policies), so I didn’t vote thinking it would go my way,” Wright said. “But I felt it was important that the next council be the ones to make these decisions, since at least half of us will be replaced this fall, and the new council will have to carry this forward. So, my vote was a symbolic one.

“But ultimately, I am OK with the council majority’s decision,” Wright said. “I do see some wisdom in how the changes improve the process. I’m actually happy it worked out the way it did.”

Rohrbach did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Mark Bliss, the mayor pro tem, pushed back on the idea that the decision should have been reserved for a future council.

“I think the timing is always appropriate for the current council to settle a matter. When we voted on the huge construction project that rebuilt Civic Center Plaza and the Active Adult Center, we did so with a council that was not intact at the time of the groundbreaking — (Wright) wasn’t part of that decision-making process, as an example,” Bliss said. “So, the idea that a future council should kick the can down the road is just not how we operate. Our job is to make decisions today, and here we took unfair policies and made them fair, including a (festival) policy that had been changed administratively without council approval years ago.”

Bliss also noted that the council is on staggered terms with an election held every two years, and there have been unexpected vacancies in recent history. Wright was appointed to the council after the death of Bob Gettings, and Sean Fleming was appointed after Kymm Clark resigned.

“So, not only is changing the table policy the fair thing to do, but there’s an inherent benefit for residents, as well. After all, even if a candidate loses the election, they could still be appointed if there’s a vacancy,” Bliss said. “Any person running for office has a high probability of serving in the near term, so it’s just common sense that we allow challengers to meet face to face with residents at city events.”

On the topic of mayoral appointments, Bliss said that allowing council to nominate appointees for boards and commissions is a smart change since the mayor doesn’t serve directly in those groups and may lack insight on their dynamic.

“So far, the mayors I’ve served with have deferred to council on nominating appointments, but they didn’t have to,” Bliss said. “Being able to clean up this policy is just better for residents.”

The other mayoral candidate this year is Corey Haines, the former police chief of the city. He said he appreciates the council majority allowing future declared candidates to appear at the Festival in the Park.

“As a challenger, under the old rules, I wouldn’t have the same advantage as an incumbent to be visible and connect with the public, even if the incumbent was running for a different seat on the City Council,” Haines said. “It’s great to see that the majority of council also saw this as an issue and voted to correct this exclusion of filed candidates.”