Ghost of Brooks Patterson and specter of Donald Trump collide in Oakland County
It was another in a string of signs that Oakland County has come a long way from the lily-white, country-club image cultivated by Coulter's predecessor, the late L. Brooks Patterson.
Coulter, an openly gay Democrat, was named to replace Patterson after he died in 2019, and has twice been reelected to the top county post. He's maintained Patterson's emphasis on providing quality government services and fiscal discipline ― including maintaining Oakland's coveted AAA bond rating ― but Coulter has set a different tone in this once staunchly Republican county.
And he says he's taking a broader view of county government's responsibilities at a time of great upheaval, which he largely blames on the actions of President Donald Trump's administration.
'The current turmoil in our county comes on top of a period of tremendous economic and societal disruption caused by Covid,' Coulter said in the March State of the County speech.
Coulter's administration reflects a remarkable transition in Oakland County politics. After decades of Republican control, only one elected countywide GOP official remains: Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Democrats hold a seven-seat majority on the 19-member county board of commissioners.
Patterson was a combative, business-oriented Republican who took an 'Oakland County first' approach to regional governance and economic development efforts. He was also a notorious Detroit basher, often using racially tinged language to demean the majority-Black city. It was something that, unfortunately, endeared him to many of his constituents.
Perhaps Patterson's worst moment was a 2014 New Yorker magazine profile in which he said Detroit should become 'an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.'
Opinion flashback: Noted troll Brooks Patterson makes Klan joke, proves obsolescence
But Patterson's administration of the state's second-largest county, from a business perspective, was largely successful. During his 26 years leading the county, Oakland consistently outperformed the state and many of its national peers in job growth, incomes and economic output.
Oakland County's economic engine has continued to roar under Coulter's leadership. Its median family income of $121,915 in 2023 was highest among the 30 largest counties in the state. Twenty-two percent of all goods and services generated in Michigan are produced in Oakland, the most of any county.
The county's gross domestic product was higher than the GDP of 14 states in 2022, according to a 2024 University of Michigan forecast.
Coulter has implemented a number of new programs, and expanded some of Patterson's, to help residents find housing, navigate college applications, financial aid and student loan forgiveness, and obtain health care.
'We've stretched beyond the role of normal county government because that's what the times demanded of us,' he said.
Related: From Oakland County to Downriver, protesters rally against Trump, Musk and deportations
And despite Trump's efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government, business and academia, Coulter is unapologetic in promoting DEI throughout his administration.
'I'm proud of the county's effort to create a welcoming county, a diverse workforce and to address the historic biases and stereotypes in all that we do,' Coulter said.
Oakland County voters opposed Trump in all three of his elections for president by wide margins. That's not surprising, considering college-educated voters, especially women, are Trump's kryptonite. Fifty percent of Oakland County adults possess a bachelor's degree or higher, second only to Washtenaw County, according to Census figures.
Under Patterson's leadership, Oakland County's growth largely happened in the open spaces of the northern and western portions of the county. Chrysler, now Stellantis, built a sprawling tech center in Auburn Hills and moved its headquarters there from Highland Park.
Much of the county's residential growth has been concentrated in newer suburbs, such as Novi, Rochester Hills and South Lyon.
Coulter, a former mayor of Ferndale, an inner-ring suburb, is focusing economic development efforts on revitalizing some of the county's older communities.
His administration is in the midst of a massive $60 million-plus effort to restore Pontiac's downtown. The county is demolishing the long-vacant Phoenix Center, and is planning to move 700 county workers from the county's government complex to a new building downtown.
Pontiac was once a booming auto manufacturing town, home to the Pontiac and GMC divisions of General Motors. But its massive auto plants closed decades ago decimating the city's economy. More than a quarter of its residents live in poverty.
'This is a turning point for Pontiac's future,' Coulter said in announcing the redevelopment project in April. 'For decades, many have disinvested in downtown Pontiac, limiting its potential.'
Kurt Metzger, a longtime metro Detroit demographer and former mayor of Pleasant Ridge in Oakland County, told me Patterson was 'one of the very, very few' Republicans he has ever voted for.
Patterson's creation of the tech corridor Automation Alley, and his emphasis on financial integrity and providing effective services were strong points, he said. But, Metzger said, ultimately he couldn't stomach Patterson's divisiveness.
'I disliked his personality, racism and lack of collaboration,' Metzger said. He stopped voting for Patterson in 2012.
Coulter has maintained the county's coveted AAA bond rating ― the highest possible, lowering the cost of issuing debt ― supported public transit and championed regionalism, Metzger said.
'His social consciousness is the polar opposite of Brooks,' he said.
Patterson was known to toss sharp barbs at opponents and friends alike. Some of his outlandish remarks made even his supporters cringe. You won't likely find Coulter doing that.
'Oakland County is in a stronger position today than it was 10 years ago,' he said. 'And we have gotten here without drama, destruction or division.'
Rick Haglund is a retired reporter and business columnist who covered Michigan economics and government at newspapers throughout the state.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump, Coulter and ghost of Brooks Patterson collide in Oakland County
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
26 minutes ago
- New York Post
Biden allies prepared to unload ‘Palinesque' stories about Kamala Harris if she discusses his cognitive decline: report
Joe Biden's allies are prepared to 'escalate' and reveal unflattering stories about Kamala Harris should the former vice president decide to talk about the former president's cognitive decline, according to a veteran political journalist. The stories about Harris' tenure as Biden's No. 2 are 'Palinesque,' 2WAY's Mark Halperin said Friday, a reference to former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. 'I will tell you, and this has never been reported, barely at all: if the Biden people decide that Kamala is coming after Joe Biden, wait till you hear the 'Palinesque' stories about how much they tried to help her be prepared to be vice president and be in a position to run. And how much they decided, 'Not happening. She's not up to this,'' Halperin said on 'The Morning Meeting' show. 3 Earlier this week, Harris announced that she would not be running for governor in California. X/Kamala Harris In the aftermath of late Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) loss to former President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, leaks from campaign staffers suggested that Palin, McCain's running mate, was woefully unprepared for the job. In one infamous report, campaign staffers claimed that Palin did not know Africa was a continent and that she could not name the three countries that formed the North American Free Trade Agreement – the United States, Canada and Mexico. 'If the Biden people feel threatened, you will hear stories about Kamala Harris as vice president that will not make her look good,' Halperin said. 'So there's a closeness to the couples,' he added. 'It's not like they're at war currently, but I'm telling you, if Joe Biden feels threatened, if his people feel threatened by her, this is gonna escalate in a big way.' Halperin argued that Harris would have a 'hard time defending against the stories if that dam bursts.' Journalists Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper detail some of the frustrations Biden loyalists had with the VP in their recent book, 'Original Sin.' In the book, Harris was described as a 'regular headache' for the White House, according to Biden people. 'She often shied away from politically tough assignments when Biden had accepted such assignments as vice president,' the authors write. 'She even turned down seemingly simple asks, such as headlining DC's Gridiron Club dinner.' 'Many on the Biden team felt that Harris didn't put in the work and was also just not a very nice person,' according to the book. 'Several quietly expressed buyer's remorse: They should have picked [Michigan Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer' as Biden's running mate in 2020. 3 Biden's cognitive decline and use of autopen in the White House is being scrutinized by Republicans. REUTERS 3 Halperin said the stories Biden's team has about Harris are 'Palinesque.' 2WAY/YouTube Halperin argued that Biden's people 'were extraordinary in trying to help her do the job of vice president.' 'They gave her every opportunity. And they did — they found in some instances that she had some issues.' The House Oversight Committee has brought in several former top Biden White House aides to testify on the former president's mental decline and his staff's use of autopen to sign official documents. It's unclear if the GOP-led committee plans to ask or subpoena Harris for testimony.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cincinnati officials discuss city crime and widespread response to video of violent fight
Days after a brawl that injured six people in Cincinnati, the mayor and other city leaders said Friday they would beef up law enforcement patrols but criticized how the much-shared video of the fight had portrayed the city in what they see as an unfair and cynical light. 'Let me be clear, there is no place for violent crime in Cincinnati, whether it's a fight or gun violence,' Mayor Aftab Pureval said. 'We will pursue those responsible and we will hold them accountable no matter who they are.' Video of the fight quickly went viral, and conservatives leaders and influencers seized on the brawl to point out what they see as lawless urban areas in America. Those voices included Vice President JD Vance, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and the vice president's half brother, Cory Bowman, who is running to be mayor of Cincinnati. A video of the fight shows a crowd milling about before several people start throwing punches. One man falls to the ground and is repeatedly punched and kicked by bystanders. Another woman is punched in the face and falls to the ground, lying motionless before another woman helps her. She can be seeing bleeding from the mouth. The mayor acknowledged on Friday the perception remained that the city was dangerous, but he pointed out that data showed the violent crime was declining in the city. Pureval also said 'there's a concerning increase in burglaries and breaking and entering, and shootings in some specific areas' without providing the data. 'Currently too many Cincinnatians don't feel safe,' he said. 'All of us, especially me, are clear-eyed and working urgently to fix that.' Pureval said he was working with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to deploy state highway patrol to work highways into the city, which should free up more police officers. He also said police units like SWAT and the Civil Disturbance Response Team will expand their reach in the city. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said five men and one woman 'were subjected to unimaginable physical violence' in the brawl. She didn't identify them. She also said six people have been charged with assault and rioting for playing a role in the brawl, three of whom are in custody. 'This remains an open investigation, and I want to assure you, we will not stop until justice is finally served,' she told reporters, adding that they plan to release footage of the brawl, including body camera footage next week. But several speakers, including a pastor and a council member, talked about how the fight had been racialized and several blamed conservative Republicans for fueling that narrative. 'We would not be here and this will not be national news if this was a group of Black people that jumped on other Black people,' Pastor Damon Lynch, III told reporters. 'Obviously it's national news because it's been racialized.' Lynch said critics were focused on the Black participants but haven't mentioned a white man who, he says, could be seen in a video of the brawl slapping a Black man during the fight. 'Nobody's asking why didn't he just walk away?" Lynch said. Council Member Scotty Johnson also criticized the media for playing the brawl on a loop all week. 'What role do you play in quoting misdirected national leaders talking about a city that is on the right track, but they are doing everything they can to try take us off that track,' Johnson said. Toward the end of the press conference, a reporter asked Pureval how he would deal with the racial tensions in the city that have been exacerbated by this brawl. 'It's overt racial tensions that have been claimed by irresponsible leaders, who have unfortunately cynically tried to take advantage of this awful fight and try and divide us,' he said, noting that Cincinnati 'has a long history of being, on the on the very front foot of racial justice' including as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
an hour ago
5 years after Ohio's $60M bribery scandal, critics say more could be done to prevent a repeat
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Five years after a $60 million bribery scheme funded by FirstEnergy Corp. came to light in Ohio, expert observers say the resulting prosecutions, lawsuits, penalties and legislation haven't led to enough change and accountability to prevent politicians and corporate executives from cutting similar deals in the future. The scheme — whose prospective $2 billion-plus pricetag to consumers makes it the largest infrastructure scandal in U.S. history — surfaced with the stunning arrests of a powerful Republican state lawmaker and four associates on July 21, 2020. That lawmaker, former House Speaker Larry Householder, is serving 20 years in federal prison for masterminding the racketeering operation at the center of the scandal. Jurors agreed with prosecutors that money that changed hands wasn't everyday political giving, but an elaborate secret scheme orchestrated by Householder to elect political allies, become the House speaker, pass a $1 billion nuclear bailout law in House Bill 6 and crush a repeal effort. One of the dark money groups Householder used also pleaded guilty to racketeering. Householder and a former lobbyist have unsuccessfully challenged their convictions. Two of the arrested associates pleaded guilty, and the other died by suicide. Any hope that the convictions would have clarified federal law around 501(c)4 nonprofit 'dark money' groups or prompted new restrictions on those hasn't materialized, said former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, who led the initial investigation. 'I think it's actually worse than it was before,' he said. 'Nationally, you have both Democrats and Republicans using these, so there's no political will to do anything about it.' Indeed, a study released in May by the Brennan Center for Justice found that dark money unleashed by the 2010 Citizens United decision hit a record high of $1.9 billion in 2024 federal races, nearly double the $1 billion spent in 2020. The vast majority of money from undisclosed donors raised into dark money accounts now goes to super PACs, providing them a way to skirt a requirement that they make their donors public, the study found. DeVillers said one positive result of the scandal is that Ohio lawmakers appear genuinely concerned about avoiding quid pro quos, real or perceived, between them and their political contributors. Anti-corruption legislation perennially introduced by Ohio Democrats since the scandal broke has gone nowhere in the GOP-dominated Legislature. Republican legislative leaders have said it is outside their authority to amend federal campaign finance law. The U.S. Attorney's office declined to discuss the investigation because prosecutions remain ongoing. Two fired FirstEnergy executives have pleaded not guilty on related state and federal charges and await trial. Former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Samuel Randazzo, to whom FirstEnergy admitted giving a $4.3 million bribe in exchange for regulatory favors, had faced both federal and state charges. He died by suicide after pleading not guilty. Akron-based FirstEnergy — a $23 billion Fortune 500 company with 6 million customers in five states — admitted using dark money groups to bankroll Householder's ascendance in exchange for passage of the bailout bill. It agreed to pay $230 million and meet other conditions to avoid prosecution, and faced other sanctions, including a $100 million civil penalty by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But FirstEnergy hasn't yet faced consequences from the state regulator. 'They never actually got penalized by regulators at the PUCO level,' said Ohio Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis, the lawyer for Ohio utility customers. Testimony in four PUCO proceedings stemming from the scandal finally began last month after the cases were delayed for nearly two years, in part at the request of the Justice Department. They're intended to determine whether FirstEnergy used money for bribes that was meant for grid modernization and whether it improperly comingled money from its different corporate entities. FirstEnergy spokeperson Jennifer Young said it invested $4 billion in grid upgrades in 2024 and plans to spend a total of $28 billion through 2029. Young said FirstEnergy has redesigned its organizational structure, established a dedicated ethics and compliance office, overhauled the company's political activity and lobbying practices and strengthened other corporate governance and oversight practices. 'FirstEnergy is a far different company today than it was five years ago,' she said. The PUCO also made changes in response to the scandal. Chair Jenifer French told state lawmakers that ethics training has been enhanced, staff lawyers and the administrative law judges who hear cases now report to different directors to ensure legal independence, and she never takes a meeting alone. Ashley Brown, a retired executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group who previously served as a PUCO commissioner, said the commission is the only state entity with the power to order FirstEnergy to return tainted cash — including the bribe money — to customers. That largely hasn't happened. He said the Ohio commission had vast power to hold FirstEnergy accountable for its misdeeds but hasn't conducted its own management audit of the energy giant, demanded an overhaul of FirstEnergy's corporate board or pressed for public release of FirstEnergy's own internal investigation of the scandal, whose findings remain a mystery. Shareholders won some accountability measures as part of a $180 million settlement in 2022, but they continue to fight in court for release of the investigation. Willis does, too. 'How do you allow a utility to operate a vast criminal conspiracy within the utility (with) consumer dollars, and you don't even look at what went wrong?' Brown said. PUCO spokesperson Matt Schilling reiterated that the commission's probes are ongoing. He said the panel has vowed to take its proceedings 'wherever the facts lead.' The portion of HB 6 that bailed out two FirstEnergy-affiliated nuclear plants was repealed in 2021, and $26 million was refunded to customers. The scandal investigation revealed that other power distribution companies got a lucrative payout of their own added to the bill in exchange for their buy-in: subsidies for two unprofitable Cold War-era coal plants. It wasn't until April that a law was passed repealing those subsidies. Until that takes effect Aug. 14, the charges cost Ohio ratepayers $445,679 a day — and it's unclear if or when they'll get that money back. A ticker on Willis' website puts the total they've paid at more than $500 million and counting.
