An Oakland County Republican state legislator told local leaders Thursday, Aug. 14, she wants to change Michigan law to bar county elected officials from holding outside jobs — citing a powerful elected Democrat who also works for a gas station empire.
State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, told the Oakland County Board of Commissioners she wants to change the law, referencing Oakland County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward's side gig working as a consultant for Sheetz, a Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain looking to expand in southeast Michigan.
"I would like to bring up the fact that we do have a conflict of interest with Sheetz gas station. It's written in the paper. Legislatively, we are trying to write a law to stop that process, because it's not fair to our communities to have these conflicts of interest," Steele told commissioners during the meeting's public comment period.
Steele told the Free Press the legislation is in draft form, and that she intends to have it filed as soon as possible. It aims to prevent county elected officials from having outside jobs that pose a conflict with their public duties.
She acknowledged she is still working out the specifics of the legislation, including to which county elected officials it would apply, but she argued the concept is important to ensure the effective running of local government.
"You cannot have these conflicts of interest as you serve on the board," she said.
Several recent media reports have noted Woodward's job with Sheetz. A Free Press investigation highlighted the contract, along with multiple other potential conflicts among other currently serving commissioners.
Commissioner Angela Powell worked for the city of Pontiac at the same time she voted on measures directly related to the city. Commissioner William Miller voted on a contract with the county and a union — the same union where he earns six figures as a political director. Commissioner Brendan Johnson works for a state representative while also voting on county measures related to the Legislature. All three are Democrats.
In previous comments, Woodward and a Sheetz spokesman told the Free Press his role as an "ambassador" for the company does not conflict with his public service. Both also noted at the time there was no Sheetz business in front of the county commission. Woodward said if any did arise, he would recuse himself and not speak about the issue with colleagues.
He also confirmed having other clients in the past but declined to name them.
In a statement Friday, Aug. 15, Woodward bashed Steele and defended the board's moves to formalize the replacement of two commissioners on committees.
"State Rep. Steele gave an unserious rant bashing Democrats in general to cover up for her failure to not get a state budget passed and road funding done. I expect unserious action," Woodward said.
Steele's comments came Thursday, Aug. 14, after Woodward and the majority of other Democrats on the commission booted two outspoken Democratic commissioners from serving on local committees. The move is in response to Commissioners Charlie Cavell and Kristen Nelson leaving the Democratic caucus, a decision they said they made in part due to the refusal of Woodward and other Democratic commissioners to approve stronger ethical guidelines.
The Oakland County board has ethics guidelines from the early 1990s; while they do ban some activities, the rules do not spell out any ramifications for violations.
However, Michigan state law does ban someone from holding two public offices that are "incompatible" which each other. There are several exemptions.
Steele said she understands local elected roles are not full-time jobs — she served as a trustee in Orion Township before leaving for the Legislature. But that does not mean elected officials should get other jobs because of their work in the public sphere.
"He doesn’t have to take that job, right?" she said, referencing Woodward and Sheetz.
Early in the county commission meeting, Cavell tried to introduce a resolution related to Sheetz. The measure noted a 2024 lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that accused Sheetz of not hiring people due to their race. At the time, a Sheetz spokesman said the company does not tolerate racial discrimination and it tried to work with the government to resolve the issue. Then in June, under the Trump administration, the EEOC dropped the lawsuit.
Cavell's resolution condemned the decision to drop the case. He told the Free Press it's relevant for the Oakland County commission because the company wants to open more stores in the community.
Initially, when Cavell tried to get the item on Thursday's agenda, Woodward refused; generally such measures have to go through a committee before coming to the full commission. Later, Woodward agreed to send the measure to a committee.
More: Sheetz to replace Fraser bank, Roseville church in southeast Michigan expansion
More: Sheetz, other side gigs, pose ethics issues for Oakland County lawmakers
Historically, Michigan has some of the weakest public ethics laws in the country. After years of the Legislature failing to pass meaningful reforms, voters enacted a constitutional amendment requiring lawmakers to disclose additional financial information. Transparency advocates say the Legislature still needs to go further, pointing to the fact the governor is still not subject to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
Nelson and Cavell also joined with Republican commissioners to try and keep their seats on commission committees, but the Democratic majority agreed to formalize Woodward's decision last month to pull the two commissioners from their committee assignments.
Woodward told the Free Press they were formalizing a process already in place. Nelson and Cavell questioned why rule changes were necessary if Woodward already removed them from the committee positions.
When a Republican commissioner tried to speak at the end of the session to express frustration with Woodward's actions, the longtime Royal Oak commission leader abruptly adjourned the meeting.
Reach Dave Boucher at [email protected] and on X @Dave_Boucher1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan lawmaker cites Sheetz hiring, wants to ban practice
Comments