At a special Oakland Township Board meeting held on September 28, 2015, the Board interviewed and selected Dale Stuart as our new Township Manager for a term through March of 2017.

The Oakland Township Board extended an offer to Mr. Dale Stuart for the position of Oakland Township manager through March of 2017.  Mr. Stuart accepted the offer and agreed to start immediately. Mr. Stuart will be the 4th manager in 3 years in that position.  The previous 3 managers all resigned.

Mr. Stuart is familiar with Oakland County and lives in Clarkston. His resume includes:

• Elected Township Supervisor of Charter Township of Independence for 12 years.
• Elected Township Trustee in Charter Township of Independence for 8 years.
• Appointed City manager of Keego Harbor for 4 years
• Appointed City manager of Cheboygan for 3 1/2 years
• Lead negotiator for AFSCME and POLC labor contracts
• Served as DDA Director
• Served as Zoning administrator
• Oversaw DPW operations in various communities
• Oversaw reconstruction of 20% of the roads in Keego Harbor
• Has a BS in Management from Lawrence Tech
• Has a Law degree from Detroit College of Law and is a licensed attorney

Here is a copy of his complete resume:

Dale Stuart resume

The interview process was similar to previous interviews.  Each Board member asked the applicant questions.  Supervisor Gonser was not present at the meeting.  Trustee Ferriolo wanted to make certain the the applicant was familiar with the issue Supervisor Gonser has with the ‘strong manager’ form of governance in Oakland Township.  Mr. Stuart was familiar with the Supervisor’s position on this matter, but responded by expressing how he would handle any potential disagreement.  He then asked the Board to express their position on Ordinance 97 and the ‘strong manager’ form of governance, since he would rely on their support if needed.  All 6 Board members expressed their support for the ordinance and our form of governance.

After deliberations, the Board extended an offer to Mr. Stuart.  Mr. Stuart accepted the position.

Here is a video of portions of the interview:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  We have gone through 3 Township managers over the past 3 years.  The day to day operation of our Township has not been taking place as it should.  Supervisor Gonser argues the lack of progress is due to the form of governance in our Township.  However, the constant ‘churning’ of managers, due to the Supervisor’s personal desire to run the Township himself as a ‘strong supervisor’, is the reason for the lack of progress.  Mr. Stuart is extremely familiar with what needs to get done in a community since he has been city Manager and a Supervisor of a Township.  His experience and local knowledge will allow him to ‘come up to speed’ very quickly and get us back on track.

The only risk is that Supervisor Gonser may attempt to subvert Mr. Stuart’s effectiveness in order to create the appearance that our form of governance does not work.  It worked very well for years prior to his election.

If you have not already done so, please read the other article that was posted today.  It provides some further insight into the challenges that Mr. Stuart will have with Supervisor Gonser.

Did Supervisor Gonser mislead voters in 2012 election, or did he not understand the job of Supervisor in our Township?

Richard Michalski