The ten applicants hoping to be appointed to a single open seat on the Brandon Township Board of Trustees is an unusual amount, remarks one local political observer.
‘This is quite exceptional,? said Paul Kubicek, chair of the political science department at Oakland University. ‘Two or three would be the average. There is a lot of mobilization occurring and in your township, an outgrowth of people wanting to be appointed to office.?
According to Michigan Compiled Law, the township board must appoint someone to fill a vacant elected office within 45 days of the vacancy. Trustee Charlene Carlson died Dec. 22.
Applying for the appointment are Todd Blake; Jane Crossman; Dana DePalma; Cheryl Gault; Larry Hayden; Clifford Holmyard; Roger Ingles; Nick Kovasity; Lora Newsom; and Cynthia Strehle. Kubicek attributes the high number of candidates to anger or disappointment over the direction the country has taken and a desire to make a difference at the local level.
‘People realize if they want to make a change, they need to be more involved as decision makers,? Kubicek said. ‘There is less confidence in politics as usual and deferring to the usual suspects, and people from the grassroots want to take up the mantle of leadership.?
Six months ago, Kubicek said his answer would have been different regarding the reason for the extraordinary number of people applying for a local appointment? then he would have said it was a result of energy from the 2008 campaign.
He doesn’t believe the current motivation is a Republican or Democrat issue, however.
‘It’s not partisan, just a notion that people feel the country has been hijacked by political elites, financial elites? banks and corporations? and media elites,? Kubicek said. ‘With all of that, the average person feels alienated and not very empowered. I think this has been brewing for some time.?
More people will generally apply for an appointed position than will run in an actual election because, he noted, elections are more work. The new trustee, who will fill the seat until Nov. 20, and may run for the seat in the November election to complete the term which ends in 2012, may be surprised by the constraints of budgets.
‘The easiest way to get elected is to promise to cut taxes and get rid of wasteful spending, but when you get in, you find that there is not much wasteful spending, and if you cut services, you make people upset,? Kubicek said. ‘I see angry people’s visceral responses that government tries to do too much, but many people like public services and when you cut back on government, they don’t like that so much.?
The township board will choose an appointee at their next meeting, set for 7:30 p.m., Feb. 1, at the township offices, 395 Mill St.