Monroe County grapples with fallout from Brant's concealed conviction
The board formally acknowledged that their former chair, Mark Brant, who was convicted of felony charges, was serving on the board while legally ineligible.
The results of an ad hoc ethics investigation were shared at the Monroe County commissioners final board meeting of the year on Monday night.
The investigation comes after former Monroe County Commissioner Mark Brant was convicted and sentenced for felony charges.
The following is a timeline of Brant's actions and the results of the board of commissioners' investigation.
Breaking down Brant's felony Former Monroe County Commissioner Mark Brant was charged and sentenced on felony drug trafficking charges. He later resigned, but won re-election in November of 2024.
United States of America v. Mark Brant and Konstantin Sorin
Brant was charged in connection to a federal, multi-state illegal drug trafficking conspiracy case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney General's office indicate that Brant was charged with violating on federal drug trafficking laws on Dec. 15, 2022.
Brant was accused of distributing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and marijuana.
On March 20, 2024, Brant pleaded guilty to one felony count of maintaining a drug-involved premises on Sept. 11, 2024. Brant was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison in West Virginia.
Following Brant's conviction, he continued serving as the chair of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. A legal briefing, released in part by the board following their ethics investigation, states that although Brant continued to participate in county board meetings in his elected capacity, he was technically ineligible to do so.
The board said that this action calls into question the legality of every action taken by the board of commissioners after March 20, 2024, through Brant's resignation from the board on Oct. 1, 2024.
Why had the board not ousted Brant following his conviction? He never told them about it.
According to the board, Brant failed to inform his fellow commissioners that he had been charged with the felony and sentenced to prison time.
The board of commissioners blames Brant's silence on the matter as the catalyst for "a series of events that eroded public confidence in government, particularly, [the] Monroe County Government."
Brant resigned from his position on the board on Oct. 1, 2024, following multiple reports by the media about his conviction and sentencing.
During the ethics investigation, the board also learned that Monroe County Chief Administrative Officer Michael Bosanac and Monroe County Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Aundrea Armstrong were aware of Brant's legal situation and both wrote letters to Brant's attorney in his criminal case on June 4, 2024.
However, the board does not state that they knew of Brant's conviction, only that the administrators did not alert the board of what they did know.
The letters were not authorized or sectioned by the board, but rather were written in personal capacities.
Brant's re-election Brant ran unopposed in November's election, snagging him the commissioner position once again.
Mark Brant's re-elected as District 2 Commissioner while serving prison sentence
On Nov. 5, 2024, Mark Brant, was reelected to his position as Monroe County's District 2 commissioner, which is a four-year term beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. Brant ran as a Republican and was unopposed on the ballot.
Monroe County Democrats did try putting forward write-in candidate Danielle Hoover in the weeks leading up to the election, but Brant won his district with 91% of the vote.
That led many in the county to question whether Brant can legally re-take his seat while he is still serving his prison sentence.
The ethics committee for the board stated that the incoming board members, the Monroe County Clerk, Michigan Bureau of Elections and the courts may need to review whether Brant is still eligible to hold his office, if a special election to fill the seat is necessary and who should bear the cost.
Results of the ethics investigation While the current board cannot implement any of the recommendations sought by the the ethics committee, they can submit the findings for future board members to consider.
Results of the board's ethics investigation - bylaw revisions sought
The ethics investigation spanned four weeks, as those on the committee looked at publicly available documents and legal opinions from the law firm that represents the board.
The committee found no other criminal activity among those involved with the board of commissioners other than Brant's felony conviction.
The committee stated that any other investigation into the matter will require a third-party law firm with no ties to Monroe County. For further investigations, the incoming board will need to hold a vote and funding will need to be allocated from the county's budget to support the investigation. It is unclear if more investigation into the matter will occur.
Moving forward, the committee believes that the Monroe County Board of Commissioners' ethics bylaws need to be revised. The committee suggests that all board members and administrative personnel will need to adhere to the code of ethics annually. The following is the code the committee believes should be put in place.
Suggested changes to Monroe County bylaws
All elected and appointed members of the board should:
- Faithfully perform the duties of their offices.
- Properly administer the affairs of the county.
- Promote decisions intended to benefit public interests.
- Actively promote confidence in public government.
- Faithfully comply with all laws, codes and regulations applicable to their position.
- Immediately disclose to the board any development, including being convicted of a felony or qualifying misdemeanor, which renders the individual ineligible to hold office.
- Immediately disclose to the board any and all factors or information which may presently or in the future impact the individual’s eligibility to hold office or in any way limit the ability or effectiveness of the individual’s office or employment with the County of Monroe.
Suggested amendments to Michigan law
The committee also believes that Michigan law should be amended to include qualifications required for an individual to serve as a commissioner or as a member of the administrative staff in Monroe County. They said an individual should be considered unfit for office if the individual:
- Has been convicted of any felony involving moral turpitude unless the individual has completed his/her entire sentence and is no longer subject to the authority of the court.
- Fails to timely notify the county attorney of any pending legal action in which the commissioner or member of the administrative staff has been named a defendant in his or her capacity as a commissioner or as a member of the administrative staff of Monroe County.
- Commits a willful and substantive violation of the individual’s oath of office.
- Engages in misfeasance or malfeasance in office.
- Fails to be insurable under the county’s errors and omissions policy – or any other policy indemnifying board of commissioner members.
The board's ethics committee also believes that the Monroe County Board of Commissioners proceedings should be made available to to the public for and the media through television or streaming services.
They also want to see the incoming board of commissioners form a standing ethics committee to ensure that compliance with ethical conduct and transparency is followed by board members and administrators.
The new members of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners are set to take office on Jan. 1, 2024. Brant was reportedly sworn in to office back in November, before he left to serve his prison sentence. Brant is not expected to reclaim his title as chair of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.
The full ethics report is below.