MONROE, Mich. — An ad hoc Monroe County committee will review "best practices" after a former county commissioner who was sentenced to prison on a federal drug charge was re-elected to his seat last week.
Mark Brant was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and THC and sentenced to 18 months in prison in September.
The county board voted 5-3 on Tuesday to form the Committee on Ethics, Transparency, and Common Sense to examine the best practices of the commission.
The committee was proposed by current chairman Randy Richardville, who took over the position after Brant resigned. It will consist of five members: a prosecutor, a former compliance officer, a previous Democratic board chairman and two current board members.
"Let's look backwards and say, 'What happened? What could we have done to inform the public or for us to be better informed?'" Richardville said.
"See if we can put a strong pair of bylaws and maybe also a code of conduct that's renewed annually for compliance reasons, for legal reasons, and also just to show everyone what we expect in terms of conduct," he added.
Commissioner Greg Moore, one of the votes against the committee, is concerned that the committee is being picked by a commissioner, with two current commissioners on it.
"We had a real opportunity here tonight to be truly transparent," Moore said. "To do that, I'd like to see independent counsel or maybe a bipartisan group of citizens on that board."
Brant's re-election also raises questions about his continued eligibility to serve. His only other opponents were write-in candidates.
Richardville said Brant serving in office is not something the board can decide and that the election commission and courts might have to determine Brant’s status, instead.
Monroe resident Steven Meyer said he wished the new committee could provide guidance when it comes to Brant's seat.
"A county commissioner serving from prison. I feel like that needs to be addressed but it evidently isn't going to be addressed," Meyer said.
Richardville hopes the committee will deliver a recommendation to the board within 30 days.