(WXYZ) — There’s been a battle brewing at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.
Watch Heather Catallo's video report:
Two Oakland County commissioners say they decided to leave the majority caucus because they felt votes on important issues were changing during meetings of the Democratic majority that are not recorded.
They did not resign as commissioners — they just left their caucus. But now they say they’re being retaliated against and stripped of their committee assignments.
Oakland County Commissioners Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford) and Charlie Cavell (D-Ferndale) have not been shy about demanding more transparency from Commission Chair Dave Woodward and other county leaders.
That’s why Nelson and Cavell say that in early May, they introduced three resolutions to create a board of ethics, to establish financial disclosure rules for county officials, and to create a whistleblower protection policy.
But Nelson and Cavell say those resolutions have stalled.
"I'm not quite sure why we're shying away from increasing transparency, increasing our accountability, because at the end of the day, we need to make sure that the things and the decisions that we make are based upon the best interest of the residents across Oakland County," said Nelson.
Cavell said, "These are things that Chair Woodward and County Executive Coulter were supportive of and endorsed and helped draft back in 2010 and 2012 when they were in the minority."
Cavell and Nelson say after years of raising transparency concerns, in July, they decided to leave the Democratic caucus, the meeting of the Board of Commissioners in the majority party, where a lot of decisions get made.
Caucus is an internal voluntary group of commissioners who choose to meet and coordinate strategies. Commissioners say attendance at caucus is not reflected in board rules, unlike attendance at board meetings, and caucus membership is not a requirement of serving on board committees.
"What can seem like some sort of internal squabble amongst like local petty politicians arguing about he said, she said, or this guy's being mean to us and we wish we had more say. I think fundamentally the thing that is important to note is ... what we saw happen from our perspective is there is a pattern of bad behavior ... we asked to be heard, to make our community stronger, and have people trust that government is working for them. And we were told no," said Cavell.
After they announced that decision, Chair Woodward sent Nelson and Cavell a letter removing them from their committees. Nelson says board rules do not allow this.
"The chair of the board of commissioners does not have unilateral authority to remove members from standing committees ... I am here in good faith to fulfill my responsibilities as an elected official, and to participate in this committee's work on behalf of the residents of Oakland County," said Nelson during a committee meeting last week.
7 Investigator Heather Catallo caught up with Woodward after Thursday's Democratic caucus meeting.
"Why did you remove two of the members of the Democratic majority from their committee assignments?" asked Catallo.
"There were two Democrats that resigned from the Democratic caucus. And the committee assignments are assignments of the Democratic caucus. And so they removed themselves," said Woodward.
When questioned asked why they were removed when the board rules say only the full body can vote to remove them from committee assignments, Woodward said "the board rule says that they are seats of the caucus." He did not directly address the question about the need for a full vote to remove them from committee.
During Thursday’s public meeting, the commission minority chair asked for a legal opinion about Woodward removing Nelson and Cavell from their committees, but Woodward dismissed that, so it appears no legal opinion will be sought.
"What do you say to these claims that you're not being transparent or ethical?" asked Catallo.
"I'm being 100% transparent and ethical," said Woodward.