(WXYZ) — Questions are being raised again about the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chair taking an out-of-state trip to a county vendor.
The 7 Investigators first told you how Flock Safety flew Dave Woodward (D-Royal Oak) to their company headquarters, and that Woodward did not disclose that visit before a key vote on Flock drones.
Now the 7 Investigators have uncovered yet another trip that was not publicly disclosed before a vote.
Ethics experts say it’s one thing for the county employees who use a certain technology every day to visit a company’s headquarters to learn about the tools on offer. But they say it’s unusual for elected officials to visit and dine with county vendors, especially the elected leaders who eventually approve that vendor’s multi-million-dollar contracts.
Related: ‘No one knew.’ New details revealed in Oakland County leader’s controversial Flock visit
Officials in Wayne and Macomb counties told the 7 Investigators their county commissioners do not do this kind of travel with county vendors.
Oakland County spends a lot of money with Motorola Solutions. Police, fire, and EMS throughout the county use Motorola radios to communicate with each other, and Sheriff’s deputies use both body cams and dash cams made by Motorola.
In all, Oakland County taxpayers are spending $64,651,484.51 on county contracts with Motorola Solutions.
And according to the recent Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Grant that the Oakland County Commission just approved in September, Motorola will receive up to $200,000 for a License Plate Reader (LPR) investigative database as part of the grant.
“I am totally disgusted by what happened tonight,” said county resident Sally Walker at the September 17, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting.
Dozens of taxpayers say they spoke out against that $2.9 million auto theft prevention grant because it included funding for surveillance technologies from Flock Safety and other companies.
“Why are you refusing to take a step to protect the privacy and safety of the people you serve?” said county resident Ann Lehman at the September meeting.
The 7 Investigators first showed you how Flock Safety paid to bring Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chair Dave Woodward and three sheriff’s officials to Flock headquarters, a trip that other commissioners say was not disclosed to them or to the public before a controversial vote in April on Flock drones.
“There’s a grant for consideration that Oakland County has been awarded, to take action today,” said Chair Woodward at the September 17, 2026 meeting.
Related: Oakland County leader again evades WXYZ as taxpayers raise their own questions
Now we’ve learned that the two commissioners who presented the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority Grant acceptance to the commission in September, also went on what several county leaders say was another undisclosed trip.
The 7 Investigators have learned Chair Woodward and Public Health and Safety Committee Chair Commissioner Penny Luebs (D-Clawson) flew to Chicago to visit Motorola headquarters one week before the auto theft grant vote.
But when 7 Investigator Heather Catallo caught up with Commissioner Luebs to ask about her trip to the Windy City, Luebs seemed to have a hard time remembering the details.
In the video below watch 7 Investigator Heather Catallo's full interview with Commissioner Luebs
“Why did you not disclose that before the vote?” asked Catallo.
“We didn't go before the vote,” said Comm. Luebs.
“When did you go?” asked Catallo.
“I don't remember. I'd have to look at my calendar,” said Luebs.
According to others in attendance, the trip took place on Thursday, September 10th and Friday, September 11th— a full week before the September 17th board vote.
A sheriff’s official confirms that on September 10th Woodward, Luebs and the Oakland County Undersheriff all flew to Chicago, spent the day at Motorola Headquarters, then went to a dinner hosted by Motorola, stayed overnight in a hotel, and flew home the next morning.
“What was the technology you were looking at?” asked Catallo.
“We were looking at how they do business,” said Luebs.
“What does that mean?” asked Catallo.
“What they do, how they started out with computers, telephones, handhelds,” said Luebs.
“What did you specifically see then?” asked Catallo.
“The history of Motorola,” said Luebs.
“For the purposes of the county, what technology were you looking at?” asked Catallo.
“How Motorola does business,” said Luebs.
Chair Woodward also would not answer any specific questions about the Motorola trip and would not return calls and text messages from the 7 Investigators. No one answered the door at Woodward’s home, which is also the address of his consulting business, Woodward & Associates L.L.C.
Meanwhile, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has been very transparent, telling the 7 Investigators their official agreed to go on the trip that Chair Woodward organized so they can compare Motorola’s products in order to get the best equipment for their deputies and get the best deal for the taxpayers.
The OCSO also confirmed Motorola paid for their overnight trip to the company’s headquarters, as well as meals.
Getting a straight answer about who paid for the trip for the two county commissioners has not been easy. Neither commissioner’s expense reports submitted in September show any receipts from the Chicago trip. Commissioner Woodward has not denied that Motorola Solutions paid for the trip.
“Who invited you on the trip?” asked Catallo.
“Chair [Dave Woodward],” said Luebs.
“Who paid for the flight?” asked Catallo.
“As far as I know right now, Dave [Woodward] paid for my flight,” said Luebs.
“Personally?” asked Catallo.
“Ask Dave. I did not ask,” said Luebs.
“So why wouldn't you ask that kind of question?” asked Catallo.
“That was a quick overnight trip to see Motorola headquarters,” said Luebs.
“These are people that get multi-million-dollar contracts with the county. So, is it appropriate for commissioners to be attending these?” asked Catallo.
“I think if we want to know how a business works, how ethical they are and how they do business, you do have to meet with them,” said Luebs.
“Shouldn’t you disclose it, though,” asked Catallo.
“It wasn't a secret,” said Luebs.
“Did you tell anyone that you went?” asked Catallo.
“I really haven't seen anybody yet,” said Luebs
But a week after the 9/10/26 trip, Commissioner Luebs had seen the entire commission and faced the public during the September 17th board meeting where she voted yes on the grant that allocates more money to Motorola.
The 7 Investigators asked several commissioners if they knew about the trip. None of the commissioners who returned our calls were aware of the trip, including Democratic caucus member Yolonda Smith Charles (D-Southfield). Smith Charles confirmed that Woodward and Luebs did not disclose the Motorola trip prior to the board meeting.
“I don't see anything wrong with what Commissioners Luebs and Woodward did in terms of traveling. I do think that making the board aware is always a good idea, especially under these very difficult times,” said Smith Charles, who voted no because of the surveillance technology included in the grant.
Democrats Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford) and Charlie Cavell (D-Ferndale) said they were not told about the trip prior to the approval of the auto theft grant prevention grant. Neither were several Republican commissioners the 7 Investigators spoke with.
Other Democratic caucus members we contacted refused to return calls and text messages including Brendan Johnson (D-Rochester Hills), Ann Erickson Gault (D-Troy), and Gwen Markham (D-Novi).
“It's disappointing that again, this pattern of lack of transparency seems to be the norm right before important votes,” said Troy resident Mike Flores.
Flores attends nearly every board of commissioners meeting and has been an outspoken critic of how Chair Woodward has handled several county contracts. Flores also helped lead the recent failed recall effort against Woodward with the group 'I Am Oakland County.'
Flores was at the September 17th commission meeting and did not know about the Motorola trip until the 7 Investigators told him about it.
“It's extremely important to understand what kind of interaction these vendors are having with our commissioners, who's paying for those visits, and are those visits really influencing the decisions that our commissioners are making. Again, if there's nothing to fear, why not disclose?
As the 7 Investigators previously reported, Chair Woodward owns a consulting company where he works with several businesses that he won’t disclose. That’s why government ethics experts say it's critical that taxpayers know about Woodward’s interactions with county vendors.
“It's the appearance of impropriety. Why are you there, is the major question... Ethics is the key to any organization. And ethics starts from the tone from the top,” said Brendan Dunleavy, the former Auditor General for Wayne County.
Dunleavy says commissioners taking vendor-sponsored trips should not be allowed.
“You don't have to fly to Chicago to do it. You don't have to eat the steak dinner. You don't have to drink the bottle of wine. You can sit there and find out what you need to know over a Zoom call,” said Dunleavy.
The 7 Investigators sent several emails to the Motorola Solutions communications team, as well as text messages and phone calls. When we finally got a communications manager on the phone to ask about this trip, she hung up on us.
Meanwhile after weeks of asking for information, Commissioner Woodward finally sent us a written statement:
“One of the most important responsibilities of the Board is to make informed decisions on behalf of our 1.3 million Oakland County residents, which requires an in-depth understanding of issues placed before us. This includes when the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is facing aging emergency response equipment such as body cameras, dash cams and emergency radios.
For more than 20 years, Motorola has been an important partner in this space. We attended a day-long meeting with the undersheriff to discuss the potential new equipment to meet our needs and ensure our officers have the best tools they need to serve residents and keep our communities safe.
My colleagues and I will continue to research and understand the best possible solutions while being responsible stewards of resources.”
More information from other counties about vendor-paid travel:
A commission spokesman told us: "While the Wayne County Commission does not formally have a policy that prohibits such travel, it is expressly understood that any potential vendor paid travel for Commissioners or their staff would be inappropriate. Moreover, to our knowledge no Commissioners or staff have previously attended any trips paid for by any vendor."
Macomb County has an ethics policy that does not allow vendor-sponsored travel.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com