L. Brooks Patterson Defends Troy City Manager Against Mayor's 'Personal Assault'

In a letter dated Feb. 7 to Troy City Council members, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson defends Troy City Manager John Szerlag against comments made by Troy Mayor Janice Daniels during a Jan. 9 City Council meeting.

During the meeting, Daniels reiterated her opposition to the transit center project in a in which she also accused two council members of "interfering with staff operations" and city management of opening her mail at City Hall. Daniels also wrote that she has "no confidence in our City Manager's ability to continue to perform the duties granted to him in this position."

Szerlag later that rebuts nearly every statement in Daniels' five-page paper, which he says is "filled with inaccuracies and has damaged my reputation."

"My long standing policy has been not to get involved in local issues in an effort to avoid the impression that from the lofty perch of county government I'm in a position to dictate to local units of government what they should or should not do," Patterson wrote in his letter to council. "As it pertained to the controversy surrounding Troy Modal Transit Center, I assiduously adhere to my policy.

"But out of that controversy there has arisen an ancillary matter that compels a response from me," Patterson continued. "I refer to the personal assault on the character and fitness of your City Manager, John Szerlag."

Patterson writes that he has called on Szerlag for advice in the past and has worked with Szerlag in Oakland County for nearly two decades.

"I have worked with many city managers within our 61 communities in Oakland County, and John stands out as simply the best. He is knowledgeable, trustworthy, responsive, and enjoys an excellent reputation not only within my administration, but within his peer group," Patterson wrote.

"A dispute between two individuals does not render one of them suddenly incompetent to perform their duties. John Szerlag has my full support as an outstanding City Manager, and I look forward to working with him for years to come."

Troy Community Affairs Director Cindy Stewart confirmed the letter from Patterson was received by City Council members and the mayor last week.

“It’s always an honor to be favorably recognized by a competent leader like Patterson," Szerlag said.

Patterson could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon, though Oakland County Media and Communications Officer Bill Mullan commented on his behalf.

“The letter speaks for itself. Mr. Szerlag is a very good man and has a stellar record when it comes to the City of Troy," Mullan said. "Brooks doesn’t like getting involved in local politics, but in this instance, he’s known Mr. Szerlag a long time and believes that his attempt to serve the best interest of the City of Troy and the residents of Troy should not be something that’s derided by other officials.”

“I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Patterson," Daniels said Monday evening. "My concern was that I felt, as one of a seven-member board, I felt we weren’t getting the information to be able to give to the public, and that was my main concern with these issues.

"As important an issue is as the Transit Center is, I felt that we deserved to give the public a full disclosure of information before we made these important decisions. So that was what my concern was, and I brought it to the public.

"Mr. Szerlag and I have met, and we’ve discussed other issues, so we’re working as professionals should work together to make Troy the most vibrant and best city that we can possibly make it be, because that is all of our goals."

To read Patterson's letter in full, please see the attached pdf document.

Note: This article was updated with Daniels' comments at 9 p.m. Monday.