By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

A top union official and a sheriff’s department officer have been appointed to fill two vacancies on the 26-member Charter Commission that will write Macomb County’s first constitution.

Nick Ciaramitaro, a Roseville Democrat, was appointed without opposition to serve in the District 21 (northern Roseville) seat. Charles Medley, a Chesterfield Township Republican, was selected after two rounds of Charter Commission voting to fill the District 25 (southern Chesterfield Township) seat.

A former 20-year state representative, Ciaramitaro is the director of legislation and public policy for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25. In turn, Council 25 oversees AFSCME Local 411, the largest union that represents county employees. Donna Cangemi of Sterling Heights, president of the 900-member Local 411, is already a member of the Charter Commission.

Medley is a 14-year sheriff’s department employee and currently serves as a command officer. A former U.S. Marine, Medley is also an Anchor Bay school board member. He will be serving on the Charter Commission with a fellow sheriff’s department officer, David Willis of Center Line.

The chairman of the Charter Commission, Jacob Femminineo Jr., said he was comfortable with another AFSCME representative and another employee of Sheriff Mark Hackel joining the panel.

“Regardless of what their jobs are, they’re still committed to creating a great county charter,” said Femminineo, a Mount Clemens Democrat, who noted that Ciaramitaro marks the sixth attorney on the commission. “Everybody is influenced by where they live, where they work, the beliefs they had growing up.”

At the commission’s Wednesday meeting, Ciaramitaro was the lone applicant for the seat vacated by Roseville City Councilwoman Jan Haggerty. Haggerty was elected to the commission on Nov. 4 but decided not to serve because her husband, county Commissioner Leonard Haggerty, is seriously ill.

Medley was selected after gaining a majority in the second round of voting, with three applicants vying for the seat declined by state Rep. Dan Acciavatti. Election officials determined that Acciavatti is not eligible to serve on the Charter Commission.

Medley lost to Acciavatti in the August GOP primary. On Wednesday, he was chosen over business owner Maria Silamianos and David Joseph, a Macomb County Juvenile Court probation officer.

The Charter Commission meets next on Dec. 23, its final organizational session before embarking on the process of writing the “home rule” charter. The issues to be resolved include: commission staff, commission committees, rules and procedures, the commission budget, where and when the panel will hold meetings, and who will serve as the commission’s legal advisers.