By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Macomb County voters made history Tuesday by approving an overhaul of county government, agreeing by a huge margin to adopt a county charter that will put an elected executive in charge.

The charter — Macomb's first constitution — was a winner by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin, with surprisingly strong support all across the county. Even the business-labor coalition that initiated the charter/executive process, plus the charter commissioners who wrote the document, were surprised by the overwhelming popularity of the proposal.

"Do you believe this margin?" said a jubilant Grace Shore, co-chair of the Charter Equals County Executive campaign organization and CEO of the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce. "I think people realized it was a sound document. And I think downsizing was a big factor. When I was going around getting petition signatures to put this issue on the ballot, the reduction in the Board of Commissioners was the most prominent issue in people's minds."

The charter approval sets the stage for an unprecedented Macomb County election in 2010, with an August primary and November vote to choose Macomb's first county executive and to select members of a new county board. The charter chopped the board in half, from 26 to 13 commissioners.

Voters also approved a separate ballot proposal — in effect an instant charter amendment to put the Road Commission

under the authority of the executive — by a similar margin, 64 percent to 36 percent.

While turnout was disappointing at 16.1 percent, pro-charter voters showed up in relatively big numbers, with the proposal winning in every community except Armada and Richmond townships. In Clinton Township, Mount Clemens and Fraser, the charter won by landslide proportions.

Jake Femminineo, chairman of the 26-member Charter Commission, said the panel emphasized efficiency and transparency as they deliberated for six months, completing their work in June. The only potential shortcoming in the document, Femminineo had anticipated, was a lack of term limits for the executive.

"People are fed up with the current government system that they've got," said Femminineo, a Mount Clemens Democrat. "And people realized that this Charter Commission wrote a solid document."

The charter, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2011, provides: an elected executive who will oversee day-to-day operations; a slimmed-down Board of Commissioners; restrictions on taxes and spending; a consolidation of county departments; and an independent ethics board that will serve as a watchdog against cronyism and corruption.

This "home rule" charter enjoyed bipartisan support from the Charter Commission, which adopted the final product unanimously.

But in September a group of Republicans formed a small opposition group to urge a "no" vote. A leader of Taxpayers Against Bloated Government, Dennis Buchholtz, said the election was a mismatch given the key union and business backing enjoyed by Charter Equals County Executive.

That advantage was magnified by a light turnout, which made get-out-the-vote efforts more decisive. In addition, Buchholtz said many of the voters heading to the polls were largely uninformed about the charter — "and shame on them." Now, he warns that the charter/executive government will lead to machine politics.

"This was a power move by the Democrats and we saw the steamroller coming," said Buchholtz, a Warren resident.

While opponents claimed that the executive would have too much power and too much influence over county commissioner elections, charter supporters said that the county has exerted far too little influence because the county board amounts to a government by committee.

A key selling point of Charter Equals County Executive, when it began the petition drive in 2007, was that a strong CEO would attract new businesses to Macomb and give the county more clout in southeast Michigan, Lansing and Washington.

Among those celebrating Tuesday's election outcome was county Commissioner Ed Bruley, the leading political strategist for the pro-charter group who also led a campaign for a charter in 1986. That year, Macomb voters narrowly rejected a charter/executive proposal by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.

Twenty-three years later, Bruley said, voters embraced the need for government to prioritize and consolidate in the midst of an economic upheaval.

"I think people understood the need for change," said the Mount Clemens Democrat. "We need a person (an executive) who goes out into the world and brings jobs back home."

The key points in the charter are:

No tax increase without a vote of the people.

Strict balanced-budget requirements, modeled after the executive orders delivered by the governor under the Michigan constitution.

A reduction of the county board from 26 members to 13 in order to streamline the legislative process. The board would retain control of the "purse strings."

A consolidation of the county bureaucracy into four basic departments.

A line-item veto allowing the executive to strike down individual budget items and other board decisions, such as passage of a county ordinance.

A veto override allowing the county board to bypass an executive decision by a two-thirds vote.

An executive support staff limited to one deputy executive, a secretary and up to three administrative assistants.