Board Refuses to OK Clinton Twp. Clerk's Return to Former Office Space

Clinton Township Clerk George Fitzgerald’s request to return to his former office quarters to better prepare for the November election was denied by township board Monday.

Fitzgerald was moved to another office in June following a report by the township’s human resources department that cited a series of allegations of bullying, foul language and threatening behavior on the part of the clerk against employees in his office.

With a presidential election on the horizon, Fitzgerald told the board Monday he would need full access to his former quarters to train election staff and conduct the business necessary to stage a “fair and democratic election.”

Fellow board members viewed the request with skepticism.

“There is pending litigation against you and the township due to a hostile work environment that you created,” said Supervisor Robert Cannon. “Now we have four extremely qualified workers who are off work because of the distress you’ve caused … to me, to bring you back into that office will mean adding stress to the people who are there now and those you will be bringing in.”

Fitzgerald maintains that it was Cannon’s redesign of the clerk’s office that caused this undue stress.

He produced two letters, one from a permanent employee and another from a part-time temporary employee in his office, as proof of others requesting his return to the office. Cannon rejected the first letter, saying Fitzgerald has a history of coercing employees to sign such letters, and clarified that the second request was only for access to documents in the clerk's office and not the presence of the clerk himself.

Township waits to hear from governor's office about clerk's removal

The township continues to await a response from the governor or Michigan Attorney General’s Office regarding the board’s June request to have Fitzgerald permanently removed from his post.

“This is a political move to unseat me in a political year for re-election,” Fitzgerald said. “Go ahead and vote the way you want to vote but I’m telling you for the record, with what you’ve done, you’ve hindered my ability to properly stage an election. I’m assuming you will take responsibility for whatever goes wrong.”

Board approves hiring of temp employees to staff clerk's office

Prior to denying Fitzgerald’s request to return to his office, the board approved the hiring of five temporary employees to replace those who are currently out on medical leave.

Despite Fitzgerald’s initial objections over Cannon’s recommendation to withhold medical benefits from the new hires, the full board did approve hiring five temporary staff members to be paid according to their skills and responsibilities without benefits. These staffers will be terminated upon the return of the employees whose positions they are temporarily filling.

While Fitzgerald has the authority to hire these five individuals, the board maintained he is not allowed to train them in his former office space. Fitzgerald is to remain in his separate office or risk additional township litigation, Cannon said.

As the debate reached its climax and the issue was called to a vote, Fitzgerald left the board chambers. He returned several minutes later, telling Cannon to “have at it,” meaning for him to conduct the roll call vote, which is a task typically undertaken by the clerk.

After several more minutes of discussion, Fitzgerald did conduct the vote regarding his return to the clerk’s office. The request failed, with Fitzgerald casting the only "no" vote.