Clinton Twp. Clerk Again Asks Supervisor to Turn Over Complaint Letters

Clinton Township Clerk George Fitzgerald made yet another request Monday for Supervisor Robert Cannon to turn over the multiple complaint letters Cannon says employees in the clerk’s office have submitted .

“Mr. Cannon, I address this specifically to yourself as chair,” Fitzgerald said during the meeting's public comment. “I’m making a formal request tonight to turn over all the complaint letters you claim you have in your possession to my fellow board members for review.”

Fitzgerald, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the letters in December 2011, said Cannon has continued to violate FOIA by denying this request.

“Board members should review the actual complaint letters, paying close attention to the nature and content of them,” Fitzgerald said. “If you do not comply, I can only assume you do not have any letters or that the content of these letters are not has horrific as you lead the township residents and my fellow board members to believe.”

The board previously voted to fulfill this FOIA request in January under advisement from township attorney Jack Dolan.

Trustees Kenneth Pearl, Ernest Hornung and Dean Reynolds voted with Fitzgerald to appeal the FOIA denial, but as Fitzgerald was directly affected by the vote, Cannon said he should have abstained. As this would have meant a 3-3 vote, Cannon did not take the requested action.

“I gave him a letter so (the FOIA appeal) could be put back on the agenda at the following board meeting,” Cannon said. “He refused as clerk to put it on the agenda, so I refused to give the requested information.”

At this time, Cannon said he offered to allow Hornung to review the letters, but he declined. Fitzgerald’s request was again denied on Monday.

“The letters are old news,” Cannon said. “Things have moved way beyond that,” referencing the board’s June decision to petition the governor for Fitzgerald’s official removal.

Although it did not have enough information to justify a state investigation, Cannon said is he continuing to compile additional information for the governor.

“(The governor’s office) claimed the affidavit was filled out wrong,” Cannon told Patch Tuesday. To correct this issue, several employees in the clerk’s office will also sign the affidavit and it will be resubmitted “in the format the governor’s office wants.”

Since the existence of these complaint letters was reported in late 2011, all employees in the clerk’s office have either retired or taken a medical leave of absence.

The Macomb Daily reports that one worker has even filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit, “claiming Fitzgerald has created a hostile work environment after she took notice that he was trying to become romantically involved with Deputy Clerk Kim Irvine.”

The township will have to defend Fitzgerald in his official capacity as clerk, which Cannon says will cost $100,000 from the general fund before the township’s insurance takes over.

The battle of letters remains unresolved.