Bob Smith named Macomb County commission chairman

Jan. 19--Bob Smith says he wants the Macomb County commissioners to be taken seriously as a co-equal partner in county government.

Being the board's new chairman, he's going to try to make that happen in the next two years that he's at the helm.

Smith, 54, a Democrat from Clinton Township, is no stranger to politics, having served on the commission since he was first elected in 2010. And folks are pretty familiar with his brother, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith. His father, Robert W. Smith, was Macomb County's longest-serving police chief when he retired from Clinton Township police, according to Bob Smith's LinkedIn account, and his mother, Stella, worked 42 years at Chippewa Valley schools as an accountant/bookkeeper.

Bob Smith will earn $90,000 annually in the full-time position, one of many pay raises approved last year by county commissioners, which approved salary hikes for themselves and other countywide elected officials starting this year. The board chairman's salary was bumped up more than 35% from $66,595.

Smith was unanimously elected board chairman by his peers Jan. 10, replacing David Flynn in the job. Flynn, a Democrat who was from Sterling Heights, served in that role for four years, but did not seek re-election to the commission last year.

Smith, who is married with two sons and step-daughter, said he will work with elected officials in the county and department heads and agencies to meet the needs of county residents and employees. He's already been busy -- as many county officials have -- after a large sewer interceptor collapse and sinkhole on 15 Mile in Fraser on Dec. 24. Smith has toured the site twice, most recently Sunday with Congressional members, county commissioners and local and state officials, and chatted about the situation Friday in his office with newly-elected county Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller before a special board meeting to approve extending the county's state of emergency declaration until Feb. 9.

Smith said he hopes to increase services to veterans; institute a commission on aging in the county to better address the needs of its aging population, and increase opportunities for citizen involvement by providing more information about boards and commission vacancies and holding events in commission districts.

Smith is a lawyer, who in September 2015 started his own firm specializing in elder law, Medicaid, veterans benefits, estate planning, wills, trusts and minor criminal matters, according to his LinkedIn account.

He earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Central Michigan University and is a 1980 graduate of Chippewa Valley High School. He served 25 years with the Clinton Township Fire Department, retiring in 2011 as the fire marshal. He served on the Macomb County Charter Commission, which wrote the county charter for the executive form of government with a smaller county commission.

Smith was the only one nominated for board chairman among his peers. Jim Carabelli, a Republican from Shelby Township, was elected in a 7-6 vote as the board's vice chair, with two Democrats voting for him. First-time Commissioner Elizabeth Lucido, a Mt. Clemens Democrat, was elected sergeant-at-arms.

Contact Christina Hall: chall99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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