Former Mayor Jerry Ellis: "It's Like Trying to Sneak Something Through Behind Everybody's Back"

In this second conversation with former Mayor Jerry Ellis, we get into the structural safeguards that have kept Farmington Hills stable for decades - and why they're being undermined right now. Jerry explains the "weak mayor, strong city manager" system our charter established: the mayor runs meetings and cuts ribbons, period. No administrative power. Seven equal votes. It's worked "to perfection" for 25 years by keeping partisan politics and power grabs out of city operations. So what changed between the November election and December 17th? Jerry heard the same rumors I did - that the mayor wants to consolidate power, extend her term to four years, and replace not just the city manager but potentially the police chief, fire chief, and city clerk. "I was sick when I heard it," Jerry tells me. He also confirms what's been nagging at me: City Manager Gary Machin received positive performance evaluations and yearly raises. There's no documented cause for termination. When you schedule secret meetings over the holidays, cancel the strategic planning session where department heads get their annual direction, and exclude council members from knowing what's happening, you're not governing - you're grabbing power. Jerry spent 20 hours a week as mayor during the Great Recession, took a pay cut from his law practice, and never once tried to run the city's daily operations. That wasn't his job. Public service means respecting the system that works, not breaking it to serve your own ambitions.