How Yesterday Affects Tomorrow – 1970
By Bob Cannon
Government has changed over the years and each change has affected each and every one of us. So let’s look back in time at one of the biggest changes in how Macomb County government was run.
During the early days, each township, no matter what the population, had one county representative or voting member, while each city had county representation based on their population. A lot of very important decisions were made for all of Macomb County by this board, as it was the governing body and major policy approval center for county government. It was the legislative body with authority over most aspects of the county.
The State Legislature changed that in 1967 due to increasing concern over court rulings directing equal representation on county boards based on population. For example, in 1960, Clay Township, with a population of 109 and Clinton Township with a population of 25,688, no longer would have one vote for each community.
It took until April of 1970 to make the change in Macomb County to what is now known as the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. This board had 26 members when the new charter with the County Executive started in 2011, changing the board to only 13 commissioners. Voters now elect county commissioners from single-member districts. A county apportionment commission establishes the commissioner districts every 10 years, following the U.S government’s official census of the population.
For those who live in Macomb County, this old photograph is a chapter in the story of how you vote and how you are governed.
The photograph shows the Macomb County Board of Supervisors on a date unknown. However, we know this picture was taken by or before March, 1970 because that was the last time the Board of Supervisors met as a group in Mount Clemens.
As you can see in the photo, the Board of Supervisors stood in their winter coats in front of the former Ullrich Savings Bank, 14 N. Broadway (formerly Front) Street. The building was razed in 1960 to make way for the approach for the new Cass-Crocker bridge. Notice every one of them has a hat, which was considered at the time a standard part of a man’s attire, and commanded respect, signifying a social status. These were the men who were making decisions for our county.
Photo courtesy of the Suburban Library Cooperative.
