TOWNSHIP TUNES

Tom Smyly

Now that the general operating millage has passed in Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Township police officer Tom Smyly is considering his next job. Like becoming township clerk in 2020 after incumbent clerk Jan Roncelli calls it a career and retires after 16 years in November. Smyly, a Republican, has been a township police officer for over 12 years, lives in Bloomfield Township, and has three kids in Bloomfield Hills Schools. “I pay my own salary,” he joked. He’s also a local realtor and president of his homeowner’s association. “I know the area very, very well, from my job, and as a realtor, I understand the community,” Smyly said. “I rub shoulders with people everyday.” He thinks he’ll do well as clerk because he’s a multi-tasker and good with customer service. “I treat everyone with respect,” he said. If he prevails in an expected Republican primary in August, he would face Democrat Martin Brook, or the winner of that party’s primary. It’s still unknown if township supervisor Leo Savoie will run for re-election following months – make that years – of attacks by a small but vocal group of residents, many of whom are acolytes of disgraced former treasurer Dan Devine. Some in the township are urging former state Rep. Mike McCready (R-Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, western West Bloomfield) to leave his perch as Oakland County director of economic development and run for supervisor, where his legislative knowledge, business connections, as well as experience as a former Bloomfield Hills commissioner and mayor, would prove valuable. McCready, however, is still smarting from an exhausting loss for state Senate in 2018, and isn’t sure he’s ready for another election.