APPLAUSE IS CONTAGIOUS

The saying some are born leaders, some leaders are made, and some rise to leadership could not be more true, especially in the case of Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter (D), who has only been in the position for 18 months, since the August 2019 death of longtime executive L. Brooks Patterson. While many Democrats and Republicans alike viewed Coulter as a placeholder until the 2020 election, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only provided a true test of leadership, Coulter is receiving raves from both sides of the aisle for early on assembling an internal – and bipartisan – coronavirus readiness team that includes former Congressman Sandy Levin (D-Royal Oak), Health Department head Kathleen Forzley, Homeland Security Manager Tom Hardesty, Bret Rasegan, a manager in planning and economic development, and former state Rep. Mike McCready (R-Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham), now senior business advisor in Economic Development and Community Affairs. Coulter has also established a task force of business leaders. As one former Patterson employee, who Coulter has kept on, said, “I like Dave Coulter a lot. He’s surrounded himself with good people.” The pandemic has been good for Coulter, as well – note the continuous exposure he has gotten from press conferences and those constant county television commercials, where he is highlighted reassuring the public on the county’s public health efforts. Pretty nice in an election year – especially since those are county taxpayer funds underwriting them.