Recall of Commission Chair Dave Woodward falls short; group targets December Flock vote
I Am Oakland County collected about 3,000 signatures toward recalling Board of Commissioners Chair Dave Woodward, well short of the roughly 8,700 needed. The group now plans to fight a December Flock drone contract extension and recruit 2028 challengers.
By OCJ Staff
An effort to recall Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chair Dave Woodward has ended without enough signatures to reach the ballot, organizers announced Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The group I Am Oakland County gathered about 3,000 signatures. It needed about 8,700 within 60 days, according to WXYZ.
"We're obviously disappointed not to meet our goal, but we're excited about the response we've gotten," organizer Justine Galbraith said, according to the Oakland County Times.
Woodward, a Royal Oak Democrat whose district includes Birmingham, Royal Oak and Troy, dismissed the effort. "The political stunt collapsed under the weight of its own absurdity," he said, according to the Oakland County Times.
How it started
The recall grew out of a commission meeting in April, when commissioners approved a Flock Safety drone pilot program for the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. More than 200 residents attended that meeting to oppose the plan. Woodward and other commissioners voted to move public comment to the end of the meeting, after the drone program had been approved.
The group also raised questions about a trip Woodward took to Flock Safety's headquarters in Georgia that was paid for by the company, first reported by WXYZ's 7 Investigators, and about his consulting work with private companies.
What's next
I Am Oakland County says it will now focus on the full commission meeting in December, where it will urge commissioners not to extend the Flock drone contract.
The group also plans to recruit and train candidates to challenge Woodward and other incumbent commissioners in 2028.
"Through the recall process, it became clear that this work is bigger than just replacing Dave Woodward," Mike Flores, one of the group's leaders, told WXYZ.
"Residents deserve commissioners who see them as partners in government, not obstacles to work around," Flores said, according to the Oakland County Times.
The bigger picture
The county-level debate comes as several Oakland County communities reconsider their own Flock license plate reader contracts. Ferndale, Clawson and Independence Township previously dropped Flock, and South Lyon's City Council voted this week to end its contract.
For residents who want to weigh in on the drone program, the December Board of Commissioners meeting is the next scheduled opportunity.
This story uses reporting from the Oakland County Times and WXYZ.