Horner best choice for city commission seat

Birmingham City Commissioners are currently faced with a rare and unique opportunity – choosing a new colleague to sit alongside them at the commission table. The commission is comprised of seven commissioners, and Anthony Long, who was elected in 2023 after narrowly losing by only six votes in 2021, resigned on March 13 as he is moving out of the city after a marriage last year. We thank Long for his service and wish him well on his move.

The vacancy at the commission table became effective on Monday, April 13, the same night city commissioners first held a workshop to interview candidates who had applied for the position, and then voted for one of the eight finalists chosen. In an unusual occurrence, the six remaining commissioners split into two voting blocs, ending with a 3-3 tie over two of the finalists, Debra Horner and Mary Jaye.

Both women have lived in Birmingham for many years; Horner for 34 years and Jaye for 33 years, and have been active on city boards. Horner works at University of Michigan Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at Gerald Ford School of Public Policy and is currently a member of the Birmingham Environmental Sustainability Committee. Jaye is a retired product and commercial development executive for Chrysler/Stellantis and is on the city’s Historic District Committee.

Clearly, either would be an asset to a commission which often gets tangled in minutia and dissension over the best path to take for the long-term goals representing all city constituencies, not just one faction or another which may have a commissioner's ear.

As city commissioner Therese Longe pointed out during the discussion, Horner's professional experience working with dozens of municipalities would be a “godsend” for the city of Birmingham. She would help the commission and staff develop fact-based and best-practices policies and her experience with budgeting, zoning, sustainability and engagement, among other things, would be a great benefit. We agree that Horner would absolutely be the wiser choice and admire her 18 years of government experience, having co-written over 100 municipal policy reports. Horner's years working with the Michigan Municipal League, of which Birmingham belongs, will be a tremendous asset.

Which is why we are so perplexed by commissioner Andrew Haig's vote against her, as he always professes to be a fact-based and data-driven individual, and someone who seeks out best practices.

We dismissed suggestions by some observers that Haig has some issues with a couple of other commissioners and sees an opportunity to flex his political muscle by thwarting them by voting against Horner. We don’t see Haig as someone who would play games at the expense of residents, although others might.

But we do wonder if his vote, along with commissioner Brad Host, is driven by Jaye's platform of seeing the Master Plan 2040, and maintaining the “charm” of the neighborhoods and concern about rising home prices, as her chief concern. We know from the last several years that has been a concern by some. However, we must point out that improvements, renovations and knockdowns of older Birmingham homes is nothing new, and the horse is long out of the barn. Horner's more practical advocacy on zoning recommendations mirror a majority of residents' rather than a vocal minority who seek a flashback to the “good ol' days.”

While Haig and Host said they preferred Jaye because of her experience in making decisions in her past job, we remind them both that being a member of the city commission means you are just one of seven when it comes to deciding on issues. Host also mentioned that the city does not need any more policies, which would be part of Horner’s strengths. That says to us that Host is out of touch.

As for commissioner Kolb – we give. He gave no reason for his vote against Horner which is simply not acceptable. Maybe that is how, prior to his recent retirement, he operated as the top dog at an international advertising and marketing agency, but residents here deserve to hear his logic.

All that said, when the Birmingham City Commission returns on Monday, April 27, we urge they put aside parochial differences and vote for Debra Horner to fill Anthony Long's vacant commission seat. While the overall field of applicants was strong, we see Horner as the gold standard. The commission, the city and its residents would benefit most if she can bring her government knowledge to the table.