Tylene Henry was appointed to the Oakland County road commission outside the normal process for selecting and vetting candidates.
Henry replaces Nancy Quarles, who left the board in May. Her term expires on Dec. 31, 2026.
The appointment was proposed and confirmed at Thursday’s county commission meeting but not without debate. She was not present at the meeting and later told The Oakland Press in a brief phone conversation that she was aware of her appointment and would make a longer statement later Friday.
No one questioned Henry’s qualification for the job. Her Aug. 7 application shows she is president and CEO of the consulting firm Ujima Services and specializes in strategic business and leadership development with an emphasis on the transportation and construction industries.
The Oakland County native is the National Association of Black Women in Construction’s president and a former member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials. She teaches business courses at Wayne County Community College
Commissioner Mike Spisz, an Oxford Republican, praised her resume but criticized Commission Chairman Dave Woodward, a Royal Oak Democrat, for not following the nomination and approval process. Candidates are supposed to be vetted by a subcommittee before consideration by the full board of commissioners.
Her appointment was approved in a 10-7 vote, after a motion to refer her appointment to committee for review failed in a 9-8 vote. Commissioners Kristen Nelson of Waterford Township, Charlie Cavell of Ferndale and Penny Luebs of Clawson, all Democrats, voted with Republicans to send Henry’s appointment back to the committee to follow the standard process.
Commissioner Charlie Cavell, a Ferndale Democrat, said he thought Henry “is great. What I think is not great is you (Woodward) not respecting the process.”
The road commission has been under county scrutiny for nearly four years, in part over how the independent road agency saved $43 million for a new administration building. Woodward sidestepped the committee-review process to appoint two of the three board members, the current chairman, Eric McPherson, and Jim Esshaki. They voted earlier this year to cancel the new building plans and were harshly criticized by road commission officials and employees.
Esshaki, appointed in January, was involved in a June 20 confrontation with a road commission employee, Walter Mersino. An independent investigation found Esshaki was at fault for the incident, which Mersino said left him fearing for his job.
Esshaki sent letters to the road commission and the county commission apologizing for his actions. He called Mersino but Mersino told The Oakland Press he refused the call.
Mersino is a 36-year road commission employee and supervisor. He told the Oakland Press that another road commission employee would have been immediately fired for acting as Esshaki did on June 20. He repeated his concerns at Thursday’s county commission meeting. He said allowing Esshaki to keep his seat set a bad example and left the door open for future incidents. Mersino said he was considering legal action.
Waterford resident Robin McGregor told commissioners that allowing Esshaki to stay on the board when others can be penalized for similar behavior under the road commission’s no-tolerance policy opened the county to potential lawsuits.
Spisz introduced a resolution asking for Esshaki to be formally notified of non-criminal charges that would require the road commissioner to appear before the county commission.
Spisz said he was not asking for Esshaki to be removed from the road commission. It is an opportunity for county commissioners to “hear directly from this individual,” he said, adding that he’d read Esshaki’s letter to the commission apologizing for the June 20 incident “but I’d like to look him square in the eye.”
His resolution to take up the matter immediately failed in a 10-7 vote, with Cavell and Nelson joining the five Republicans present to vote for immediate consideration. Instead, the request will be reviewed by a committee.
County Commission Vice Chairwoman Marcia Gershenson, a Bloomfield Hills Democrat, defended Esshaki as a longtime friend. She said he’s worked as a reserved deputy for the sheriff’s office and owns the county cafeteria downstairs from the commissioner’s auditorium. Esshaki is also a commercial real estate developer.
Gershenson said she and many other commissioners thought he would be a good fit for the road commission board. She said she told Esshaki to question many road commission practices, calling the agency an “old boys’ club that needs to be revitalized.”
Esshaki’s behavior on June 20 was wrong, she said, adding that he has apologized. She urged the county commission to move forward. She said a sheriff’s office internal investigation found Esshaki has no prior record of violent behavior and deemed the incident as a disagreement between two men.
Mersino said during public comment Gershenson did not understand the double standard of behavior she was endorsing and urged her to consider how she would feel if confronted in her workplace the way he was on June 20.
The county commission appoints the three road commissioners to part-time jobs. Road commissioners are paid $15,000 a year and serve six-year terms.
Originally Published: October 17, 2025 at 11:08 AM EDT