Christina Hall

Detroit Free Press

Fewer than three months into office, Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Karen Spranger has lost her computer privileges, fired her two chief deputies and wanted the county to fund an independent counsel for her so she can "displace, reassign or demote" unionized employees.

Spranger, a Republican who never held public office before being elected in November, has drawn the ire of fellow county officials and her own employees after taking over a county department that had been widely regarded as well-run and innovative.

"It's been a weird environment, very stressful," Paul Kardasz, who was her chief deputy clerk until he was fired Saturday, told the Free Press.

Spranger also fired Erin Stahl, who was her deputy register of deeds, as of Monday morning. Both termination letters were dated Friday and did not state the reason for termination.

The deputies, who were appointed by Spranger when she took office Jan. 1, ran the day-to-day operations of offices that handle everything from elections to vital records, such as birth certificates and mortgage deeds.

On Monday, Spranger asked county commissioners during a committee meeting to approve spending $15,000 for an independent counsel for her to allow her to "displace, reassign or demote" any of her employees — a move that is angering union officials who also have filed grievances against her. The request was rejected on a 12-1 vote.

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Deputy County Executive Mark Deldin said both Kardasz and Stahl — who as appointees are not union members — filed ethics complaints Friday against Spranger. Kardasz told the Free Press on Saturday that he filed his complaint because of a hostile work environment.

Deldin said Spranger is not showing up for grievance meetings to defend her actions.

In addition, Spranger's county computer access has been suspended for weeks. County officials said she allowed non-county workers, including her former campaign manager and political ally, Joe Hunt, on her office computer. Her access has not been restored, and it was unclear who wrote the termination letters on her county letterhead.

Union leaders told county commissioners Monday that Spranger has been harassing her employees and threatening their jobs.

Spranger, a Warren resident, narrowly defeated Democrat Fred Miller, a former state representative and county commissioner, for the office after retired Clerk/Register of Deeds Carmella Sabaugh pulled her name from running for office again after more than two decades in the role.

Jerry M. Witt, president of UAW Local 412, said Spranger doesn't want to be part of the solution "but she's the problem."

Donna Cangemi, president of AFSCME 411, told commissioners that many county workers under Spranger haven't been able to sleep and are taking medication since she took office. Cangemi said she has been a union officer for 20 years and, "I've never seen anything like this."

Denise Mentzer, a union steward with AFSCME, told the county board, "I am appalled you would even consider giving $15,000 to work at negating contracts you all approved."

Spranger's privately retained attorney, Frank Cusumano, told the board the issues are "fairly well-delineated and suitable for independent counsel" and listed in the county charter because there is a conflict with the county's human resources and IT departments. He said the idea of the county filing litigation against itself is "not true."

He said the amount requested for independent counsel was "reasonable and will go a long way to healing wounds and resolving matters."

Adding to Monday's confusion, Hunt said that he took an oath of office in January as deputy clerk in charge of quality assurance and regulatory affairs. County officials said Hunt is not on the county payroll and is not authorized to use the county computer system.

Hunt told the county board that Spranger submitted a reorganization plan in December that apparently wasn't shared with the commissioners. He said Spranger "had no intention of replacing all the union employees. I know the unions are upset."

He told the board he was was defending himself in speaking and said that he didn't access any confidential information.

Kardasz told the Free Press that Spranger had previously ordered him to find a job for Hunt on the county payroll, a move that did not come to fruition.

Hunt is a Warren resident and political activist who last week filed recall-petition language against Warren Mayor Jim Fouts over the release of secretly recorded audiotapes purported to be of Fouts disparaging women, black people and people with mental disabilities. Spranger, who herself tried unsuccessfully to recall Fouts several years ago, now sits on the three-member county election commission that would decide if the language in Hunt's recall petition is factual and clear. Hunt's initial recall petition had Fouts' name misspelled.

Deldin said that Spranger on Monday asked the county's chief circuit court judge to consider Hunt as her deputy clerk, although it was unclear whether her request was approved.

Deldin said while the public hasn't been affected by what has been going on in the clerk's office and the register of deeds, "there is total chaos in that office." He said case filings are "way behind" and there is concern that the internal turmoil "will eventually bleed over to the level of service we provide the public."

Now with the firing of the two deputy clerks, Deldin said, "We have a bigger problem on our hands." He said the county could end up in litigation, particularly if there are problems with Spranger's actions under the Whistleblower Protection Act. Deldin said he was unaware of any prior discipline issues with Kardasz or Stahl prior to their terminations.

County board Chairman Bob Smith said once officials felt they started to get somewhere with Spranger's deputies, who seemed to be starting to understand what's going on, she fired them.

Smith said 99% of the staff in the two offices remain, and that he believes the clerk's office can run an election "as long as the (employees) are allowed to run it." He noted the employees have been working in an office that, through the years, has received numerous state and national awards.

County Executive Mark Hackel, in a memo to commissioners, said he "cannot support allocating public funds to potentially give the clerk even more authority to threaten and disrupt her workforce."

​Contact Christina Hall: chall99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.