Ghost of Brooks Patterson and specter of Donald Trump collide in Oakland County
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter's recent State of the County speech was held on the campus of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit. Prayer rooms were made available for attending Muslims observing Ramadan.
It was another in a string of signs that Oakland County has come a long way from the lily-white, country-club image cultivated by Coulter's predecessor, the late L. Brooks Patterson.
Coulter, an openly gay Democrat, was named to replace Patterson after he died in 2019, and has twice been reelected to the top county post. He's maintained Patterson's emphasis on providing quality government services and fiscal discipline ― including maintaining Oakland's coveted AAA bond rating ― but Coulter has set a different tone in this once staunchly Republican county.
And he says he's taking a broader view of county government's responsibilities at a time of great upheaval, which he largely blames on the actions of President Donald Trump's administration.
'The current turmoil in our county comes on top of a period of tremendous economic and societal disruption caused by Covid,' Coulter said in the March State of the County speech.
Coulter's administration reflects a remarkable transition in Oakland County politics. After decades of Republican control, only one elected countywide GOP official remains: Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Democrats hold a seven-seat majority on the 19-member county board of commissioners.
Patterson was a combative, business-oriented Republican who took an 'Oakland County first' approach to regional governance and economic development efforts. He was also a notorious Detroit basher, often using racially tinged language to demean the majority-Black city. It was something that, unfortunately, endeared him to many of his constituents.
Perhaps Patterson's worst moment was a 2014 New Yorker magazine profile in which he said Detroit should become 'an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.'
Opinion flashback: Noted troll Brooks Patterson makes Klan joke, proves obsolescence
But Patterson's administration of the state's second-largest county, from a business perspective, was largely successful. During his 26 years leading the county, Oakland consistently outperformed the state and many of its national peers in job growth, incomes and economic output.
Oakland County's economic engine has continued to roar under Coulter's leadership. Its median family income of $121,915 in 2023 was highest among the 30 largest counties in the state. Twenty-two percent of all goods and services generated in Michigan are produced in Oakland, the most of any county.
The county's gross domestic product was higher than the GDP of 14 states in 2022, according to a 2024 University of Michigan forecast.
Coulter has implemented a number of new programs, and expanded some of Patterson's, to help residents find housing, navigate college applications, financial aid and student loan forgiveness, and obtain health care.
'We've stretched beyond the role of normal county government because that's what the times demanded of us,' he said.
Related: From Oakland County to Downriver, protesters rally against Trump, Musk and deportations
And despite Trump's efforts to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government, business and academia, Coulter is unapologetic in promoting DEI throughout his administration.
'I'm proud of the county's effort to create a welcoming county, a diverse workforce and to address the historic biases and stereotypes in all that we do,' Coulter said.
Oakland County voters opposed Trump in all three of his elections for president by wide margins. That's not surprising, considering college-educated voters, especially women, are Trump's kryptonite. Fifty percent of Oakland County adults possess a bachelor's degree or higher, second only to Washtenaw County, according to Census figures.
Under Patterson's leadership, Oakland County's growth largely happened in the open spaces of the northern and western portions of the county. Chrysler, now Stellantis, built a sprawling tech center in Auburn Hills and moved its headquarters there from Highland Park.
Much of the county's residential growth has been concentrated in newer suburbs, such as Novi, Rochester Hills and South Lyon.
Coulter, a former mayor of Ferndale, an inner-ring suburb, is focusing economic development efforts on revitalizing some of the county's older communities.
His administration is in the midst of a massive $60 million-plus effort to restore Pontiac's downtown. The county is demolishing the long-vacant Phoenix Center, and is planning to move 700 county workers from the county's government complex to a new building downtown.
Pontiac was once a booming auto manufacturing town, home to the Pontiac and GMC divisions of General Motors. But its massive auto plants closed decades ago decimating the city's economy. More than a quarter of its residents live in poverty.
'This is a turning point for Pontiac's future,' Coulter said in announcing the redevelopment project in April. 'For decades, many have disinvested in downtown Pontiac, limiting its potential.'
Kurt Metzger, a longtime metro Detroit demographer and former mayor of Pleasant Ridge in Oakland County, told me Patterson was 'one of the very, very few' Republicans he has ever voted for.
Patterson's creation of the tech corridor Automation Alley, and his emphasis on financial integrity and providing effective services were strong points, he said. But, Metzger said, ultimately he couldn't stomach Patterson's divisiveness.
'I disliked his personality, racism and lack of collaboration,' Metzger said. He stopped voting for Patterson in 2012.
Coulter has maintained the county's coveted AAA bond rating ― the highest possible, lowering the cost of issuing debt ― supported public transit and championed regionalism, Metzger said.
'His social consciousness is the polar opposite of Brooks,' he said.
Patterson was known to toss sharp barbs at opponents and friends alike. Some of his outlandish remarks made even his supporters cringe. You won't likely find Coulter doing that.
'Oakland County is in a stronger position today than it was 10 years ago,' he said. 'And we have gotten here without drama, destruction or division.'
Rick Haglund is a retired reporter and business columnist who covered Michigan economics and government at newspapers throughout the state.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump, Coulter and ghost of Brooks Patterson collide in Oakland County
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Obviously (Clinton) was key in terms of making those characters work, especially in the White House. Clinton: People (in the White House) struggle to maintain some measure of normalcy, however they define it. Even though you have to be ambitious to be elected president and disciplined to execute the job, you're still a person. We all react differently to different things that happen. So we try to capture that. Patterson: The humanity. I wish we could get back to the understanding that whatever party you're with, (we are) human beings. I'll give you one quick example: Last year, the president called the house and my wife and he said, put it on (FaceTime). And there he was with his grandkids, and he was in a tiger suit with only his face showing. Human being! Right, and in this book, all the first gentleman wants to do is go on a run with no one bothering him. Patterson: President Clinton used to go on runs. Clinton: I went running every morning for years. I still have the M&M's box that I was given by the head of my security detail on my 100th run when I was president. I loved it. Patterson: Once M&M's get 20 years old you don't eat them anymore. Are there any other signature Clinton White House details that made it into the book? Patterson: You have a relationship with a man and a woman, and obviously, it would've been possible at one point for President Clinton to be the first gentleman. Clinton: It's the only job I ever wanted that I didn't get. Is that why you chose to make a female president in this book? Clinton: I had thought a lot about, long after I left the White House and Hillary was running, and I thought about it. This character, he and his president wife, they're closer to the age Hillary and I were when we actually served. So I was thinking about, even though he was a pro football player and macho guy, he was really proud of his wife. He wanted her to succeed. He wasn't threatened by her being president, but he could be threatened by people making certain assumptions about him, like he was a dumb jock, which he's not. Patterson: But is he a murderer? Clinton: We keep that hanging a long time. In the book, President Wright is trying to pass legislation to address Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. How did you come up with the "Grand Bargain"? Clinton: I knew what the drivers of the debt are and what the politics pushing against real change are, and so I tried to think of the things we could do to get it under control that would be the most bearable, both for people and politically. Patterson: It's a fascinating thing. How do you solve the problem with Social Security and Medicaid? And there is, you know, there's in the book, there is a solution. It's complicated, which is kind of cool. You don't hear anything (today), about, well, how do we solve these problems? I'd like to hear that right now. Yes, there is a problem. Clinton: Medicaid pays for about 40% of all childbirth and pays for an enormous percentage of senior citizens' health care and a lot of other stuff. It's really important. So this bill that's just been presented cuts Medicaid in order to help pay for a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. In all respect, (Patterson) and I don't need a tax cut. We'd rather have people with health care. So these are choices, and unless people understand that these choices are being made, they can't know clearly whether they're against or for whatever's being proposed. Patterson: This lays out that there is an alternative to that which makes sense and we don't have to cut things off for people who really need help. What was it like crafting fictional presidential addresses? Clinton: I imagined what I would say if confronted with the challenges she was confronted with. If you really want to change something, people like to hear about it in speeches and imagine it, but it almost always requires a mind numbing, detail-written piece of legislation – not always, but mostly. So, I tried to figure out how to sell it in the speech and describe how complicated the legislation would be without putting people to sleep. I found it difficult, but I think it's important, because one thing I learned the hard way is if you can't explain it, you can't sell it, and if you can't sell it and it's hard, you're going to get creamed. The problem we describe is something like what really exists today. Except today, it's in many ways more severe. It's just that our economy has been, for the last 20 years, or now 30 years, stronger than any other one in the world. Patterson, were there any details about the presidency or White House that Clinton added that surprised you? Patterson: A lot of little things. I might set a scene and he'd go: "It can't happen in that room. That room is so small, there's not room for three people in that room." And anytime it pops up: "The Secret Service wouldn't act like that. They would act like this." A lot of the thriller writers that we all like, they just make stuff up. When you're working with a president, you just can't make it up, because he'll go: "No, it wouldn't work that way. Here's how it could work." One of the beauties of this book, and the three that we've done, is that it's a really good story with really good characters, but it's also authentic. Did you have a favorite character to write? Patterson: Favorite character for me is Brea – she just develops, she gets stronger and stronger for a lot of reasons, and there is one big twist in there, and that really propels her as a character. Clinton: I agree with that, and one of the reasons I liked her is that she's smart and brave and good and honest, but in the beginning of the book, she thinks something that's very wrong about a big issue, and when she knows she's wrong, she turns on a dime and does the right thing. You don't see that much in Washington. Patterson: Or in general. Clinton: There are people that think that you never admit error. You accuse other people of doing what you're doing, and you roll along. The worst thing you can do is admit that she made a mistake. I like her because she's playing in the big leagues − her whole life is on the line, and she still does the right thing. Patterson: We've sold this in Hollywood and ... the production companies go, "Well, maybe we should cast (First Gentleman) Cole." I'm going like, no, you better cast Brea, because Cole, he's a good character, but Brea, she's real, and Garrett, her partner, they are really key characters. And the president herself, but Cole, eh, I don't know. Not as big a character. Who would be your dream actor to play her? (Brea, the protagonist, is Black.) Patterson: There's so many. I mean, that's the beauty right now − one of the nice things that's happened in Hollywood, especially with Black actors, so many have been discovered. There are so many choices. What are you excited for readers to see in this story, especially fans of your last two thrillers? Clinton: I'm excited for them to see, first of all, that there's still room for citizen activism that can make all the difference in the world, from people who just want to do the right thing, like Brea and Garrett. Secondly, I want them to see that a president and her husband are people. No matter what's going on, she's still got to go to work every day. If she thinks (Cole) machine-gunned half a dozen people, she's still got to go to work. Nobody else can make these decisions. I want them to see how staff behaves, senior staff, and when they're honorable and when they're not, and what a difference it can make, because you can't be president unless you can trust them. You have to have some people you trust. Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's books reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Clinton, James Patterson new book is a murderous, twisty thriller
