PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 7 Investigation was a hot topic at an Oakland County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, with several people asking why a road commissioner is still on the job.
Watch Heather Catallo's video report:
That developer turned public official has been accused of threatening an employee, and now it’s up to the Board of Commissioners to decide what to do next.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners Legislative Affairs and Government Operations (LAGO) committee is the one that helped put Road Commissioner James Esshaki in his job. They’re also the ones who got an earful Tuesday morning, with road commission employees and others asking them to act.
Even though the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) is separate from county government, the Oakland County commissioners are the only ones who can hire and fire the road commissioners.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Oakland County road commissioner accused of making threats, wasting millions
From the start, questions were raised about how Birmingham real estate developer James Esshaki got appointed as one of Oakland County’s Road Commissioners.
“Do we have a resume? Chair, at minimum, do we have a resume?” asked Commissioner Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford) during a LAGO meeting in January when Esshaki’s name was first publicly raised as a possible RCOC Commissioner. “So, who brought this name initially forward? I’m asking this because, as a member of the… committee, we’ve never heard this name… I don’t agree with the process that was followed.”
“This process was consistent,” said Commission Chair David Woodward (D-Royal Oak) on that January 13, 2025, committee meeting. “That has been the process for 20 plus years.”
Now, ten months later, that same LAGO committee is discussing Esshaki’s future.
Walter Mersino Jr. is one of several long-time road commission employees who spoke out during an April public meeting, questioning Esshaki about why he supported cancelling plans for the road commission’s new headquarters.
Mersino says when he was on a job site with a co-worker in June, Commissioner Esshaki suddenly showed up and challenged him to a fight.
“He got to the point where he said, well, this guy here can leave and me and you can go behind the trees and settle this,” said Mersino in an interview with the 7 Investigators.
Esshaki originally denied that he threatened Mersino and declined to be interviewed for an independent investigation that determined Esshaki violated workplace policy.
An outside lawyer was brought in to investigate and said in an extensive report that “Mr. Esshaki engaged in behavior and made comments that constituted a threat of violence, and which constituted intimidation and harassment.”
Attorney Heidi Hudson also wrote in her report, “Many witnesses expressed concern about retaliation from Mr. Esshaki, indicating they did not know if he had the ability to interfere with their employment.”
Tuesday morning, the LAGO committee received an apology letter from Esshaki, but Mersino said Esshaki still has not apologized directly to him.
Read the apology letter below:
Esshaki Apology Letteer by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit
Mersino then addressed the committee, asking them why they have not acted even though Oakland County’s corporation counsel has had the independent report findings for nearly a month.
“I believe he should be removed. I was the one that he threatened on the job site. And where I work, it’s no tolerance [for] violence – if that happens, an employee is fired,” said Mersino during public comment.“I just want to know what is this board’s agenda as far as Mr. Esshaki? As I know, right now, nothing is being done. Nothing’s been mentioned, nothing’s been said.”
PREVIOUS REPORT: ‘He should be removed.’ Road commissioner gets backlash for ‘threat of violence'
“Mr. Esshaki should resign from his position, but at the very least you should ask him to leave,” Road Commission of Oakland County Central Operations Director Mary Gillis told the county commissioners during public comment at Tuesday’s LAGO meeting.
Gillis told the committee that safety in the workplace is a top priority for the road commission, and threatening violence has no place at work.
“I’ve spent countless Christmases and Christmas Eves and Thanksgivings working to keep this community safe. And our workplace is the first in safety throughout the state. We’re widely recognized. We have a great workplace, and we are totally committed to keeping the residents of Oakland County safe,” said Gillis.
Some of the County Commissioners questioned Esshaki’s apology.
“I’ve also read Mr. Esshaki’s apology letter. It was submitted 3 months after the incident and 20 days after the report was completed. It was addressed to the chairperson of the road commission and read aloud – not by Mr. Esshaki himself, but by another person at the last road commissioner meeting. His letter frames the incident as a matter of perception, and he fails to acknowledge that his behavior left employees feeling unsafe,” said Commissioner Nelson during public comment.
According to state law, the county commission would need to hold a hearing before removing a road commissioner, something Commissioner Karen Joliat (R-Waterford) pressed for.
“They should lead by example, and I think without doing anything except accepting this letter of perceived wrongdoing, it’s setting a very dangerous precedent and message to the rest of the employees at the road commission,” said Commissioner Joliat.
LAGO Chair Commissioner Brendan Johnson (D-Rochester Hills) asked Commission Chair Woodward to ask the county’s corporation counsel for advice on whether they can hold a hearing to remove Esshaki without a criminal charge.
According to state law, a county road commissioner cannot be removed before his or her term is up “without being given written notice of the charges made against him or her and an opportunity to appear before the county board of commissioners for a hearing on the charges.”
“I don’t perceive this to be a charge. I don’t know if you need a prosecutor to make a charge, or other law enforcement to make a charge. That’s the word that I’m curious about. So, I guess I would ask Board Chair-- if you wouldn’t mind asking [corporation] counsel what the word charge means,” asked Commissioner Johnson.
Commission Chair Woodward told the committee he would make inquiries.
Commissioner Joliat pressed back, saying, “The circumstances that are before us, I still think that there should be due process in terms of a hearing, whether it’s considered a charge or not.”
Commissioner Nelson also pressed the committee on what they will do.
“As the liaison committee to the Road Commission, how will this committee lead? Will the report of investigation make it onto next LAGO committee for open discussion and review? Will there be deliberation and a recommendation to the full board? Or will this be yet another of a serious issue quietly disappearing into a majority caucus discussion only to be swept under the rug?” asked Nelson.
The 7 Investigators have asked Commission Chair Woodward and the Commission’s Communications Officer multiples times what they plan to do about the violence in the workplace violation findings. Neither of them has responded.
Meanwhile, the 7 Investigators have also repeatedly asked Road Commissioner Esshaki if he would like to address all of this; so far, he has not responded to us.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com
