(WXYZ) — One of Oakland County Executive David Coulter’s top deputies has stepped down following several 7 News Detroit investigations.
Deputy County Executive Sean Carlson says he’s leaving to run for state Senate in the 13th District.
The 7 Investigators have recently exposed questions about Carlson’s expenses charged to Oakland County taxpayers, and his role with his outside company in addition to his highly paid county job.
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In December, the 7 Investigators revealed how Carlson owns Procurement Consulting Group LLC. PCG has multi-million-dollar contracts with neighboring Wayne County, as well as deals with other cities like Pontiac where Carlson has been overseeing the county’s massive redevelopment plan.
Carlson earned $230,099.22 a year as a Deputy Oakland County Executive. He told the 7 Investigators he disclosed his company to County Executive Coulter when he was hired. Carlson said owning PCG was not a conflict of interest, even though he oversaw Oakland County’s procurement division.
When the 7 Investigators received tips about how Carlson spends county money, we filed public records requests for his expense reports.
Those reports show the Deputy County Executive was a frequent flyer, traveling to Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Oman, UAE, as well as Las Vegas, Denver, Tampa, Boston, Milwaukee, Washington, DC, and San Jose.
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We reviewed county records from May 2022 until August 2025. During that time, Carlson charged the taxpayers $46,394.82 for travel, mileage, and meals.
In November of 2022, Carlson and Executive Coulter traveled to Sweden and Germany on a trade mission. Their expense reports show a total $4,855.26.
The taxpayers later spent $4788.50 to send Carlson to London for a trade show that he says brought international companies to Michigan. While in London, public records show he stayed in a 5-star hotel, St. James’s Hotel and Club in Mayfair.
Carlson says as the head of Economic Development for the county, the travel was a key part of bringing in new jobs.
“We have 76 of the top 100 Tier 1 suppliers located, in regards to global OEM parts right here in Oakland County… So that really speaks to the R&D and the mobility. And so, we try to be very strategic and targeted. It's important for the taxpayers to understand that we have a budget of $170,000 for business recruitment and our return on investment is $217 to $1,” said Carlson.
When he’s not flying, records show Carlson racked up the miles across Michigan, getting reimbursed $7502.12 for the miles he drove in his personal car during the 39 months of records reviewed.
Internal county memos show that Oakland County employees are encouraged to save money by using a county vehicle, especially “for trips in excess of 42 miles.”
“Knowing that we have county vehicles that are readily available—that is a very clear— and clean-cut example of wasteful spending,” said Oakland County Commissioner Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford).
Even though county reimbursement regulations state, “no mileage will be reimbursed for travel between an employee’s domicile and his/her workstation," Carlson’s records routinely show mileage reimbursement from his home in Commerce Township to work meetings around Michigan.
The deputy county executive billed mileage for travel from his home to sites in Detroit, Wyandotte, and even Mackinaw City, when mileage from the county offices in Waterford would have cost taxpayers less.
Carlson said he did not know his assistants were billing his mileage from home, even though his signature is on expense reports the 7 Investigators reviewed.
“I thought we were doing it the correct way,” said Carlson.
Carlson said all the mileage was for county business, but his reports lack detail about what type of business was conducted.
“Our meetings were taken on behalf of Oakland County, but I understand what you're saying. It looks as if, okay, well, what meeting are you having? What meeting is this?” said Carlson.
Carlson also regularly charges mileage to the taxpayers to attend meetings at his private club, the Detroit Athletic Club. In all, Carlson billed mileage to the DAC at least 45 times, often charging for travel from his home. The DAC is more than 40 miles from Carlson’s home, and about 32 miles from county offices.
“Should the taxpayers really have to pay for all of your back and forth there?” asked Catallo.
“I’d like to understand and maybe get the report to see how many back and forths there are there. But I certainly have gone there to conduct meetings. There's no doubt about that. But I hear the point that you're making,” said Carlson.
Agendas from some of his DAC meetings show, in the fall of 2023, Carlson hosted Oakland County Commission Chair Dave Woodward for Pontiac redevelopment meetings with developers, real estate executives, and even James Esshaki, who was later appointed to the Road Commission of Oakland County. Carlson said the meetings were to encourage people to bid on the Pontiac redevelopment project that’s expected to cost taxpayers at least $370 million.
“If you feel a need to entertain them in order to get them to bid, why are you doing it at a place that's not in Oakland County?” asked Catallo.
“Given the importance and the gravitas of this project, I felt it was appropriate,” said Carlson.
After the 7 Investigators started asking questions about expenses, the county announced that Carlson would pay about $500 back in mileage expenses.
Carlson also oversaw IT for the county. The IT department came under fire in 2025 when the county approved a $450,000 IT staffing contract for ZaydLogix LLC, which was owned by a current county employee.
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After a whistleblower sent an email to county leadership last summer alleging “government employees were using their position for personal gain,” county officials spent $17,836 on an outside law firm, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone to investigate.
The contract was cancelled before any money was paid, but Miller Canfield found that awarding the contract to a current county employee broke state law and violated county rules.
County Executive David Coulter’s legal team has only released a summary of the Miller Canfield report; they have so far refused to release the actual investigation to both the public and to County Commissioners.
If Carlson wins his state senate seat, he will be taking a significant pay cut: state senators earn $71,685.
“I’m so grateful for Sean’s leadership and all he has done on behalf of the county’s residents, small and emerging businesses, veterans and employees. When Sean shared with me that he was going to run for State Senate, he also made it clear that he was going to leave the county this year to campaign full time. I wish him much success in his next chapter,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter in a statement sent to the 7 Investigators.
Carlson also issued a statement to the 7 investigators on Tuesday afternoon, saying:
"Today marks my last day with the Coulter Administration. I am running full-time for State Senate, carrying forward the mission of service that has defined my last 6.5 years.
I am deeply grateful to County Executive Coulter and the residents of Oakland County for their confidence in my leadership. I’m incredibly proud of what my teams and I achieved: supporting 15,000 small businesses during COVID, attracting $1.5 billion in investment, and helping thousands of veterans access the benefits they deserve.
I look forward to bringing this results-driven leadership to Lansing."
The primary for the state Senate is August 4, 2026.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com
