Oakland County official's Sheetz ties spark ethics questions
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Sheetz gas station and convenience store in Cumru Township, Penn. Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images
A high-ranking Oakland County official's side gig as a Sheetz consultant is raising conflict-of-interest concerns as the convenience megastores expand rapidly across Metro Detroit.
The big picture: After opening its first Michigan store in Romulus last August, Sheetz has already identified more than a dozen other locations in the area for future stores, from Ypsilanti to Novi.
- The company says it's on track to open 50 to 60 stores in southeast Michigan and invest $500 million here in the next five to six years.
Zoom in: A few planned stores are in Oakland County, where Commissioner David Woodward works both as chairperson of the county's legislative body and as a consultant for Sheetz as part of his public policy and business consulting firm, Crain's reported.
State of play: Sheetz has no business pending before the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Axios confirmed, and Woodward told Crain's that his jobs are completely separate.
- Woodward has also pointed out that government approvals for Sheetz's projects are generally handled by municipal planning commissions and city councils.
- Nevertheless, some of Woodward's colleagues on the board are calling for ethics and transparency reforms that would require commissioners to disclose outside employment.
- The county's current standards of conduct prohibit employees from engaging in outside employment that conflicts with their official duties.
Follow the money: Woodward, whose office did not respond to Axios' request for comment, has not detailed his Sheetz pay to other media outlets. He told the Detroit News last week that he needs a second job "in order to make ends meet."
- Woodward earns $78,000 a year as commission chair, per Crain's.
Catch up quick: Sheetz's arrival has stirred tensions in several communities from residents who don't want the added traffic and from established gas station owners who don't want the new competition.
Between the lines: Some of those critics are now questioning Woodward's side job.
- The connection gives Sheetz an unfair advantage because he "holds tremendous sway with municipal leaders and decision makers throughout the county," Metro Detroit Petroleum Alliance president Nasir Siddiqui wrote in a June letter to the Chaldean News.
The other side: Woodward told Crain's that his role is to give Sheetz strategy advice for its Michigan growth.
- Sheetz tells Axios that it took proactive steps to avoid a conflict of interest with Woodward.
- As a consultant, Woodward has provided guidance on local government processes and made introductions to local business and community leaders.
What's next: The next phase of construction is beginning this week at Sheetz's future Fraser location at Utica and 14 Mile roads, the company announced.