Ilsa Minor | Daily Press Even with a reconfigured meeting room to allow for more chairs, it was standing room only at the special meeting of the Delta County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. A additional 130 people virtually attended the meeting, which was called to select an interim county administrator.

ESCANABA — The Delta County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint County Controller Ashleigh Young as the county’s interim administrator during a packed meeting at the Delta County Service Center.

Despite only being announced Friday, the public was out in full force at Monday’s special meeting. The room, which was reconfigured to allow the maximum number of chairs, was standing room only, with many residents overflowing into the hallway. An additional 130 people attended virtually, either through Zoom or by watching the livestream on the county’s recently-launched YouTube channel.

Some in the audience carried signs protesting the recent firing of Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo, who was terminated in a 3-2 split vote at the county’s regular meeting on Feb. 7. A few in the audience wore shirts with slogans promoting the recall of Commission Chair Dave Moyle and seven people requested during public comment that chair members who voted for DeSalvo’s termination — Moyle, Commissioner Bob Barron, and Commissioner Bob Petersen — resign.

“I’m not resigning. I’m not going anywhere. I’m doing what I think is the best for Delta County. You don’t want me in office, don’t vote me back in office, and I will still say hello to you when I see you on the street,” Moyle told the audience near the end of the meeting.

The discussion of who would be the best fit for the interim administrator position was kicked off by Commissioner Steve Viau, who did not vote for DeSalvo’s dismissal. After speaking with county employees, he had a shortlist of candidates including Delta County Emergency Management Coordinator Paul Geyer, Maintenance Director Cory Schroeder, and District Court Administrator Jean Healy. However, some of the candidates were uninterested in the position, and his top pick was County Clerk Nancy Przewrocki.

“I don’t want to step in, into what Commissioner Moyle has already talked to somebody about,” Przewrocki said when asked if she had interest in the position. “I don’t want to get in the middle, but if it were, if I were to do that, I would certainly need help in my office, so that’s…, but, I would also like you to consider the other person. I think she’s very qualified.”

Commissioner Petersen said he intended to speak to a candidate early next week, but did not name the candidate. When Moyle indicated he was interested in Young, Petersen confirmed Young was also his pick for the role.

Young came the podium to express her interest in the position and to explain her background and current role as the county’s controller and human resources specialist. She told the board and audience she has served with the county for the past three years, holds degrees in both business administration and accounting, and was previously an auditor in the private sector. She also stressed she was from a generational Delta County family.

“So commissioners, we have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time to make this county the best we can for our future generations. So let’s get to work,” said Young as she concluded her statement.

Multiple members of the public criticized the choice, though all who did were clear their comments were not about Young personally but were instead about DeSalvo’s termination, the speed of Young’s selection, and the appearance that she had both been chosen before the meeting and had been informed about the decision.

“Commissioner Petersen never mentioned a name, he was just, you know, he was describing a person, and then I noticed that Commissioner Moyle knew exactly that he was talking about Ashleigh, and Ashleigh already had like an acceptance speech, like written out,” said Escanaba resident Christiana Renyolds. “So I’m wondering if this was all just a circus. I’m sure she’s qualified, and, seriously, I have nothing (against her), I’m just wondering, like, what the heck is going on? Was this already decided, because this really looks like it was already decided before all of us showed up and had a chance to give our concerns.”

It was also stated during public comment that Petersen and Young had both suggested they were aware of Young’s upcoming appointment to the board based on statements made at Monday night’s airport board meeting.

“Yes, at the airport I did say that Ashleigh’s name had been brought, and I did support it, but I didn’t want to say anything here, because, as I said, I wanted to talk to her before I put her name out. Once Commissioner Moyle had brought it up, then I felt secure in saying that,” said Petersen.

Many of the comments made by the nearly 20 people who spoke Tuesday revolved around issues of transparency or ethics.

“The secrecy behind decisions. Now, when you made the decision to fire your administrator, you not only fired your administrator, you fired our administrator. That decision seemed very, very fast. When you make a decision that fast without anybody and any discussion over it, it tells me that you’ve made that decision long before that, or you’re incredibly foolish. I know most of you on here aren’t incredibly foolish,” said Former Delta County Commission Board Chair Patrick Johnson, who also criticized Petersen’s lack of transparency about his prior knowledge of the Delta Conservation District’s plan to withdraw from management of the county parks and said the county had a history of being unfair to women.

“You can submit ethics complaints if you want to, but I would submit this to you for your consideration: the ultimate decider of ethics is the electorate, the proletariate, the people who cast votes at the ballot box. If something is illegal, Lauren Wickman gets it, she’s the prosecutor. Unethical behavior? That can open up Pandora’s box, I suppose as well it should in a Democracy, but just because somebody does something you don’t agree with, it doesn’t mean it’s unethical,” said Moyle, who said he has always treated men and women equally and that he was the only “vote that did not want to hire the guy who fired (Johnson’s) wife,” who formerly worked for the county.

It is not entirely clear how the commission will move forward with finding a permanent county administrator. Viau suggested a committee formed of commissioners and county staff that were randomly drawn from a hat. Petersen told the board he had identified two headhunting firms that specialized in the hire of county administrators but had not reached out to either of them yet.