MICHIGAMME — Michigamme Township is without a supervisor.

Former Michigamme Township Supervisor Rhonda Boshears resigned from her position at Monday’s meeting.

“During the past several months it has become very clear to me that there are board members who have agendas that are very different from mine,” Boshears said in her resignation letter. “As a result, there has been discord and distrust among the board members and the residents of this community, and rightly so.”

She continued in her letter saying that despite efforts to have members put the interest of residents in their decisions, “there are personal agendas that have been put first and foremost by some board members (that have) created several issues with the board’s ability to govern appropriately.”

“I have stated on several occasions that appearances matter and if there appears to be personal agendas that have taken precedence, the public cannot have confidence that the board will do what is best for the community,” Boshears said. “Because there have been blatant displays that some board members had private discussions and made decisions before the issue was presented to the full board in an open meeting, not only has the public lost confidence in this board’s ability to act in the best interest of this community, I too have lost all confidence that the board will serve its citizens in any capacity that is not self-serving and unethical.

“This board had the opportunity to appoint a clerk who would have been a great asset to this community, but they chose to nominate unqualified individuals whose personal agendas align with their own. This is to the detriment of this board and the community, but the pleas for human decency, integrity and ethical choices fall on deaf ears.

“I know that this board cannot go forward because we are divided not only by our differences in what we consider to be ethical and what is good for the community, but also because some board members continue to prioritize their own agendas, which includes adding friends, family members and other unqualified individuals to the township board and to the township payroll.”

Boshears’ resignation took effect after adjournment of Monday’s meeting.

She said in an Oct. 12 email that another reason for her resignation was the recall process for former Michigamme Township Clerk Neil Hanson. She said she felt the process was interrupted “prematurely and voters were deprived of their right to elect a candidate of their choosing to fill the clerk’s position.”

“I believe the entire process was handled poorly and that there was information that should have been shared with me instead of it being shared with the township treasurer, who was instructed to share it with only one of the township trustees and the township clerk,” Boshears said. “Unfortunately, the board has been divided for a long time and it was obvious to me that one of the members had been used as a vote so there was a majority to push through agendas that were not always for the good of this community.

“This member demonstrated his willingness to go along with one of the trustee’s vote regardless what the vote was. The board member stated in a meeting that, ‘I vote how he votes.’ This was not only a blatant display of a member failing to give consideration to a motion before a vote, but one may also be led to conclude that there was possibly some premeeting conferences during which decisions were made before the issues ever came before the entire board for consideration.”

She said once Hanson stepped down, “the board was deadlocked.”

“It was quite apparent that compromise was not in our future. There were too many attempts by some board members to put unqualified individuals in the clerk’s spot,” Boshears said. “In addition, there have been incidents that made me question why I was spending my nights worrying when there were board members who clearly were not interested in doing good work for all of the residents.

“I knew that something had to give and I decided that for my own well-being, I needed to move on. There were several people who asked me to reconsider and ‘tough it out.’ I don’t feel that the ‘tough it out’ was part of the job description nor should ‘tough it out’ ever be the default position for any job.”

At Monday’s meeting, the board voted to elect Tami Hillis as clerk. Hillis accepted the position Thursday and said in an Oct. 12 email that the vacancy for the supervisor position has been posted on the township’s website.

Boshears will continue working her full-time job and would like to enjoy having time outside of politics.

“I still have to move six tons of pellets into my back shed and still have to get some of the new siding put on my house before snow,” she said. “As for politics, I have every intention of running for the Marquette County Board of Commissioners, and I have my eye on a Senate seat for the state of Michigan. Just kidding.”

To submit an application for the supervisor position, visit info.michigammetownship.com/news.