Kaplan steps down, new supervisor appointed in West Bloomfield

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Quite the shake-up has taken place in West Bloomfield in recent weeks.

In a letter to the West Bloomfield Township Board dated Dec. 4, Steven Kaplan announced that he was stepping down from his position as the township’s supervisor, effective 12:01 a.m. Dec. 5, after having served in that role since 2016.

Kaplan made the decision after accepting a position as an assistant prosecuting attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. He was in the midst of serving his third term as the township’s supervisor prior to making the decision to step down.

A special meeting was called at the West Bloomfield Township Boardroom Dec. 9, where the Township Board unanimously accepted Kaplan’s resignation from the office of township supervisor.

The next item on the agenda was to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

Township Treasurer Teri Weingarden made a motion to appoint Trustee Jonathan Warshay to fill the position.

Following that, Trustee Jim Manna attempted to make a motion to appoint another trustee, Vincent Kirkwood, for the position. But after some conversation, it was determined that a vote would need to take place on Weingarden’s motion, and if Warshay was approved, there would be no need to take another vote.

In a 5-1 vote, Warshay was approved to be the township’s next supervisor. Weingarden, Township Clerk Debbie Binder, Kirkwood, Trustee Diane Rosenfeld Swimmer and Warshay himself all voted in favor of his appointment. Manna cast the lone vote in opposition to the appointment. 

He was sworn in following the special meeting.

With Warshay becoming supervisor, that creates a vacancy on the West Bloomfield Township Board.

That matter is set to be addressed at a Township Board meeting that is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 13.

Warshay, along with the individual who gets appointed to fill his spot on the Township Board, will both need to run in a general election race in 2026 if they want to retain their respective positions.

Warshay has been on the Township Board since 2016. Prior to that, he served on the Ferndale City Council.

He ran for West Bloomfield’s supervisor position in 2012, but lost “by a very small number,” according to Binder.

Township Board members, along with members of the public, had an opportunity to share comments at the meeting. Although Manna complimented Warshay as a person, he shared his rationale for not voting for him to be the supervisor.

“I just don’t think you’re qualified to lead a township of 68,000 residents. It’s nothing personal,” Manna said. “Your specialty happens to be IT, not running a large corporation with 68,000 people. … I’m troubled by the fact that the minute Steve announced his resignation, the board has chosen my friend Jonathan to be the supervisor.”

Following Manna’s comments, Rosenfeld Swimmer advocated for Warshay.

“He’s smart, he comes prepared, (and) he explains things when some of us don’t understand,” she said.

Aside from expressing gratitude for his nomination, Warshay also shared some of his credentials.

“I practiced as an attorney for several years,” he said. “I have managed people in the courts, I’ve run IT projects for manufacturing companies that have come in successfully. 

“I have (a) background in finance as well, and going through the township’s budgets over the years, and Ferndale’s before then. I’m very comfortable with numbers and finding things, and I do think I have excellent people skills and can work well with a diverse workforce.”

According to Binder, had the township not been able to make a decision about who to appoint, the county clerk would have called for a special election that the township would have been responsible for paying for.

“So this is a much more prudent way to handle it,” Binder said. “We need to get leadership in place. This has been very uncertain, and in every capacity it makes sense to have leadership, and it makes sense to not spend the money on an unnecessary special election.”

After hearing those comments, Manna replied, “I think the 68,000 residents would think otherwise, but thanks for your opinion.”

Manna was also not a proponent of the timing of the special meeting.

“To my peers and to the residents of West Bloomfield, scheduling this meeting at the last minute at 2 p.m. shows total disrespect to the residents of West Bloomfield,” he said. 

“(It) has a look of dishonesty since most people are still at work and therefore cannot show up to voice their opinion about a very, very important issue. … I think our meeting should be at 6 p.m. to allow people the opportunity to watch, the opportunity to show up and voice their opinions, voice their concerns. We’re here working for the residents of West Bloomfield Township, not ourselves.”

Binder responded to Manna’s comments.

“The township has been without leadership for over two weeks and it was important to not wait to schedule this,” Binder said. 

“We have uncertainty of leadership at a time where we’ve just achieved reaffirmation of our AAA credit rating. It’s been a tremendous asset and we don’t (want to) put that at risk, and making sure there’s continuity in leadership is paramount right now. We feel fortunate that we have somebody who is uniquely qualified and has served in the capacity of trustee for eight years.”

Before the meeting started, a resident also weighed in on the timing of the meeting in an interview with the Beacon.

“I think that the residents of West Bloomfield should have kind of a grand notice on this because it is a big deal, and we, the Chaldean community, have an interest in who’s leading our township,” Martin Khemmoro said. 

“I think that there should’ve been a little bit more openness and notice to the community that this was going on. … I think this was done in a very stealth, rapid way – 2 p.m., a special meeting being called to appoint a new supervisor. I think that should happen evening time on a Monday, where people can show up, knowing that this is going on.”

Some residents expressed support for Warshay during the public comments portion of the meeting.

One resident spoke about working with Kaplan due to infrastructure challenges in the neighborhood he lives in.

He said that Kaplan “did a good job over the years” and also recalled working with Warshay.

“The person I’ve worked with most closely besides Steve has been Jonathan Warshay,” the resident said. “He’s proven to be engaged, open-minded and approachable. … I can’t say that I speak for all members of my neighborhood, but I know that I speak for most of the members of my neighborhood when I say I fully support Jonathan Warshay in this position.”

Another resident said that she has known Warshay since he served on the Ferndale City Council.

“I am very pleased to be here today to show my support for him,” she said. “I’ve known him to be honest, intelligent, willing to listen, and capable of handling problems. The word integrity comes to mind first when I talk about Jonathan.”

Kaplan’s decision to step down was also addressed at the meeting.

He ran unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election after defeating David Flaisher, a former supervisor for the township, in the primary.

“I don’t really understand why Steven ran and then chose not to fill his office,” Weingarden said. “I can’t really wrap my head around it, but then we looked at the law, and the law was very clear, that as a board, we needed to make this decision (to appoint a supervisor).”

Kaplan was not in attendance at the special meeting.

“We just had an election last month and he ran for election,” one resident said during public comments. 

“I would’ve thought if he was considering another job perhaps that would’ve been factored in prior to running for the election. … It seems from an outsider looking in like over the past two weeks there were a lot of internal discussions, which are to be expected, but it would be nice if the public (was) allowed in. I don’t know, maybe I missed the notice or any information about this, but it comes across, at least to myself, personally, as a shock.”

In an interview with the Beacon, Kaplan said that he also previously worked for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office from 2011 to 2013 and at the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office prior to that from 1986 to 2011.

He shared details about the timing of accepting his new position.

“I had no notion that I would leave when I filed for a third four-year term (for supervisor),” Kaplan said. “I intended to complete that third four-year term and then this opportunity emerged. I wasn’t formally offered the job until I think Nov. 18 or 19, might’ve been 17, but it was after the election. It was after that, that I received the offer.”

Kaplan reflected on the time he served in West Bloomfield.

“I relished working for the township and have wonderful memories of my tenure,” he said. “West Bloomfield is the best municipality in Michigan and I’m proud to have contributed to the good cause.”

In a previous interview with the Beacon, Kaplan said that the compensation for the position of supervisor is $139,950 per year.

After thanking Kaplan for his service to West Bloomfield, Warshay also shared the intentions he has in his new role for the township.

“I’ll work with our department heads and staff to provide the highest level of service to those who live, work, do business with, and visit our township,” Warshay said.

Call Staff Writer Mark Vest at (586) 498-1052.