Mark Hackel

Background

Hackel's educational background includes a high school education from Sterling Heights High School, a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wayne State University in Criminal Justice, and a master's degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University. He has also trained at the FBI's National Academy and the U.S. Secret Service's dignitary protection school. He also taught at Macomb Community College, where he met his wife, Tracie Damschroder, as well at Wayne State University, and hosted a local cable show called Executive Focus.

Macomb County Sheriff

Hackel's father, William H. Hackel, was elected six times as Macomb County Sheriff, serving from January 1, 1977 to April 27, 2000. William Hackel resigned as sheriff after being convicted on April 27, 2000, of two counts of third-degree criminal-sexual conduct. William Hackel was immediately succeeded by Undersheriff Ronald P. Tuscany, who served the final seven months of William Hackel's term as interim Sheriff. William Hackel was eventually sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison for his crime by Isabella County Circuit Court Judge Paul Chamberlain and was released from prison on April 24, 2003.

Hackel won the Democratic nomination for sheriff on August 8, 2000, capturing 46% of the vote in a 15-person primary. He defeated Republican Steve Thomas in November 2000, winning 52% of the vote to become County Sheriff. Hackel won re-election in 2004 and 2008, defeating Republican Kristi Dean both times. In his 2008 win over Dean, he received 78.4 percent of the vote and set a new record of 314,778 total votes for a county wide elected office

Hackel and his office came to national prominence in the investigation regarding the death of Tara Grant in 2007, which resulted in a murder charge being brought against her husband, Stephen Grant. Grant was convicted of second-degree murder in his wife's death in December 2007 and was sentenced to 50 to 80 years in prison by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski in February 2008.

County Executive

On December 3, 2008, Hackel announced that he had formed an exploratory committee looking at the possibility of a run for Governor of Michigan in 2010. He later decided against running for governor, and instead ran for the new position of Macomb County Executive which was approved by voters in 2008.

Hackel was unopposed in the Democratic primary and won the nomination uncontested. On November 2, 2010 he was elected the first Macomb County Executive, receiving 66 percent of the vote and defeating Republican Randell Shaffer who had 31 percent and Libertarian Erin Stahl who had 3 percent. Hackel resigned his position as sheriff on December 31, 2010 and took office as County Executive for a four-year term starting on January 1, 2011.

On December 7, 2010 Hackel named Chippewa Valley Schools Superintendent Mark Deldin as his Deputy County Executive, where he will serve as second-in-command.

Hackel defeated Republican David Novak in November 2014 to win a second-term as County Executive, taking 69 percent of almost 260,000 votes.

Hackel has clashed with fellow Democrats in Macomb County, as he has gained a reputation for being too willing to work with Republicans, including Gov. Rick Snyder. In 2013, Hackel instructed the County Clerk's office to not list him as Democrat in the county directory of elected officials. He also made headlines during Michigan's gubernatorial election in 2014 by at first declaring his intention to stay neutral in the race and not endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Congressman Mark Schauer. Hackel eventually "reluctantly" endorsed Schauer, who was defeated by the incumbent Snyder.

In 2016, Hackel again crossed party lines by endorsing Republican U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, a former Macomb County Treasurer, in her bid to unseat 6-term Democratic incumbent Anthony Marrocco in the race for Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, saying "The point is to endorse people that you believe are the ones that are going to be the most effective in making things happen. The working relationship I would get with a person like Candice Miller would far exceed any expectations the public would have or that I would have."

Clashes with Macomb Board of Commissioners

In his time as Executive, Hackel has had troubles with the Macomb County Board of Commissioners over what powers the 13-member board has in the new style of county government that was approved by voters in 2008. Issues first arose in October 2011 on whether the Board or Hackel had the final authority to approve contracts for the county.

Hackel sued the Board in Macomb County Circuit on February 29, 2012, over the Board's override of one of his vetoes. Hackel said the lawsuit "...the (Hackel) administration argues that the board’s definition of contracts and purchases, including multiple expenditures related to the same item or project, violates the “clear separation of powers” that voters embraced in the charter. For example, the commissioners want to approve or reject a series of related contracts that add up to $35,000 over a 1-year period.".

On May 14, 2012, Circuit Court Judge John Foster ruled in Hackel's favor, saying, "the power to make expenditures following an appropriation is an executive function which is properly exercised by the County Executive." Hackel said of the ruling, "I think it’s going to finally get them (the Board) to understand the relationship. They do not run county government. They should just allow me to do my job according to the charter."

The Board, led by Chairwoman Kathy Vosburg, R-Chesterfield, appealed the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals. In a unanimous decision announced on October 30, 2012, the court reversed the lower court decision, ruling against Hackel, saying, "The Macomb County Charter unambiguously grants to the Commission the discretionary authority to approve contracts." Hackel said of the ruling, "We don’t see this as an unfavorable ruling even though the terminology is it's overturning the ruling of the circuit court." The Hackel administration did not appeal the ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court.

In 2013, Hackel told reporters that his New Year's resolution was to communicate with the Board on a one-on-one basis, and said "I am here looking to work with you. There are tremendous opportunities in Macomb County to take advantage of, and I hope to engage all of you in working toward that progress."

Political future

Hackel has twice flirted with running for Governor of Michigan. On December 3, 2008, he announced he had formed an exploratory committee to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2010 Gubernatorial race. Hackel eventually decided against it and instead was elected Macomb County Executive. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero was the eventual Democratic nominee, defeating Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon. Bernero eventually lost to Republican nominee Rick Snyder in the general election.

In October 2012, Hackel was reportedly considering running for governor in 2014. However, in January 2013 at the North American International Auto Show, along with announcing his engagement, Hackel announced that he would not run for governor in 2014, but would instead focus on running for re-election as County Executive. He did not rule out a run for governor in 2018, as Snyder was re-elected in 2014. In May 2017, Hackel said there was "better than a 50-50 chance" that he would for governor, saying he believed he could would win the Democratic nomination but also did not rule out running as an independent.