L. Brooks Patterson

L. Brooks Patterson (born January 4, 1939) is seeking his sixth four-year term as County Executive of Oakland County, Michigan. Patterson has been a major figure in Michigan politics for more than three decades, noted for his populist conservatism.

Achievements

L. Brooks Patterson is transforming Oakland County and southeast Michigan with his vision and no-nonsense leadership. His mission is to make Oakland County one of the best places to live, work, play and raise a family.

As chief executive officer of one of America’s most affluent and progressive counties, Brooks presides over a $796 million annual budget for FY2012 and a county workforce of nearly 4,000 full and part time benefit eligible employees.

During the 19 years of Brooks’ administration, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have awarded Oakland County its coveted AAA bond rating for its prudent fiscal policies and success in transforming Oakland County’s economy from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy.

Innovative programs Mr. Patterson has launched include:

Three Year Budget – Oakland County is the first and only county in the nation to adopt a balanced three-year, rolling, line-item budget. Because of its long-term budgeting practices, Oakland County has garnered a AAA bond rating which has saved taxpayers millions of dollars on capital projects. In fact, as other governments took a dive into the red during the recession, Oakland County was able to build up $201 million in equity.

Emerging Sectors – In 2004, Brooks created Oakland County’s Emerging Sectors Initiative to identify the top 10 sectors that will attract and retain sustainable, high-paying jobs to Oakland County in the 21st Century. Companies in these emerging sectors are involved in such leading-edge technologies as biotechnology, nanotechnology, wireless communications and alternative energy. By the end of 2011, 201 high-tech companies have invested $1.85 billion creating 26,000 jobs and retaining nearly 11,000 jobs since its inception.

Medical Main Street – With 94,000 jobs, health care and life sciences is the largest Emerging Sector in Oakland County. Medical Main Street markets this burgeoning sector and Oakland County as a: destination for world-class health care and medical device manufacturing. In 2011, 13 companies joined the ranks of Medical Main Street with a total investment of nearly $157 million creating and retaining more than 1,000 jobs.::

Automation Alley – In his 1997 State of the County speech, Brooks launched Automation Alley – a consortium of high tech companies, government entities and educational institutions to compete with the likes of Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128 and North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Today, Automation Alley has more than 1,000 members spanning eight counties. The results are astounding. The 2011 Technology Industry Report says southeast Michigan has the highest number of advanced automotive industry jobs in the U.S.; is positioned ahead of Boston, Seattle and Austin in almost every measure analyzed; and is second only to San Jose’s Silicon Valley region in the number of people working in architectural and engineering occupations.

Oakland County International Airport “Green” Terminal – Brooks opened the nation’s first LEED-certified general aviation airport terminal at Oakland County International Airport (OCIA) in 2011. The 15,000 square foot terminal building features leading-edge green technologies such as a living wall of tropical rain forest plants that clean the air inside the building; wind and solar generation of electricity; a solar hot water heater; geothermal heating and cooling; highly efficient fluorescent and LED lighting; and electric car charging stations, among others. The new terminal was paid for solely by user fees and State of Michigan and federal grants. In the course of a year, nearly every Fortune 500 company flies through OCIA. It has an annual economic impact of $175 million on the region.

Technology – Oakland County is consistently ranked among the most digitally advanced counties by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo). By embracing technology, Oakland County is able to reduce its costs while delivering services more efficiently to its customers.

The Brooksie Way - Brooks established The Brooksie Way Half Marathon and 5K Race as a quality of life event to encourage residents to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle. It attracted more than 5,000 participants in its fourth year on October 2, 2011 at Oakland University in Rochester. The race is named in honor of his son, Brooks Stuart Patterson, who was killed in a snowmobiling accident. The private proceeds from the race fund Brooksie Way Minigrants which are awarded to Oakland County organizations promoting healthy and active lifestyles for its members. By the start of 2012, 62 organizations had received $73,000 in minigrants.

Cloud Computing – Oakland County is positioning its IT applications out in cyber space so that local governments can use them on an as-needed basis. The county has been providing technologies to governments within the region for years. This next evolution in the county’s technology is a real budget saver for local cities, villages and townships. They don’t need to buy software or pay for the servers to host the applications. They simply pay Oakland County a nominal user fee which is a revenue enhancer for the county.

Health Care Cost Containment Initiative – Under Brooks’ leadership, Oakland County is the first county in America to have fully funded employee and retiree health care while saving taxpayers over $150 million. Plus, new hires no longer receive lifetime retiree health care but Health Savings Accounts to help supplement their retirement medical costs.

Redefining Retirement – In 1994, Brooks moved county employees from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan, much like a private-sector 401(k). The old plan is fully funded for those who remain in that retirement system. That means no more Oakland County general fund dollars are paying for the pension plan. Since the switch, taxpayers have saved tens of millions of dollars.

Main Street Oakland County - Oakland County is the first county in the United States to operate a full-fledged county-wide Main Street program for the 32 distinct, historic downtowns in Oakland County. The county program was formed in 2000. Since its inception, more than $560 million has been invested in MSOC communities, establishing 551 new businesses and creating more than 5,100 jobs.

Economic Growth Alliance – A collaboration among Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, and St. Clair counties that will leverage regional infrastructure such as airports and freeways and a well-trained and educated workforce drawn from 3 million residents in order to attract regional economic development projects.

Mandarin Chinese – Brooks, noting the challenges presented by China’s emergence as a world economic power, called for Oakland County to be the first county in America to teach Mandarin Chinese in just about every public school district. Educators responded and today the Mandarin Chinese language, history and culture are being taught in school districts throughout Oakland County.

Count Your Steps - A pedometer walking program to target childhood obesity that involves providing pedometers to 30,000 third and fourth grade students in Oakland County’s public, private and charter schools. Students compete one month every spring to see who walks the most steps. All money is raised through private donations; no taxpayer’s funds are involved. Since its inception, Oakland County’s third and fourth graders have walked 16 billion steps or 288 times around the earth.

OakFit – Oakland County’s wellness program, OakFit, is “bending the trend” on health care costs. The county currently pays $38 million for its employee health care. Without OakFit, among other cost containment initiatives, the county would be paying $50 million today. OakFit, which has been featured on Fox News and USA Today, includes health screenings for early detection of chronic health issues and lunchtime healthy lifestyle activities for employees.

Brook’s Employee Suggestion Program has generated more than $5 million worth of taxpayer savings since 1993 while his Casual Day Program has distributed more than a half million dollars to local charities (neither involves taxpayer funds).

In 1998, Brooks founded Arts, Beats & Eats. The four-day family-oriented fun-fest in downtown Royal Oak features great food, wonderful music and extraordinary art. The event, ranks as one of the top 10 Art Fairs in America and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities.

In addition, during the 1980’s Brooks established The Rainbow Connection which grants wishes to terminally ill children. Brooks serves as president of the organization.

Awards

Brooks has earned numerous awards and honors including:

• 2011 Michigan Emerging Catalyst Award for his job attraction initiatives
• 2011 Civic Leadership Award from the Twilight Benefit Association
• 2011 Achievement Award for Excellence from Wolverine Human Services
• 2011 Distinguished Arts & Culture Award from the Paint Creek Center for the Arts
• 2011 Art Van Hope Award
• 2010 Government Official of the Year Award from the Woodward Avenue Action Association
• 2010 University of Detroit Mercy College of Liberal Arts Hall of Honor
• 2009 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Central Michigan University
• 2008 Public Official Award from the Arc of Oakland County
• 2007 Rotary Foundation of Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow
• One of Government Technology Magazine’s 2006 Top 25 individuals in America “pushing the boundaries of government as usual.”
• 2006 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kettering University
• 2005 Visionary Award from the Michigan Department of Information Technology for leadership support of technology initiatives
• 2005 “World Trader of the Year” by the Detroit Regional Chamber
• 2005 Champion for Children Award from Region 9 (Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties) of the Michigan Association of School Administrators
• 2004 Lighthouse of Oakland County Humanitarian Award
• 2003 Automation Alley CEO Legend of the Year
• 2000 Corp! Magazine Man of the Decade

Other Quality of Life Initiatives

Brooks also is known for his innovative quality of life programs. His Count Your Steps program encourages school-age children to get up off the couch and get outdoors in order to fight childhood obesity. For one month, schools throughout Oakland County compete against one another to see which school's students can walk the most steps. Every year, the students record millions of steps taken during the Count Your Steps month.

On February 11, 2007, L. Brooks Patterson's son, Brooks Stuart Patterson, age 28 and father of three, was killed in a snowmobiling accident in Genesee County, Michigan. Shortly after, Patterson's staff named his annual half-marathon and 5k "The Brooksie Way," in honor of his deceased son. It quickly has become one of the most popular running events in Michigan, drawing well over 4,000 people in 2010. Out of the proceeds, Patterson created The Brooksie Way Minigrants, awarded to organizations that support healthy lifestyles in Oakland County.

Brooks' other quality of life initiatives include Arts, Beat & Eats, a family-friendly festival held on Labor Day weekend in Pontiac to raise money for multiple charities; The Rainbow Connection, a Rochester Hills-based organization that grants wishes to seriously ill children; The Oakland Edge Hockey Tournament, held annually at Onyx Ice Arena in Rochester; and the Fire & Ice Festival in Rochester.

Green Policies

In May 2010, Brooks issued the OakGreen Challenge, which encourages Oakland County residents, businesses, and governments to reduce their energy consumption by 10%. Taking the lead, Oakland County started toward that goal in 2005, reducing its utility bills by more than $4 million through 2010. The county has set itself a new goal of raching a 15% reduction in energy use by 2015. Oakland County's Executive Office Building received a Department of Energy Energy Star rating in 2010. OCIA's new airport terminal is expected to receive a Silver LEED certification. Meanwhile, Oakland County will make additional energy-saving improvements on its government buildings through a federal grant to retrofit the buildings with energy-saving methods and devices. Oakland County's Green Team, under Patterson's leadership, received a National Association of Counties award for its efforts to identify needs and improve energy efficiency.

Education

Patterson attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit, and his Juris Doctor in 1967 from its law schoolTemplate:Http://www.law.udmercy.edu/about/dist alumni bios.php. He was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1967^{[citation needed]}.

Career

In 1968 he was hired by the Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney's office as an assistant prosecutor^{[citation needed]}. He left that office in 1971 and shortly thereafter ran for his former boss's position as Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney^{[citation needed]}. He won the 1972 election and served as Prosecuting Attorney until 1988, when he left to practice law in the private sector^{[citation needed]}.

In the 1970s, he was a leader in the fight against court-ordered cross-district school busing for racial integrationTemplate:Http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=161. He argued the Milliken v. Bradley case before the United States Supreme court in 1973 which was decided in early 1974. In 1978, he was a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senator from Michigan.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Patterson promoted a petition drive for a ballot proposal to abolish the state's single business tax, and won his point when the legislature voted to do so.

Recent news

In recent years, Patterson has attracted attention for his defense of urban sprawl as positive economic development. On his official web site, he writes: "I love sprawl. I need it. I promote it. Oakland County can't get enough of it."

See also

• Automation Alley (tech industry consortium founded by Patterson in 1997)

External links

• 2008 Re-election campaign site
• Oakland County Executive official site
• "Sprawl, Schmall: Give Me More Development"
• Photo of Patterson
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