Report: Whitmer denies Howell's request to remove library trustee over 'misogynistic' comments

HOWELL — Nearly six months after Howell City Council requested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remove a trustee from the Howell Carnegie District Library Board, they received their answer: No.

In December, councilmembers voted to request Whitmer remove Trustee Anthony Kandt over comments made toward councilwoman Jan Lobur in October.

After the library board’s meeting Oct. 10, Howell Downtown Development Authority Director Kate Litwin wrote an email to the city, calling Kandt's depiction of an email from Lobur, which he read aloud, and other comments "misogynistic." Lobur was not present at the meeting.

In November, the council voted to find Kandt “unfit to represent the city on a local board or commission."

The email read aloud centered on a controversial plot of land the city hoped to purchase from the library. In the end, just this week, council voted instead to purchase nearby land from the state of Michigan to meet parking needs.

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A letter to city attorney Dennis Perkins, dated May 10, informed council of Whitmer's decision, as first reported by The Livingston Post, whose co-founder, Maria Stuart, sits on the library board.

“I am writing to notify you that the request has been denied,” wrote Michigan Deputy Legal Counsel Daniel Osher. “The denial of the request by no means indicates a condoning of the conduct alleged in the request. Rather, it means only that legal limitations on the governor’s removal authority preclude removal under these circumstances.”

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Whitmer denies Howell's request to remove library trustee