She faced censure in office in 2000 but the effort failed
By Barb Pert Templeton
During the commissioner privilege section of a recent Marine City Commission meeting, Commissioner Michael Hilferink spoke at length saying his “right to free speech and ask questions is being attacked and censured” by others at the commission table.
Hilferink even stated that he knows three commissioners at the table who learned the job from former city commissioner “the honorable Rita M. Roehrig” who always asked the tough questions and held the city manager accountable.
He said that trio includes her daughters, current Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Hendrick and Commissioner Rita Roehrig. It was noted that the elder Roehrig served about six years on the board in the early 2000’s.
“She did exactly what I was doing at the last meeting,” Hilferink said. “The things that I’m now being attacked for.”
He also noted that she lost her reelection bid because the word out in the street became that she was negative when she was just actually trying to look out for residents’.
Marine City Commissioner Michael Hilferink took time during the commissioner privilege portion of the Aug. 3, 2023 commission meeting to
Hilferink continued stating that now he feels like he’s in the same exact spot, being attacked for asking questions and implored the commissioners who learned from Roehrig to keep that in mind going forward.
When it came time for Hendrick to share her own comments during commissioner privilege on Aug. 3, she offered this response to Hilferink’s statements.
“My Mom is a tough cookie, she’s still around contrary, she did ask tough questions but she followed the process, she followed the rules, she followed the charter,” Hendrick said. “There are certain things you can and cannot do even as a commissioner and she followed that so there are differences.”
The city commission is considering a resolution to formally censure Hilferink citing disruptive behavior following a closed session of the board on Aug. 3. They will vote on the resolution at a regular meeting this Thursday, Aug, 17 at 7 p.m.
Turning back to 2000
As it happens, it turns out former Commissioner Rita M. Roehrig had been considered for censure by the city commission she served on in 2000.
An article in the Times Herald on Dec. 22, 2000 notes that then Commissioner Roehrig was choosing to “in the spirit of the holidays, remain silent” regarding accusations from other board members that “her official demeanor violated the city charter.”
The story was in reference to a “misconduct complaint” filed against Roehrig in early December of that year, a city resident charged that Roehrig’s displayed a “combative nature towards the city manager” and the matter was referred to the city attorney. It was further noted that if there was merit to the issue Roehrig could be “censured or even removed from her position.”
In a follow-up article in the Times Herald dated Dec. 30, 2000 city attorney George Joachim’s opinion, which was generated at the request of Mayor Robert Beattie, stated that Roehrig’s behavior at a recent city meeting “did not constitute violations of the city charter.”
“I believe that as an elected official, she is entitled to express her opinion however disagreeable the same may be to the remainder of the commission,” Joachim wrote. “As an elected official she is ultimately responsible to the voters of Marine City.”
The article further states that Roehrig said she wasn’t surprised by the attorney’s findings as the matter was simply a political ploy to try and remove her from office.
Another commissioner on the board at the time is said to have told the Times Herald it wasn’t an attempt to oust Roehrig but rather an action taken to make sure the charter hadn’t been violated.
