Khederian Appears to be Choice for Next Bloomfield Township Trustee

An official appointment won’t happen until Monday, but it appears that Corinne Khederian will be the next member of the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees.

Four of the six current board members publicly endorsed Khederian, the current chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals, after she and  Scot Goldberg gave presentations early Thursday morning in Township Hall.

“I’m really humbled and honored to have the support and it’s really something I’ve been looking toward for several years,” said Khederian, after accepting several congratulatory hugs and handshakes from board members and the dozen or so citizens in attendance.

The board chose Khederian and Goldberg as finalists from a pool of 18 applicants at a special study session last month. The seat became vacant when former trustee Leo Savoie was appointed supervisor following Dave Payne’s retirement on Aug. 1.

Khederian said she has always had a good working relationship with the board and focused her presentation on her commitment to the township and work with the public through the zoning board and in local politics. She moved to the township nearly 20 years ago and was appointed to the zoning board by Payne in 2003. A life-long political activist, she ran against Savoie for trustee in 2004 and stayed heavily involved in county and statewide politics. 

Clerk Jan Roncelli said she’ll support Khederian Monday because she is seen as an immediate asset.

“She can really hit the ground running and be able to do the things that need to be done for the township, like keeping the board together and following the strategic plan,” Roncelli said.

Having another woman on the board wouldn’t hurt either, said Roncelli, currently the only female member on the panel.

“I’ve been saying for awhile that [it] is time we round off this board with a woman or a minority, and now we have that opportunity,” she said.

Several current and former elected officials at all levels of government sent letters of support on Khederian's behalf, Savoie said.

Goldberg focused on his record of public service as both an appointed member of the planning commission and as a physician. He said his chief concern was helping pass a public safety millage that will be up for renewal in 2012.

Township Treasurer Dan Devine agreed, and said he believed it would help to have a trustee who could speak with credibility to the public about safety issues facing the township. He said Goldberg potentially offered an avenue into the virtually “untapped constituency” of medical professionals who live in the township.

Goldberg left quickly after the meeting, and although still technically a candidate, congratulated Khedarian in an email to Patch late Thursday morning.

“I was quite complemented to be one of two finalists for consideration for appointment to the open Trustee position,” he wrote. “Corinne has excellent credentials and I’m sure will do a great job as trustee and serve the township superbly.” 

Savoie said anything was possible before Monday, but he believed Khederian will be appointed based on how the board has worked in the past.

He said that all the applicants were qualified and impressive, and he encouraged many of them to apply for pending vacancies on either the planning commission or zoning board. The process for those appointments will be discussed following the trustee selection Monday night.