Remind us again which party Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel belongs to?
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel (File photo)
Because Hackel sure sounds like a Republican talking to the Detroit News' Nolan Finley, on the subject of President Biden's proposed measures to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Nominally a Democrat, Hackel said he wouldn't enforce any vaccine mandate -- or even testing -- in Macomb County.
Asked if he would dismiss county employees who defy the vaccination order when it’s issued, the Democratic county executive said:
“No. God, no. I have no intention of firing anyone for choosing not to be vaccinated. That’s a personal choice that people should be able to make for themselves.”
Hackel said he is consulting with the county corporation counsel and other legal experts, and won’t enforce a presidential order, “unless I’m forced to by some legal action and I realize there’s no way out. If there’s an opportunity for us to challenge this, or join a challenge, we’ll take a look.”
Hackel goes on to say he "supports vaccination" but opposes mandates, and refused to say whether he'd been vaccinated himself. He said he finds even asking the question to be "wrong," and calls pushes to be vaccinated "bullying."
Which is one way of noting you won't be seeing Mark Hackel at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference, nor any of his appointees. The Chamber is requiring proof of vaccination. This is a loss for Hackel, who has always used the conference as a platform for his yay-Macomb economic-development glad-handing.
