Port Huron council fails to confirm mayoral planning commission appointment after questions on process

The Port Huron City Council voted down Mayor Anita R. Ashford’s request to confirm Leslie Bender Jutze to the planning commission, with the motion failing after a roll-call vote that left the appointment unconfirmed.

Council members and members of the public disputed how the mayor solicited and considered applicants for the vacancy. Council Member Pemberton said she would oppose the appointment because "this situation does not seem like it went transparently, the way it should," and she recorded her vote as no. After the roll call the mayor said the appointment remains a mayoral prerogative and she would return with a different nominee.

The debate began after the clerk confirmed she had collected several applications for the planning commission over the prior months and forwarded them to the mayor on Friday. Council members said three existing applicants—Tyler Moldovan, former Mayor Pauline Repp, and Jacob Orr—had applied earlier and said they had not received follow-up contact. Several council members said they had attempted to reach the mayor or the applicants to clarify whether the earlier applicants had been considered.

Leslie Bender Jutze appeared at the microphone and described planning and development experience in multiple states, including work as a manager in a large U.S. city, development work involving 6,000 acres across several cities, a law degree, and consulting roles with international partners. She said she has ties to the Port Huron area through family and work history.

Council Member Payton asked whether other applicants had been contacted and whether the process gave earlier applicants a fair chance. The city clerk testified that when she receives applications she forwards them immediately to council members; she said she had searched five years of records to compile the earlier applications and that she had forwarded the recent application the prior Friday.

When the council called for a roll, votes were recorded as follows: Council Member Moserak: No; Council Member Peyton: Yes; Council Member Pemberton: No; Council Member Archibald: No; Council Member Lamb: No; Mayor Anita R. Ashford: Yes. After the vote the mayor said the seat remains a mayoral appointment and she would select another nominee.

The council did not adopt any ordinance or policy change governing how mayoral appointments are solicited or handled at this meeting. The planning commission seat therefore remains vacant until the mayor returns with a new nomination or the council takes additional action.

The outcome preserves the status quo for the vacancy; council members said they wanted clearer, more consistent outreach to long-waiting applicants before future appointments.

The council moved on to other agenda items after the vote.