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Oakland County spotlights women’s leadership and history in county-produced episode
Summary
Oakland County historian Carol Basic Eggbo and Commissioner Gwen Markham highlight the county’s first woman officeholder, Mary Me Bowen Dearborn, and argue that a majority-female commission brings collaborative approaches to public health, infrastructure and finance.
Carol Basic Eggbo, historian for Oakland County, framed the county’s March episode of The Sounding Board around Women’s History Month and the county’s women leaders, tracing a line from early officeholder Mary Me Bowen Dearborn to today’s majority-female Board of Commissioners.
Eggbo said Dearborn, born in 1927 in Detroit and later of Birmingham, was elected to the Oakland County Board of Supervisors in 1968, and that a Michigan Supreme Court ruling prompted the county’s shift to a board of commissioners. "Mary Me Bowen Dearborn crowds so many and such varied activities into her days that she has been known to leave a vapor trail," Eggbo quoted from a 1972 Oakland Press profile, and noted Dearborn switched parties in 1976 and became a Democratic leader.
Commissioner Gwen Markham (District 15), who said she joined the board in 2019 and requested placement on the finance committee, described how she and other women shape county priorities. "I asked to be on the finance committee when I first came to the board for a very selfish reason because I knew everything that happens in the county has to come through finance," Markham said. She said a commission with more women brings attention to public health, safety, the environment and fiscal decisions.
Markham also discussed her regional role, saying she serves as chair of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and that SEMCOG helps bring federal funding to the region for transportation, flooding and other projects. "It's a really rewarding job because it fosters communication and coordination and our governments are better when we're talking to each other and learning from each other," she said.
Asked what makes women effective in government, Markham said collaboration and the willingness to find common ground are strengths she sees in female leaders, and she encouraged more women to run for office because issues often labeled as "women's issues" — such as child care, transportation and public health — affect entire communities.
Eggbo closed the episode by saying historians have often marginalized women's contributions and that she is focusing on documenting Oakland County women’s stories so their legacies are visible to current leaders and residents. The episode ends with a call to follow the county’s social channels for additional stories during Women’s History Month.
The program did not present formal actions, votes or policy decisions; it was a historical and promotional piece highlighting past and present women leaders in Oakland County.
