Nearly 800 people have signed a petition calling for Grand Traverse County Commissioner Rob Hentschel’s resignation following sexual assault allegations, with protestors again appearing at the Governmental Center Wednesday demanding Hentschel step down. Amid the scandal, Hentschel did not seek reappointment – and was not nominated by any fellow commissioners – to continue as board chair, with new bipartisan leadership selected in the form of Republican Scott Sieffert as chair and Democrat TJ Andrews as vice chair.

Hentschel is under investigation for criminal sexual conduct for the alleged assault of a 38-year-old woman at a party in East Bay Township in October. Hentschel has denied the allegations, which are now under review by the state attorney general’s office. After organizing a December protest at the Governmental Center, local community group Traverse Indivisible once again marshaled protestors to appear Wednesday and circulated an online petition that drew hundreds of co-signers calling on Hentschel to “resign immediately.”

During public comment, approximately a dozen speakers – the majority of whom requested Hentschel’s departure – described the case as bringing “unwanted attention to Grand Traverse County” and “significant division” to the community. “We hope for better, we expect better, and we deserve better,” said Carol Shuckra of East Bay Township. Commenters called Hentschel a “predator” and a “disgrace,” with former Traverse City Mayor Jim Carruthers stating the county’s reputation was “tarnished” because of ongoing political drama.

“Mr. Hentschel, I'm sorry that you're being highlighted this way, but you should step back and do the right thing for this community and let us move on,” said Carruthers. “Let's highlight the good things in Traverse City and the region, and not the bad things. It's getting old.”

With a change in board makeup in 2025 due to the departure of Republican Brad Jewett and arrival of Democrat Fern Spence, the board now consists of a female majority – five commissioners – and a narrow 5-4 Republican majority. Following public comment, commissioners kicked off their first meeting of the year by selecting their chair – who serves a two-year term – and vice chair, who serves a one-year term. Hentschel has long served as chair but did not put forward his name for nomination, nor did any other commissioners nominate him.

Commissioner Scott Sieffert then nominated himself as chair. With no other names put forward, commissioners confirmed his selection by a unanimous 9-0 vote. Three commissioners vied for vice chair – including TJ Andrews, Penny Morris, and Brian McCallister – with Andrews securing the five notes needed to win the vote, including from all four Democrats and from Sieffert crossing the aisle to lend his support.

Traverse City Commissioner Mitch Treadwell praised the bipartisan split of leadership responsibilities on the commission following the vote. “We hear a lot of talk about blue and red counties or states, but in fairness, places like Grand Traverse and Leelanau are purple,” he said. “To have a chair and vice chair from opposing parties representing that we are more balanced than we are one-sided I feel leads to a more equitable and balanced government.”

Commissioners handled several other organizational items of business Wednesday, including approving their board rules – which remained the same for 2025 – and setting their meeting calendar for the year, including a discussion on meeting times. As has come up in the past, several Democratic commissioners pushed for exploring the possibility of moving at least some commission meetings to the evening hours instead of 9am to allow working members of the public to attend. However, other commissioners said evenings wouldn’t work with their schedules and noted they ran for office with the understanding meetings were held in the morning. Evening meetings would also put an extra burden on staff to stay after hours, some commissioners said. A motion to explore evening meeting hours failed by a 4-5 vote along partisan lines.

Commissioners also agreed to suspend their appointments to various committees until their next meeting on January 15 to give the board time to review the appointment process with legal counsel and allow commissioners to put their names forward for any committees on which they wish to serve. Absent Hentschel’s resignation, some protestors have urged commissioners not to assign Hentschel to any committees in 2025. Hentschel currently serves on the Hospital Finance Authority and Northwest Regional Airport Authority, according to the county website.

Commissioners Wednesday also voted to reestablish a safety team ad hoc committee, which automatically expired at the end of 2024 and is tasked with reviewing safety policies – including rules regulating employees carrying firearms – with administrative and law enforcement staff. Sieffert, Jewett, and Andrews previously served on that committee; commissioners voted to have Sieffert and Andrews continue in their roles, with McAllister replacing Jewett on the committee.