Robert Anthony "Bob" Ficano (born July 19, 1952) is an American politician, and the former County Executive and former

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 19th ...

Early life

Ficano was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He received his BA in 1974 from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, and his JD in 1977 from

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

. He worked as an attorney, and was assistant city attorney for the city of

Westland, Michigan Westland is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Westland is located about west of Detroit, downtown Detroit. As of 2022, the city had a population of 84,037. ...

. He was nominated as the Democratic candidate for

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

from the 36th District in 1980.

County Executive

After years as an attorney in private practice in Westland, Michigan, Ficano was appointed to deputy County Clerk under then County Clerk James Kileen. When William Lucas left the office of Wayne County Sheriff in 1983 to run for Wayne County Executive, Ficano was appointed Wayne County

in 1983, and elected in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000. In the history of electoral politics in Wayne County, no one has ever been elected sheriff without being appointed to the job prior to an election. In 2002, Ficano was elected county executive, and took office in 2003. As county executive, he generated controversy in 2004 with his

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

of a proposed ordinance to ban smoking in most workplaces. He is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent and lives in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Ficano has long held ties to the organized labor and the UAW in particular. His father was a custodian (and union member) in Livonia Public schools and his grandfather worked in the Ford Rouge factory. Wayne County, which includes the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and its western and southern suburbs, is one of the nation's largest population counties, with 1.8 million people.

FBI investigation

In October 2011, Ficano was served with subpoenas by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

for records related to "pay to play" allegations, where constituents felt forced to contribute to designated "charities", which employed friends of his, and also his office's authorization of a $200,000 severance payment to Turkia Awada Mullin, an employee who resigned. After local media reported it to the public, Mullin agreed to return the money. During a special meeting on October 31, 2011, the Wayne County Airport Authority announced the termination of Turkia Mullin as CEO of

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, a Detroit suburb. It is by far Michigan's busie ...

. Shortly after Mullin's termination, Thomas Naughton was selected by the Airport Board as Interim CEO until a permanent replacement is announced. Naughton's history with the Wayne County Airport Authority extends back to 2002, where he's served as both Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Charges against former employees

In May 2012, Laura Cox, a Republican on the County Commission, called for the immediate resignation of Ficano due to corruption charges against his former aide, David Edwards. Edwards, who resigned in August 2012 from the department of technology, was charged on 8 May 2012 with one count of bribery. He allegedly misappropriated $13,000 from a county contractor.

2014 defeat

On August 5, 2014, Ficano lost his bid for a fourth term as County Executive as he finished fourth in the Democratic primary, which was won by former Wayne County Sheriff and Detroit Chief of Police

Warren Evans Warren Cleage Evans (born December 30, 1948) is an American law enforcement official, lawyer, and politician serving as the county executive of Wayne County, Michigan since 2015. Evans is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

, taking just 6% of the vote.

References

* Who's Who in American Politics, 1993

External links

Challengers backing away from running against Ficano
Observer & Eccentric newspapers, February 5, 2006

Detroit News editorial, November 11, 2004 (Google cache)

Detroit News editorial, March 31, 2004 (Google cache)

Detroit News, June 22, 2003 (Google cache)
Ficano Bad for Labor
Wayne County Guardian, April 22, 2010 (Record Added) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ficano, Robert A. County executives in Michigan Sheriffs of Wayne County, Michigan Michigan Democrats American people of Italian descent Michigan State University alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni People from Livonia, Michigan 1952 births Living people Radio personalities from Detroit