Chair Dave Woodward

Chair Dave Woodward is a Democrat who represents District 1. District 16 includes the city of Farmington and portions of the cities of Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Troy. He was first elected in 2004 and is up for re-election in 2028. His email address is woodwardd@oaklandcountymi.gov

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At the April 8, 2026, Oakland County Commission meeting, Chair Woodward voted to move public comment to the end of the meeting. He also co-sponsored and voted yes on "Project Prove-It" for Flock surveillance drones. Chair Woodward was later revealed to have taken an all-expenses paid trip to Flock headquarters which he did not disclose to other commissioner nor to the public before voting yes on the Flock resolution. More recently, he was reported to have taken an undisclosed, vendor-paid trip to Motorola headquarters with Commissioner Penny Luebs before voting yes on a Motorola contract. In addition to these and other ethical concerns, Chair Woodward has played a leading role in silencing dissenting voices. In what appeared to be an act of retaliation, Chair Woodward removed Commissioners Charlie Cavell and Kristen Nelson from all of their committee assignments after they left the majority caucus, thus depriving residents of these districts of true representation. At the October 2026 meeting, Chair Woodward closed public comment while members of the audience were in line to speak.