Longtime Addison Township resident Joe Kent announced this month he would run for Oakland County Treasurer.
Kent is a tax professional licensed by the U.S. Department of Treasury. He founded Lake Orion-based Padgett Business Services and is a partner at Kent and Edwards Tax Advisors. People familiar with his professional background suggested that he run when the incumbent county treasurer, Andy Meisner (D-Huntington Woods), announced he would vacate the seat in order to run for county executive.

As a Republican, he had reservations about running in a county whose demographic has shifted Democratic. “I thought long and hard about it. I talked to a lot of people about it. It’s a big decision,” Kent said. “You’re facing an uphill battle as a Republican in Oakland County to win a county-wide seat.”
So far, Kent is the second person and the only Republican running for the position. State Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods) announced his candidacy last July.
Kent grew up in “Copper Country,” in Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula. But he has spent most of his adult life in Oakland County and has lived with his family in Addison for nearly 30 years. He loves Oakland County and calls it “the jewel of Michigan.”
Kent feels that he has led a blessed life in this county. “I’ve been successful in business, my family has had a lot of joy here, and I’ve been very proud of our county and our communities.”
That sense of gratitude and civic pride encouraged him to step forward and run.
He wants to carry on the legacy of longtime Oakland County Executive, the late L. Brooks Patterson, whose leadership he admired and whom he considered a friend. Patterson endorsed him for the 2016 primary election for state representative in Michigan’s 46th District, an election Kent lost by only 15 votes to John Reilly.
“I don’t like to think in negative terms,” Kent said, “yet we do see a sharp change in direction in Oakland County’s government just since last summer, since Brooks Patterson died. These things are particularly troubling to me.”
He is running on three priorities: protect taxpayers, restore transparency, and maintain the county’s AAA bond rating.
There have been cases of the county treasurer’s office seizing properties from owners who were behind on property taxes by miniscule amounts – $8.41 in one case – then selling those houses on the market for a profit. “It is one thing for a government to exercise its duty and responsibility in collecting taxes,” Kent said. “It is another thing altogether when they’re out seeking to turn a profit.”
He is calling for an independent, comprehensive evaluation of these processes.
Next, Kent is concerned about transparency.
“In 2019 Oakland County dropped its longstanding practice of disclosing the financial impact of changes in the county’s budget. As Oakland County Treasurer I will work to restore and expand measures to inform and protect the residents of Oakland.” His campaign website, electjoekent.com, states.
Kent emphasizes that the county’s annual budget is nearly $1 billion, “So these are big concerns.”
Oakland County has maintained an impressive AAA bond rating, the highest possible, from bond rating agencies for over twenty years. A bond rating determines how much interest a government unit is charged if they borrow money from the market, which governments frequently do.
Kent says that rating is in jeopardy. “Our current county leadership has said they are committed, at least some of them, to retaining that rating. I have it on good authority that they don’t really understand the rating, they don’t understand how the county got it, and they don’t understand what’s necessary to keep it.”
The bond rating updates whenever there are borrowing requests. This means the AAA rating could be lost at any time. “Whenever a municipality wants to issue a bond, then the bond-rating agency . . . will go back and revisit the rating,” Kent explained. “They are sort of putting their seal of approval before the bond goes out on the open market.”
“If Oakland County loses that bond rating,” Kent continued, “the borrowing costs of all the municipalities in Oakland County go up, not just the county government . . . That means tax increases.”
For Kent, taxes are not just a political talking point, they’re personal. “I’m a tax consultant. I see up close and personal the impact and burden of taxes on people’s lives. They rely on me to counsel them about it. They cry on my shoulder when they can’t handle the financial demands. So I am uniquely sensitive to it.”
Lately there has been a controversial push by the county administration to revisit regional transit, which Kent had a few things to say about as well. “I don’t think the people who are advocating an additional millage for regional transit get to do that before they have committed to exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it, and how much it’s going to cost. So we are being pulled into a debate of for-and-against and that debate is premature.”
Kent wants the decision makers to take a step back and look at the big picture. “Where there is a need for improved transportation, what I want to see from Oakland County’s leadership, is vision.”
He is worried there is not enough of a conversation about how new technologies, such as automation, will affect transit. “I will do everything in my power as county treasurer to make sure we are having that conversation if it’s not too late, and I pray it won’t be.”
When someone holds an elected office like county executive or treasurer, Kent observes, they get a pulpit or soapbox. He would use that position even if he were elected to county treasurer while the board of commissioners and county executive remained in control of the Democrats. “I look forward to being able to use that role to talk about these matters, not just as they relate to Oakland County, but as they relate to all of Michigan,” Kent said. “We need to have people in these roles who have things to say that are of worth, and I really look forward to that opportunity.”
The state and local primary election is Aug. 4, while the general election is Nov. 3.
Kent knows he has a long road ahead, but he is eager to talk to folks about these issues. “What I am hopeful for is that . . . people seek me out and give me every opportunity they can think of to come before their club, their community group, their neighborhood association, their family. I’m delighted for any and every opportunity to stand in somebody’s living room or the basement of their church.”
Kent has been endorsed by local officials including Oxford Township Supervisor, Bill Dunn; Addison Township Treasurer, Lori Fisher; Oakland County Commissioner, Mike Spisz; Former Oakland County Commissioner, Larry Orbecht, Orion Township Supervisor, Chris Barnett; and Greater Oakland GOP President, Mari-Ann Henry.
Kent holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from the Michigan State University College of Business. He serves on the board of directors for Crossroads for Youth, an Oxford nonprofit which provides foster care, counseling and schooling for at-risk children. He is also a past president of the Lake Orion Rotary Club.