Detroit City Wire

Ned Staebler is a three-time political appointee and he is using that muscle to push around political opponents.

A vice president at Wayne State University, Staebler is also a member of the Wayne County Board  of Canvassers. He is also CEO at start-up incubator TechTown Detroit. 

Staebler went viral this week when he suggested Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers were going to go down in infamy after deadlocking 2-2 on certifying the county’s election results. 

While the Republican members of the canvassers board reversed their votes this morning, Staebler’s comments bring to light his extensive involvement in Democratic Party politics in Michigan. 

Staebler’s Facebook pages Inspire Michigan PAC and Michigan Talent Agenda have been criticized as “prime examples of the misuse of Facebook to influence a local election.” 

Previously Staebler was a beneficiary of political largesse when he was named the vice president at Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). 

Under Staebler’s oversight the job creation authority was noted to have “inflated job creation numbers.” 

The New Yorker even pointed out Staebler’s connections and his role at MEDC in a piece on former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. 

Summers, who also previously served as president of Harvard University, said of MEDC and Staebler that those who took advantage of the program were “well connected and fortunate enough to know about them (and) are able to take advantage of them.”