City Pulse People Issue 2021: Deborah Guthrie, Meridian Township Clerk

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Meridian Township’s clerk, Deborah Guthrie grew up watching sports such as football with her mother and grandmother, both of whom taught her how the game was played. A multi-sport athlete growing up in Port Huron and Okemos, Guthrie, 49, learned life lessons in sports such as volleyball that inspired her broadcasting work for ESPN, ABC and in developing HOMTV21, Meridian Township’s broadcast television station. That drive led her to run for, and win, the clerk position in November’s general election. She served as the township's communications director from 2011-2019. She defeated two-term incumbent Brent Dreyfuss.

To use a sports analogy, what role does the clerk play in the government?

I see myself as the center [in football]. It’s not really out there, but you know that you have to snap the ball on every single time. You’re not the quarterback. You’re not the wide receiver. You’re not the running back. You’re not the playmaker. You’re the center. So while you may not be out there, you’re kind of directing traffic.

The clerk’s position is responsible for election administration, serving as an officer and voting member of the township’s board of trustees, and coordinating Freedom of Information Act requests, for example. How does the sports concept help you do your job?

If you think about a big game matchup, Tom Brady or whomever is getting super excited and revved up about the game and they wake up in the morning, they’re super excited to go in. They want to go work early. They want to pre-plan and get themselves together. I think the workplace is the same way. You know, you wake up, you’re like, “All right, I’m excited for the day. I have this 10-step plan to process FOIAs in a more efficient manner, and I can’t stop thinking about it.” So I can’t wait to get to work and write it down and share it with my team and collaborate and start implementing it so that we can provide a better service.

What about your personality helps you as the clerk?

When I think about the job of, and the role of, a public servant, it is to serve the people. In my previous role, that’s what I did. I thought “I have to serve the people.” I need to be transparent and communicate information to the people. I feel that same way as clerk. We need to serve the people in the best way that we can. I just always cared about people and making sure that people are taken care of.

In your previous role as Meridian Township’s communications director, you worked with prior township clerks Mary Helmbrecht and Virginia White, whom you said mentored you. What kind of advice did they give you?

For one: leadership. Being a female leader, being a representative of the community, and asking what Meridian township stands for. Meridian Township’s history, what the history means and how important that is to not only ongoing questions that we receive or requests from the public or, any changes to the ordinance or anything like that, but understanding what it could mean for our future with the master plan was zoning changes, all of those kinds of things. The way that they carried themselves and the incredible treatment and how they responded to people, even people that had differing opinions. Just the way they carry themselves in a civil manner and even if you had different points of view. You can be civil and have a different point of view. And I think that they were excellent examples of that. Virginia White was township clerk for 25 years, and they were just incredible female leaders in this community. I picked up a lot of what they were doing on a regular basis and listened to them a lot.

What do you advocate for in your community?

I really believe in equality and inclusion and giving a voice to the voiceless. I think that is so important. I’ve seen too many people suppressed or put down or bullied, and I have zero tolerance for that. Any time I can be a champion or a cheerleader for The Children’s Small Talk or The Greater Lansing Women’s Center or Eve’s House, or Meridian Cares — I’m a strong advocate for those types of programs that help.

(This interview was conducted, edited and condensed by Sean Bradley.)