It’s funny how, where Joe Munem goes, trouble follows.
The longtime political pit bull is now working as the West Bloomfield Township deputy clerk after losing his gig as communications director for former Warren mayor Mark Steenbergh.
In an op-ed piece published Friday in our sister paper, The Oakland Press, Munem was called out for his “repeated attacks” on township officials by two board members — Supervisor Michele Ureste and trustee Steve Kaplan, who served for years as one of Macomb County’s top prosecutors.
Here’s what they had to say: “Clerk Cathy Shaughnessy recently hired Joe Munem as her chief deputy clerk. She admitted in a recent newspaper interview that Munem has served as her personal campaign and political strategist, and now she benefits in this regard by using taxpayer dollars to pay for his services. The township board has not authorized the issuance of any press releases, and to do so would be an improper use of public funds. The clerk and her chief deputy clerk have been using taxpayer-funded resources during business hours to attack us and to promote the clerk.”
Ureste and Kaplan say that several issues of contention have landed in court and Munem and Shaughnessy have falsely suggested that their adversaries want to remove the police chief. They also write that the clerk is seeking approval at tonight’s board meeting to create the position of finance director – a position she would oversee.
“The board majority continues to spend an excessive amount of taxpayers’ funds to seek legal and expert opinions to support their political agendas at the expense of the township, and its employees and residents,” the op-ed piece concluded.

Sounds like Munem, a veteran Macomb County political consultant of 25 years, has inserted Warren-style politics into the staid community of West Bloomfield Township – and the upper crust is steaming.