Livingston County administrator Ken Hinton dies at 62

Livingston County administrator Ken Hinton, chief executive for the county of about 190,000 residents, died Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 62, officials said.

Mr. Hinton was chosen as the county's chief executive in 2015.

Mr. Hinton's deputy, Cindy Catanach, will be elevated to acting county administrator.

The timing and process for replacing Mr. Hinton permanently was not immediately known, officials said.

Mr. Hinton is the second county chief executive in Southeast Michigan to die in the last three months. The other was Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who died at 80 in early-August in the midst of his seventh term.

More:L. Brooks Patterson, longtime Oakland County executive, dies at 80

Patterson was elected to his office; Mr. Hinton was appointed by the Livingston County Board of Commissioners. 

Patterson's death set off almost a month of stratagems and infighting on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners before the board appointed Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter to serve the rest of Patterson's term, in a party-line vote.

According to Mr. Hinton's LinkedIn page, he was the county administrator for Wexford County prior to coming to Livingston. The Oakland University graduate was a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.