JUNE 2022

Simply delicious food served
by the finest Professionals
PROFILE
Mark Abbo’s Service
to Northville
BY CAL ABBO
CASUAL DINING AT ITS BEST
Authentic Italian style restaurant featuring cut to order steaks, fresh seafood, homemade pasta and pizzas and several salad options.
Spacious Banquet rooms available perfect for corporate events and meetings, family celebrations, weddings and showers.
5600 Crooks Road, Troy, Michigan
248.813.0700 ◆ ◆ www.loccino.com
Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C.
Attorneys and Counselors at Law
Ronald G. Acho
racho@cmda-law.com
Matthew C. Wayne
mwayne@cmda-law.com
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bEfORE ADMINISTRATIvE AgENCIES
Attorneys at CMDA provide criminal, civil, and administrative
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results for clients in matters ranging from tens of millions of dollars
in unreported income to proposed assessment of the trust fund
recovery penalty, from nonfiling of personal income taxes to offers in
compromise, from audit reconsideration to failure to report foreign
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Our experience, resources, and ability to provide proactive and timesensitive
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A TTORNEYS & C O UNSELORS AT LAW
(734) 261-2400 • www.cmda-law.com • mwayne@cmda-law.
When I reached out to Mark
Abbo, the Northville Township
Supervisor, for an interview,
all I knew about him was our
shared last name. He invited me to lunch
at Connor’s, a family diner on the northeast
corner of Haggerty and 5 mile.
Connor’s was as busy and loud as
it was cozy. Mark sat in the back and
waved as I walked in. After our introductions,
I took off my jacket and sat
in the booth opposite him. He looked
down at a legal pad, pen in hand.
“First things first. Let’s do some
housekeeping.”
He wrote his grandfather’s name at
the top of the page: Peter. Mark wanted
to figure out our exact relation. He continued
filling in his family tree, writing
his father’s name, Joseph, and under
that, his own.
It was my turn. I told him my family
history, and it became exceedingly
clear. “We’re second cousins, once removed,”
he said. Mark’s father and my
grandfather, whose name I bear, were
first cousins.
Mark’s grandfather, Peter Abbo,
was likely one of the first hundred Chaldeans
to move to Detroit as he came in
the 1920s. Like most Chaldeans, Peter
was a merchant for a living and raised a
family. He and his wife birthed five children,
including Mark’s father, Joseph.
Mark’s father, like many other
Chaldeans, prized education above
all. This inspired Mark to be a highachieving
professional. Many years
ago, he said he wanted to understand
all the numbers and decisions that go
into business. Soon after, Mark graduated
from Eastern Michigan University
and became a Certified Public Accountant,
the highest honor in his field.
His status as a CPA unlocked many
doors for Mark in both the public and
private sphere. Before he began his
work in government, Mark spent time
at accounting firms, something he still
does in addition to his public sector
work. Since then, he has played several
different roles in Northville’s city
government.
In the early ’90s, Mark became
Northville’s Township Trustee and
served in that position for seven years.
For two years, he was Northville’s
Township Treasurer, and in 2000, became
the Township Supervisor. Mark
held this position for 12 consecutive
years before taking a break. Under his
leadership, Northville’s fund balance
grew from $200,000 in 1992 to several
million dollars by 2012.
In 2020, he decided to run once
again because he thought his expertise
could help steer the town in the
right direction after his break. He was
elected as Township Supervisor in November
2020 to a four-year term.
Between his tenure with Northville,
Mark was recruited by Wayne
County to work as its Chief Financial
Officer because of his business acumen
and ability to contain costs. Now,
he is Wayne County Commission’s
Chief Fiscal Advisor and has held that
position since 2016.
Mark maintains some private business
on the side in addition to his
service in government. He is also the
Treasurer for Metro Solutions, a nonprofit
based in Southfield that provides
healthcare to uninsured and underserved
populations in metro Detroit.
Mark’s current plan for Northville
emphasizes fiscal responsibility and
active management of the COVID-19
crisis. He is heavily opposed to raising
taxes in Northville and has already reduced
much of the township’s wasted
expenditures while maintaining the
same quality of service. He wants to
continue to attract more high-tech
business to Northville.
42 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2022