News File Photo Lenny Avery is seen in this News archive photo from March 2022.

LINCOLN — The former executive director of the Alcona County Commission on Aging claims in a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that he was wrongfully terminated from the seniors group in January because of his race.

Lenny Avery filed the complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 11.

Avery was relieved of his duties after half of the Commission on Aging board resigned in defense of him and his handling of a large housing project for which he helped secure a $12.5 million grant from the state to build a new community center and housing. Some on the board accused Avery of mishandling money and credit cards and not reporting information about the housing project to the board. They also said Avery defied orders from the board.

Commission on Aging board President LeRoy Perrin did not return a message seeking comment late Friday.

A press release from Avery’s attorney says Avery believes his firing was racially motivated and was retaliatory in nature and points a finger at a Republican group in Alcona County who he believes wanted to take control of the money for the housing project and force him out of his job.

“As an African American and not a member of the Alcona Conservative Group, my political beliefs and affiliations have been exploited as a means of marginalization and exclusion,” Avery said in the press release. “I have faced targeted political attacks that have adversely affected my professional growth and subjected me to a hostile work environment. Such discrimination based on political views contravenes my right to engage in political discourse and express my opinions freely without fear of reprisal within a professional setting.”

Avery went on to claim the members of the Commission on Aging board harassed and bullied him and his staff and defamed his character in public.

After his termination, Avery was hired as the economic development coordinator for the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce.

The senior center and housing project and Avery’s job performance divided more than the Commission on Aging Board of Directors.

At meetings in January, including one that was more than eight hours long, many of Avery’s supporters made public comment supporting his job performance and his handling of the grant and planning process for the housing project. Others questioned the scope of the project and Avery’s hesitance to reduce the scope of it to only being a new senior center and not a community center with housing.