Sylvan Township has a new planning commissioner who will replace longtime commission member Pat Merkel, whose term ends this month.

David Seitz, who has a long history of legislative involvement, was unanimously appointed Tuesday night by the Sylvan Township Board.

The 1997 graduate of the University of Michigan worked as a staff assistant for U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham in 1998 and as a legislative assistant for Brustein & Manasevit, attorneys at law in 1998-99, according to his resume.

Seitz’ resume states he was an education policy advisor for Michigan House Speaker Charles Perricone in 1999-2000 and the deputy policy director/budget director for Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson from 2001-2004.

Currently, he works for Apple, Inc. as a manager of strategic initiatives and has been with the company since 2005.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea area stories, visit our Chelsea page.