| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honorable |
| John Charles Hertel | |
| Office: | Member of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority Board of Commissioners |
| Term Start: | 1983 |
| Term End: | May 2, 2017 |
| Successor: | Kurt Heise |
| State Senate2: | Michigan |
| District2: | 2nd |
| Term Start2: | January 1, 1974 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 1982 |
| Predecessor2: | Charles N. Youngblood, Jr. |
| Successor2: | Basil W. Brown |
| Office3: | Member of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners from the 14th district |
| Term Start3: | January 1, 1989 |
| Term End3: | December 31, 2002 |
| Predecessor3: | Walter Franchuk |
| Successor3: | Kurt S. Kramer |
| Office4: | Member of the Wayne County Commission from the 1st district |
| Term Start4: | January 1, 1983 |
| Term End4: | December 31, 1986 |
| Successor4: | David P. Cavanagh |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Relatives: | Curtis Hertel (brother) Dennis Hertel (brother) Curtis Hertel Jr. (nephew) Kevin Hertel (nephew) |
| Alma Mater: | Wayne State University |
John Charles Hertel is a former chairman of the Huron–Clinton Metroparks, chairman of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, and general manager of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation. He served three terms as state senator for the 2nd District in Michigan from 1974 to 1982, was appointed by Governor John Engler to run the Michigan State Fair from 1993 to 2006, and is the only person in Michigan history to serve as chairman of the county boards of commissioners in two different counties (Wayne and Macomb).
Hertel grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Denby High School. His brothers Dennis Hertel and Curtis Hertel, and nephews Curtis Hertel Jr. and Kevin Hertel have also been elected to legislative seats. He raised his family in Harper Woods, Michigan, where he served in the state senate and Wayne County Board of Commissioners, before moving to his current home in Lenox Township, Michigan, where he served as Macomb County Commissioner. Hertel raises Percheron horses on his farm in Lenox Township.
Hertel has held three elected offices during his career:
Hertel was appointed as a Huron-Clinton Metroparks Commissioner five times:
Hertel was appointed General Manager of the Michigan State Fair by Governor John Engler (R) and reappointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) from 1993 to 2006. He inherited the fair after its lowest attendance in decades, and was credited by many including Governor Granholm for, "directing the rebirth of the State Fair.[2] "
Hertel was CEO of the Regional Transit Coordinating Council (RTCC) from 2006 to 2010, where he successfully developed and shepherded the Regional Mass Transit Plan to gain approval of Macomb, Oakland, Wayne counties and the City of Detroit.[3] In 2010, Hertel was hired[4] as General Manager of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).