Fouts vows appeal after federal judge dismisses his lawsuit against city council

By WXYZ Staff

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    Michigan (WXYZ) — A federal judge has dismissed Warren Mayor Jim Fouts’ lawsuit against city council in what was likely his last effort to get on the 2023 ballot.

Last month, Fouts sued the city council claiming his civil rights were violated after his name was not included on the August 2023 primary ballot. He also wanted to decertify the results of the primary election.

During the primary election, George Dimas, who is currently the human resources director for the City of Warren, and State Rep. Lori Stone received the most votes. They’ll now face off in the November election to see who will replace long-time incumbent Jim Fouts.

Fouts has been mayor of Michigan’s third-largest city for 16 years but has been kept off the ballot due to term limits and rulings from different courts.

A few days after the suit was filed, the council filed a motion to dismiss, which the judge granted on Tuesday.

Fouts and his attorneys issued the following statement, vowing to appeal to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals:

Mayor Fouts and his counsel respectfully disagree with the District Court’s opinion that Mayor Fouts’ constitutional rights were not violated by the Warren City Council’s actions to exclude Mayor Fouts from running for mayor of the City of Warren in the upcoming election. An appeal of the federal Court’s decision shall be immediately presented to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, requesting review on an expedited basis. The purpose of this will be so that the Sixth Circuit may hopefully render its decision in time for Mayor Fouts’ to be relisted as a candidate for the Office of the Mayor of the City of Warren for the upcoming term.

Of note is that the District Court struck down several of the Warren City Council’s arguments alleging that Mayor Fouts’ federal lawsuit would impermissibly conflict with the state of Michigan’s court decisions. This includes the Warren City Council’s contention that Mayor Fouts’ federal lawsuit was an improper appeal of decisions by Michigan courts and that the Mayor’s federal rights were addressed in the City of Warren’s prior lawsuit in Michigan courts to have the Mayor removed from the ballot.

Mayor Fouts and his legal team feel that the ultimate conclusion of the District Court regarding the Mayor’s federal constitutional rights to participate as a candidate in the upcoming mayoral election was in error, according to the constitutional law at issue.

In 2020, Warren voters decided to impose term limits on all elected officials in Michigan’s third-largest city, including Fouts.

Nearly 68% of Warren voters passed a change to the city charter that only allows city leaders to serve 3 terms in office. At the time, Fouts was in the middle of his fourth term. He later tried to argue the Charter amendment did not apply to him.

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