Latest news with #GabrielaSantiago-Romero
Axios
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Trail Mix: LGBTQ+ communities and the mayor's race
Welcome back to our weekly roundup of election news. Event curator Lesbian Social, one of the strongest forces in Detroit's LGBTQ+ scene, is hosting a conversation with Council President Mary Sheffield on Tuesday about her mayoral campaign, alongside a group called LGBTQIA 4 Mary. The panel will discuss "asset protection and affordable housing for the queer community," per an Instagram post. In more queer politics news, Hotter Than July and LGBT Detroit are planning a mayoral candidate forum for July 25, per Facebook. The discussion is part of a larger day-long gathering discussing LGBTQ+ issues during Hotter than July, the 30-year-old Black LGBTQ+ pride event taking place July 22-27. 🔮 What we're watching: Look out for future news on LGBTQ+ organizers getting involved with election education — these two events signal that Detroit's queer and transgender residents are a notable block of voters to court. Always more endorsement news: A progressive collective — the Working Families Party, activist organization Detroit Action, Michigan Liberation and others — has endorsed District 6 City Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero for re-election and former City Clerk candidate Denzel McCampbell for District 7, which lacks an incumbent.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero to be on 2025 ballot, drops lawsuit
Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who sued the city and its elections commission for disqualifying her from the August primary, is dropping the lawsuit after the campaign and city clerk's office agreed to place her on the ballot. Santiago-Romero filed a lawsuit last week after the clerk's office did not certify her election paperwork due to an outstanding late fee assessed against her for missing an October 2024 deadline for filing a quarterly campaign finance report with the Wayne County Clerk's Office, which handles campaign finance records. The Detroit clerk's office, in response, disqualified her from the ballot. But Santiago-Romero said she was certain she filed everything on time and provided evidence, such as confirmation receipts, to reporters and the court. Per a pending court order through the Wayne County Circuit Court, the incumbent District 6 council member will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot and the disputed late fee will be waived. Both the campaign and city clerk's office confirmed she will be on the ballot. The order is expected to be signed and finalized on May 6 by Wayne County Circuit Judge Patricia Perez Fresard. 'I'm relieved that the facts have been cleared up, and I'm qualified to be on the ballot,' Santiago-Romero said. 'Last week was truly a nightmare, and the hardest week I've ever had as a candidate. What kept me hopeful was the outpouring of support I received daily from our community — this fight was never about me, it was about us. I look forward to continuing to campaign to represent our district, and I'm grateful to both the Detroit city clerk and the Wayne County clerk for working with me to rectify this error.' Election 2025: Detroit mayoral, city candidates submit petitions to run for office Santiago-Romero said she received an emailed confirmation indicating that her Oct. 25, 2024, campaign finance report was filed on time. But the campaign mistakenly filed it as a "pre-general" election statement instead of a "quarterly" statement, and the county asked her to refile it on Nov. 11, 2024 — but not before hitting her campaign with a $250 late fee. The council member said she was unaware of any issues or fees when she filed her nominating petitions and signed her Affidavit of Identity with the city of Detroit on April 17, until her campaign received a letter from the city clerk indicating she was disqualified because of the late fee. Part of the language of the affidavit asks the petitioner to attest that they owe no past fees in order to be eligible to run. In the meantime, the campaign consistently attempted to reach the county clerk, providing several records indicating she turned in her paperwork on time, before filing the lawsuit. Dozens of supporters on April 25 stood behind Santiago-Romero at Clark Park in southwest Detroit, part of her district, as she demanded to be placed on the ballot, claiming she was wrongfully disqualified, and that she'd be forced to consider running as a write-in candidate if the court ruled against her. Sergio Martinez, 37, and Ed Gies, 63, were among the supporters who stood behind her. Martinez said Wayne County's handling of the issue was "unprofessional" at the time and should have been "clear, open and honest, and have provided their receipts" as the campaign has. "She shows up for us. She gets our issues. She was raised in the city. We've known her well before she even got into elected office, and I think that the people who are running against her, in general, don't get our community like she does. They don't show up even to campaign in this area," Martinez said. "We're here to get justice, to get on the ballot, and to make sure that democracy works as it should." Gies said that "with democracy being under threat," he was concerned that it could affect local politics. "Seeing our neighborhood champion ... not allowed to be on the ballot, it's really tragic," Gies said. Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gabriela Santiago-Romero to be on primary ballot for Detroit council
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detroit Council member files lawsuit against clerk, elections commission for ballot disqualification
Detroit City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero has filed a lawsuit against the Detroit City Clerk's Office and the city's election commission for disqualifying her from the Aug. 5 primary ballot, asking the court to certify her candidacy so she can seek reelection to her District 6 seat. In the lawsuit, Santiago-Romero claims "wrongful disqualification," saying she provided the appropriate paperwork and signed an Affidavit of Identity with the City of Detroit on April 17 when she filed to run without being informed of any issues or outstanding fees. A part of the language of that affidavit requires the signee to attest that they owe no outstanding fines or fees. And there's the rub. The Wayne County Clerk's Office — which is where campaign finance reports are filed — claims that Santiago-Romero's campaign missed an October deadline for a quarterly campaign finance report and slapped her with a $250 late fee that still was outstanding at the time the councilwoman signed her affidavit, prompting the city to disqualify her from the ballot. 'It's a shame that we have to go this far, but we have the facts on our side and will take this to court," Santiago-Romero said in a statement Thursday. "We expect to win in court, and give voters the opportunity to decide who they want as their next city council member.' Mark Brewer, an attorney with Goodman Acker and the former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, is representing her in the lawsuit. Santiago-Romero has scheduled a news conference at 1 p.m. on April 25 at Clark Park to demand that she be placed on the primary ballot. More: Detroit City Council member claims Wayne County erred in reelection campaign filings More: Detroit mayoral, city candidates submit petitions to run for office in 2025 election Santiago-Romero said she received an emailed confirmation indicating her Oct. 25, 2024 campaign finance report was filed on time. But the campaign mistakenly filed it as a "pre-general" election statement instead of a "quarterly" statement, and the county asked her to refile it on Nov. 11, 2024. But after noticing the report did not appear on Wayne County's campaign finance system website, the campaign filed another copy on Nov. 8, 2024. The councilwoman said she received a "notice of failure to file" on Oct. 28, 2024, county records show. However, the lawsuit alleges the county clerk "failed to notify" the campaign of the Oct. 28, 2024 notice and Nov. 11, 2024 late filing notice by registered mail within four business days, which is required by state law. "These failures mean that those notices cannot be the basis for the $250 fine, which in turn cannot be the basis for a claim that Santiago-Romero's (Affidavit of Identity) was defective," according to the lawsuit. Michigan law requires candidates be current on all campaign finance statements, fines and other filings when running for office. Santiago-Romero on April 17 filed more than 600 petition signatures and an Affidavit of Identity with the Detroit City Clerk's Office, which did not inform her of an unpaid fine, leading her to believe she did not hold any fees or errors, according to the lawsuit. However, on April 21, the councilwoman received a letter from the city clerk's office notifying her that she had been disqualified due to the unpaid $250 fee, which was based on the duplicate Nov. 8, 2024 filing of the October 25, 2024 report. The lawsuit alleges the fee was erroneously assessed in the first place. She attempted to pay the $250 fee at the Wayne County Clerk's office on April 21, but they refused, according to the lawsuit. "This Court has found that candidates who dispute whether fees or fines are owed should not be disqualified from the ballot for allegedly filing a false (Affidavit of Identity)," adding that it will not harm the public if she appears on the ballot with other eligible candidates, according to the lawsuit. Santiago-Romero's lawsuit is not the first of this kind. Wayne County Commissioner Tim Killeen said he dealt with a similar issue in 2022 after the county clerk found that he had overdue campaign finance reports and determined he was not eligible for the ballot. The commissioner filed a lawsuit through the Wayne County Circuit Court, in which a judge ruled he did not violate campaign finance laws, allowing him to be on the ballot. 'The entire basis of the Wayne County Clerk Office's ballot disqualification was the $250 late fee,' Santiago-Romero said in a statement Wednesday. 'Our campaign has now released conclusive documentation demonstrating that the fee was mistakenly imposed. Detroiters deserve better, which makes the Clerk's inability to answer basic factual questions all the more disappointing.' Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gabriela Santiago-Romero sues Detroit city clerk, elections commission
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detroit Council member: clerk must 'fix their mistake' or 'we will prevail in court'
Detroit City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero said Wednesday that she expects to pursue legal action against the Wayne County Clerk's Office if it does not correct what she is calling a "clerical error" on the clerk's end, currently preventing her from appearing on the 2025 ballot for reelection to her District 6 council seat. At issue is a $250 late fee that was assessed on a campaign finance report last fall that the clerk's office was submitted under the wrong category. Santiago-Romero's campaign submitted a quarterly campaign finance report on Oct. 25, 2024, mistakenly filed as a "pre-general" election statement instead of a "quarterly" statement. The county asked her to refile it on Nov. 11, 2024, but the campaign said it is unsure whether the October filing ever appeared on the county's website. But an emailed record shows the county received her October filing. The District 6 council member released documents and emails on Tuesday, indicating she submitted the paperwork on time, including one requiring her to refile due to an incorrect label on the type of report she submitted. 'The entire basis of the Wayne County Clerk Office's ballot disqualification was the $250 late fee,' Santiago-Romero said in a statement. 'Our campaign has now released conclusive documentation demonstrating that the fee was mistakenly imposed. Detroiters deserve better, which makes the Clerk's inability to answer basic factual questions all the more disappointing.' The campaign provided text messages to the Free Press between Santiago-Romero and a campaign staffer, outlining that Santiago-Romero said she spoke with a Wayne County elections official, who said the report would be deleted and needed to be resubmitted for the October 2024 quarterly filing. That text was on Oct. 29, 2024. A message was left with the elections official. "The issue seems to be easy and quick. It looks like we filed under the wrong date. She said she left all the information in 'pending transactions' and that it needs to be amended to be submitted for the 10/20/2024 quarterly," the message from Santiago-Romero reads. "And there are no issues with the county account." Santiago-Romero then laid out instructions to edit and amend the report to the staffer. More: Detroit City Council member claims Wayne County erred in reelection campaign filings More: Detroit mayoral, city candidates submit petitions to run for office in 2025 election The councilmember refiled the same campaign finance report after noticing it did not appear on Wayne County's campaign finance website and received an emailed confirmation receipt from the county on Nov. 8, 2024. The county notified the campaign the data was saved but the report was deleted, then claimed the campaign filed it on Nov. 8, but Santiago-Romero's campaign claims it was filed beforehand. The clerk's office then hit the council member with a $250 late filing fee in a Nov. 11, 2024 letter. On April 21, Santiago-Romero and a campaign staffer attempted to pay the fee, despite claiming they filed on time, at the county clerk's office and resubmit, but they say they were told it was too late. They said they tried explaining the situation but the clerk's office had "very little record" of any communication regarding the Oct. 25, 2024 filing. The council member said her campaign submitted at least double the amount of required signatures to appear on the ballot and "complied fully with the law" throughout. 'The Clerk's Office must do the right thing for the people of District 6 and fix their mistake. If not, we are confident we will prevail in court," Santiago-Romero said. Branden Snyder, director of the Working Families Party, in a statement Wednesday urged Wayne County to allow Santiago-Romero to appear on the ballot. Snyder said voters "risk being disenfranchised and prevented from participating in a critical election to decide the future of Detroit neighborhoods." 'Brave workers at the Wayne County Elections Division withstood mobs of white supremacists in 2020 to uphold the voting rights of Detroiters. But now, the Clerk's office is endangering the right of Detroit District 6 voters to choose their candidate," Snyder said in a statement. 'This is a case of human error at the Wayne County Clerk's office that could erode our community's trust in electoral systems at a critical time. The Clerk's office should do the right thing by owning up to their mistake and allowing Santiago-Romero to appear on the August ballot.' Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@ Follow her: @DanaAfana. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero disqualified from ballot
