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Former Eastpointe City Councilman Michael Klinefelt (left) and Warren Human Resources Director George Dimas were the top vote getters in their primary races for mayor.
The Macomb County communities of Warren and Eastpointe will have new leaders next year after voters cast ballots in the mayoral primary elections Tuesday.
In Eastpointe, embattled Mayor Monique Owens didn’t collect enough votes to advance to the November general election. Owens was charged with misuse of COVID-19 funds and was sued by residents after her meltdown over the First Amendment during a public meeting.
The top two vote getters –- former City Councilman Michael Klinefelt and Mary Hall-Rayford, a member of the Eastpointe School Board –- are headed to the Nov. 7 general election. Klinefelt garnered 57.2% of the vote, while Hall-Rayford received 16.8%.
Owens, who is the city’s first Black mayor, finished third with 14% of the vote. City Councilwoman Stacy Cobb-Muñiz came in last with 12% of the ballots cast.
In 2019, Owens defeated Klinefelt by 19 votes.
In Warren, fourth-term Mayor Jim Fouts was removed from the primary ballot after the Michigan Court of Appeals in April ruled that he was ineligible to run for reelection because of term limits approved by voters.
Fouts filed a federal lawsuit last week, alleging his civil rights were violated when he was prevented from running for another term. He’s asking a court to decertify Tuesday’s election and order a do-over with him on the ballot.
Without Fouts on the ballot, six candidates vied for the top two spots to advance to the Nov. 7 general election.
City Human Resources Director George Dimas was the top vote getter with 33.7%, followed by state Rep. Lori Stone, who garnered 27.7% of the vote. Fouts’ biggest critic, City Council President Patrick Green, finished third with 26.4% of the vote.
Dimas’ victory was good news for Fouts, who endorsed his human resources director. Dimas, a 76-year-old former city councilman and deputy mayor, previously said he’d welcome Fouts into his administration if he wins the general election.
The other candidates who finished in the bottom half of voting were Alfonso King, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force and Chrysler; Macomb County Commissioner Michelle Nard, and former City Councilman Scott Stevens.
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