Warren voters elect state Rep. Lori Stone as mayor, per unofficial city results

Warren voters elected a new mayor, state Rep. Lori Stone, who will make history as the city's first female top officeholder.

Stone, 43, won Tuesday's general election with 11,876 votes, or 53% of the vote, inching past city Human Resources Director George Dimas, who garnered 10,488 votes, according to unofficial results.

This is the first time in 16 years that Michigan's third most populous city has elected a new mayor. Longtime Mayor Jim Fouts was term-limited after serving four, four-year terms as the city's top leader. Fouts endorsed Dimas.

In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, Stone thanked campaign workers, volunteers, supporters and her family, including her father "for first instilling the courage to run then supporting me as my sign guy!"

"I am grateful for the trust and support that our community of Warren has invested in me as hiring me to be the next mayor! The fact that I get to also have the responsibility of being a first also drives me to set an example. I cannot wait to continue working together for Warren!" according to her post.

Warren City Council results

Stone also expressed appreciation for Macomb County Commissioner Mai Xiong, who lost in the city clerk's race, and Warren City Council Member Angela Rogensues, who was reelected to an at-large seat, as the trio campaigned together.

In neighboring Eastpointe, Michael Klinefelt was elected the city's new mayor after incumbent Monique Owens wasn't on the ballot because she didn't make it out of the August primary. Klinefelt received 3,062 votes, nearly 70% of the vote, to opponent Mary Hall-Rayford's 1,322.

Warren voters reelected Clerk Sonja Buffa, according to the unofficial results, beating Xiong. Treasurer Lorie Barnwell was reelected, as she ran unopposed, making the city's top three full-time officeholders all women.

All seven Warren City Council seats also were up for grabs, with three incumbents reelected.

Voters elected Dave Dwyer, an Oakland County sheriff's deputy who was endorsed by Fouts and whose father is Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer; and they reelected Rogensues, both as at-large council members, according to unofficial results.

Dave Dwyer will become mayor pro-tem, per the city charter, as he was the highest vote-getter in the at-large district. His father, Bill Dwyer, won a seat on the Farmington Hills City Council in Tuesday's contest.

Melody Magee won the District 1 seat, posting on her Facebook page that she is the first person of color to be elected to the Warren City Council. The city has become more ethnically and racially diverse, with nearly 21% of its residents Black or African American and 10.5% Asian, according to U.S. Census statistics.

Incumbents Jonathan Lafferty and Mindy Moore were reelected to City Council in District 2 and 3 respectively, despite challengers endorsed by Fouts. Lafferty said in a statement "this victory represents a firm rejection of the divisive political practices of the past and establishes apromising new era of bold leadership."

Gary Boike, whom Fouts endorsed, won the District 4 council seat over incumbent Garry Watts, according to the unofficial results, and Henry Newnan, a Center Line Public Schools trustee, won the District 5 council seat.

Last year, Boike questioned whether City Council President Pat Green was term-limited. The city clerk swore him in as a councilman last November, but Boike was denied a seat at the council table. The Michigan Court of Appeals opined in May that Green was eligible to complete his third full term in office.

This was the biggest election in years in Warren after courts determined Fouts could not see a fifth, four-year term as mayor. Fouts is fighting the decision in a federal appellate court and asked for a special mayoral primary with his name on the ballot, but the court chose not to expedite the matter.

Fouts congratulated Stone and said on Facebook that they had a positive conversation in which he offered to help with her transition to the office.

Voter turnout was 20.5%, according to results on the city's website, with more than half of the 22,848 ballots cast absentee voter ballots. Turnout was lower than the 2019 election, which had 24.2% voter turnout, per data on the county elections department website.

Warren's rough-and-tumble fight to succeed Fouts

The results of the general election will bring a changing of the guard at city hall; and the campaign featured campaign finance complaints and hit pieces via what many said is a dark money political action committee composed of former and current city employees.

The results Tuesday came in later than other communities in the county. In a Facebook post Monday, the county clerk's office noted that election results for Warren would need a little more time to be reported due because of the number of write-in ballots. There were write-in candidates for mayor and City Council seats.

Stone, who is in her third term as a state representative and is a former elementary school teacher in Fitzgerald Public Schools, previously told the Free Press that she decided to run because when she looked at the field of candidates, "I didn't see anyone who reflected my values. And I knew that I had the experience and qualifications, and I care about my community, and there are things that I know we can do to improve what we have to offer already as a city."

If elected, she said she would work together with the City Council, residents and city leaders and restore "trust and faith in local governments and government, in general." She said she would also continue her tradition of town halls.

Michigan election 2023: Live results, races to watch

Stone said she also wanted to make sure residents feel their leaders are responsive; make sure parks are up to date and reflect what the community wants to use them for, such as making sure bathrooms are accessible and play structures are safe, accessible and inclusive.

She said she would like to see a proposed downtown development reimagined with input from residents and economic development improved, with a plan in each corner of the city of what's working and what's needed.

Dimas, a former city councilman and deputy mayor, came in first in the August mayoral primary over Stone. Macomb County Commissioner Michelle Nard, who finished fourth in the mayoral primary, ran a write-in campaign for the top spot in Tuesday's election.

In a Facebook post just before noon Wednesday, Dimas sent his best to the incoming administration and congratulated Dave Dwyer and Boike, who he said would be "key members" of the new council. Dimas said he is "optimistic for Warren's future and will continue to root for the continued health and success of its citizens. Onward and Upward!"

All the elected positions in the city are nonpartisan, four-year terms. Those elected will serve more than 137,000 residents, starting Monday. The new City Council will have its first meeting Tuesday.

Stone's win will shake up the Legislature, too.

Stone was one of two Democratic state representatives who won a mayoral seat in their respective cities. The other was in Westland, where Rep. Kevin Coleman won the mayor's seat there, according to unofficial results.

That will leave the Democratic-majority House temporarily split with 54 Democrats and 54 Republicans once they are sworn into their new roles. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have to call for special elections to fill those open state seats.

Secretary of State: Warren Mayor Jim Fouts potentially violated campaign finance act

Eastpointe voters also electing new mayor, council

In Eastpointe, in addition to the mayoral race between Klinefelt and Hall-Rayford, six candidates ran for two, four-year seats on the City Council, with Harvey Curley and Margaret Podsiadlik finishing in the top two positions.

Curley was reelected to the City Council; and Podsiadlik previously served as a trustee on the East Detroit Public Schools Board of Education, now known as Eastpointe Community Schools.

Klinefelt, a former council member, lost to Owens by just 19 votes in the November 2019 mayoral election and served as mayor pro tem from 2015-19. He is a Wayne County assistant prosecutor. His mother is state Sen. Veronica Klinefelt, who defeated Owens in the Democratic primary in August 2022 for state senate.

Hall-Rayford is an Eastpointe Community Schools board member and one of four residents who sued Owens and the city in federal court a year ago, alleging Owens was abusing her power and silencing her critics, even cutting them off during public comment at a September 2022 meeting that ended abruptly when the other city council members left.

Less than two months ago, Owens pleaded no contest and agreed to pay restitution in a criminal case unrelated to her role as mayor in which she was accused of misusing COVID-19 relief money for her personal business. She is to be sentenced Thursday in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren voters elect state Rep. Lori Stone as mayor, per unofficial city results