Scam: Fouts' city attorney says Warren term limits are 24 years, not 12

Ever heard of a city council that's considered a bicameral legislative body, no different than the state House and Senate in the Capitol?

Me either.

But that bogus interpretation is behind the scam that's underway in Warren where Mayor Jim Fouts' appointee as city attorney, David Griem, has written a legal opinion that's designed to undermine the voter-approved term limits for council members.

Griem

A ballot proposal in the 1990s established 12 years as the limit for service on council. Griem, formerly a prominent criminal defense attorney, now apparently bowing to the wishes of some council members, concluded that the law actually meant that council members are limited to 24 years.

How's that?

Well, reforms pushed by tea party activists created a new style of representation on council, with five members elected in districts and two elected citywide on an at-large basis.

So, here is the tortured logic applied by Griem in his written opinion: “At-large City Council members and District City Council members hold separate and distinct offices. Therefore, the (Warren City) Charter permits at-large council members to exhaust their term limits under the at-large City Council office, and then to run for a district City Council office, and vice versa.”  

Wiecek

What makes matters worse is that it appears several council members have been pushing this convoluted interpretation of the city charter in private. But they turned to former city councilman Mike Wiecek to break open this can of worms. 

Wiecek requested the legal opinion and Griem, taking the unusual stance that a private citizen can ask for legal research and opinion-writing by the city Attorney's Office, followed suit.

Frank Vogt, a political activist from Warren, has sent a letter to Fouts asking the mayor on what basis Griem performed the legal work for Wiecek. 

No surprise: Wiecek was term-limited in 2007 and now needs to find a way to run for office again.

Here is a portion of The Macomb Daily news story on this debacle by Norb Franz:

"For his part, Wiecek acknowledged he has discussed the potential of current and past council members serving beyond a dozen years with 'several' officials, including (Councilman Keith) Sadowski and Council President Cecil St. Pierre. He refused to identify others, but said he believes at least one current council member also posed the same council term limits question to Griem.

"Sadowski has one year left in his third consecutive term. St. Pierre, who held one of nine council seats from 1987-2003, made a successful political comeback three years ago. Neither immediately returned phone messages Tuesday to The Macomb Daily.

"Wiecek, who opposed term limits, was term-limited in 2007 after serving three consecutive terms. Mayor James Fouts later appointed him to the city’s planning commissioner, where Wiecek served two years. He currently serves on the Civil Service Commission.

"Wiecek called Griem’s legal conclusion 'logical.' Asked whether he plans re-enter Warren’s typical rough-and-tumble political arena as a candidate in the 2015 council race, he said: 'I may, but I’ve made no decision in regard in that. Most likely I won’t.'

"But he added that he’s not ruling it out."