Candidate's lawsuit could create chaos in upcoming Warren elections

(Here is an excerpt from my newest column for Deadline Detroit, which was posted Monday morning. Warren City Council President Cecil St. Pierre and veteran Councilman Keith Sadowski have filed for re-election, claiming the Warren term limits law does not apply to them. Council candidate Lanette Olejniczak has filed suit to knock them off the ballot.)



"... This story begins in December 2014, in the political slumber between the Christmas and New Year holidays, when Warren City Attorney David Griem issued a dubious legal opinion. He claimed a city charter amendment approved by voters in the 1990s, which limits officials to 12 years in an office (three 4-year terms),  is not what the electorate thought it was.
Because the seven-person council is now split between five members representing geographic districts (also known as wards) and two members representing the city at large, Griem suddenly declared that two separate offices exist. Those serving on council could serve 12 years as at-large council members, he said, and another 12 years representing a district on council.
The city attorney’s legal opinion generated outrage among some officials and political activists at the time, but it has lied largely dormant in the ensuing months as the lineup of 2015 candidates takes shape.
“This lawsuit is all about protecting democracy. Seventy-eight percent of voters approved term limits when it was on the ballot,” said Olejniczak’s attorney and spokesman, Richard Sulaka, Jr. “This is all about thwarting the will of the people.”

You can read more here.