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Warren Mayor Jim Fouts Recall Petitions Rejected, But Appeal Is Coming

WARREN (WWJ) -- Warren mayor Jim Fouts is relieved after six recall petitions calling for his resignation were rejected by the Macomb County Election Commission on Monday.

Fouts, speaking to WWJ Newsradio 950's Jon Hewett, said he was pleased with the Commission's decision to dismiss the petitions.

"The most important thing to me is it eliminates an unnecessary distraction," Fouts said. "I'm focused on development, I'm focused on services for our citizens, I'm focused on police and fire and just public safety in general and I've got a lot of projects planned right now and that was a distraction that none of us needed."

Fouts came under fire earlier this year when audio tapes of him allegedly saying racist and prejudiced remarks were leaked. Fouts has maintained his innocence and said repeatedly that he is not the person heard on the tapes.

The petitions were rejected by the Commission for not being factually accurate or having wording that lacked clarity. Joseph Hunt, the Warren resident who brought the petitions to the Commission, says that he will appeal the ruling.

"I guess he could drop-kick a baby through a field goal post and people will still re-elect him," Hunt said. "The issue does come down to there's a lot of people that have been offended by his words and his actions."

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel released the original audio recordings in December that appear to have Fouts saying disabled people are not human and should be in cages.

Fouts wrote on social media that the offensive remarks about the disabled are not him. He posted on Facebook that the release of the audio which refers to the mentally challenged as "not even human beings," is a tactic by Hackel to distract people from claims of illegal dumping at Freedom Hill.

"This recording was not me! (he has the expertise available to him to electronically engineer it) This is a PHONY tape with more to come. As I said when Mark Hackel can't argue with facts he attacks. This was a garbled tape. A vicious attempt to discredit me. Mark Hackel will do anything to cover up his crime even the use of anonymous phony tapes."

Another set of tapes was leaked in January of Fouts allegedly saying derogatory things about black people and older women.

"Blacks do look like chimpanzees," Fouts allegely says on first part of the tape. "I was watching this black woman with her daughter and they looked like two chimps."

Many local elected officials have called for Fouts' resignation in wake of the controversy. A statement from the officials — which include U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, State Senator Steve Bieda, State Representative Henry Yanez, State Representative John Chirkun, State Representative Patrick Green, Macomb County Commissioner Andrey Duzyj, Macomb County Commissioner Veronica Klinefelt, and Macomb County Commission Marv Sauger — says Fouts is unfit to lead the state's third largest city.

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