WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Polls open on Tuesday across metro Detroit for everything from bonds and millage proposals to city council and mayoral races.
In Warren, there's a lot of interest on whether current Mayor Jim Fouts will see his fourth term. The rules were changed to allow Fouts to seek a fourth term, and this time, he has a challenger that knows him fairly well.
"I never make a prediction about how I'm going to go until after it happens," Fouts said ahead of the election.
Fouts' opponent, Kelly Colegio, actually volunteered to work on his campaign when he got elected 12 years ago.
"I actually managed the mayor's office," Colegio said.
She said the controversial leaked recordings, allegedly of Fouts saying degrading things about special needs children, was the deciding factor to challenge her former boss because it hit home – as she has a grandchild with special needs.
"Every time I looked at that grandchild and I thought, somebody has to stand up and say it's not OK," she said.
Fouts didn't want to talk about what he said "has already been addressed," but he did say he wishes Colegio luck, just not too much luck.
"I’m committed to solving the flooding problem and bringing more jobs to the city and bringing more development to the city and getting people to move in," Fouts said.
Colegio is optimistic too, she says, if her campaign efforts to get out those general election voters comes through.
"Even in the primary, the election day voters tended to vote for me so if we have election day voters come out, I think that we’ll see a change in the city," she said.
