Democrats lose control of Michigan House following Warren, Westland elections
Two Democratic members of the Michigan House won their respective mayoral races on Tuesday, reducing the Democrats’ majority in the House to a 54-54 tie.
Rep. Kevin Coleman (D-Westland) (left) and Rep. Lori Stone (D-Warren), won their respective mayoral races on Tuesday.
For the first time in 16 years, voters in Warren and Westland have a new mayor-elect, and that’s creating a partisan problem in the Michigan legislature.
Two Democratic members of the Michigan House of Representatives — Rep. Kevin Coleman (D-Westland) and Rep. Lori Stone (D-Warren), won their respective mayoral races on Tuesday, reducing the Democrats’ paper-thin two-member majority in the House to a 54-54 tie.
Stone, the first woman to ever hold the top job in the city’s government, defeated Warren Human Resources manager George Dimas — one of several unsuccessful candidates endorsed by long-time mayor Jim Fouts.
Fouts is currently awaiting a ruling on a lawsuit challenging new term limits in the city, which he claims unfairly kept him off this year’s ballot.
In Westland, Coleman won with 59% of the vote over interim Mayor Michael Londeau.
Both Stone and Coleman must take office within a few weeks, leaving the chamber in a partisan deadlock until Gov. Gretchen Whitmer schedules special primary and general elections to fill the seats.
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