Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi (left) and Corporate Counsel Roger Farinha are at odds with the City Council, which overrode two mayoral vetoes Jan. 23, with the majority of the council passing no-confidence resolutions directed at the mayor, corporate counsel and police chief.
Council overrides mayoral veto, sends ‘no confidence’ message
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS – The City Council and mayor are at odds, with the council overriding two mayoral vetoes Jan. 23 and sending “no confidence” messages to the mayor, corporate counsel and police chief.
City Council motion 24-017, which eliminated the budget for Police Department Directors Kevin Swope and Paul Vanderplow, and motion 24-025, which let the council hire former city attorney Gary Miotke to represent its interests, were vetoed by Mayor Bill Bazzi, with the council then unanimously overriding the vetoes at the Jan. 23 council meeting.
Councilmember Hassan Saab then initiated three motions initiating no confidence votes directed at Bazzi, Corporate Counsel Roger Farinha and Police Chief Jerrod Hart. Each resolution passed 5-2, with Councilmembers Tom Wencel, Denise Malinowski-Maxwell, Hassan Ahmad, Mo Baydon and Saab in favor, and Councilmembers Nancy Bryer and Robert Constan opposed.
On Jan. 24, Bazzi issued a press release that characterized the resolutions 24-017 and 24-025 as illegal, claiming they would be costly to taxpayers and would subject council members to criminal prosecution.
The Dearborn Heights City Council, consisting of Tom Wencel (left), Denise Malinowski-Maxwell, Hassan Ahmad, Mo Baydoun, Hassan Saab, Nancy Bryer and Robert Constan, overrode two mayoral vetoes Jan. 23, with five of the council members issuing statements of no-confidence directed at the mayor, corporate counsel and police chief.
Bazzi said that he brought Hart, Swope and Vanderplow on board to “root out corruption” and address “institutional inefficiency” in the city’s police department.
He said he would not succumb to intimidation attempts or harassment, and he would not be bullied into replacing the Police Department leadership team.
In a Jan. 25 press release, Hart shared his frustration with the city council’s actions and vote of no confidence, which he characterized as “frivolous.”
He said the council ignored the city attorney’s advice against retaliation toward the directors and him.
Hart accused the city council of taking the action while he was on leave to address “employment-induced health concerns due to the continued harassment, retaliation, gaslighting and ghosting.”
Bazzi, who expressed frustration over the situation, wished Hart a “quick and full return to good health.”
Swope is reportedly serving as the acting police chief while Hart is on leave.