Warren Mayor Jim Fouts has been re-elected to a fourth term as head of Michigan’s third-largest city.
Fouts’ opponent, Warren City Council member Kelly Colegio, narrowly won the votes cast on Election Day.
But slightly more voters cast absentee ballots in the race. And Fouts won those handily, defeating Colegio with 57-percent of the overall vote.
Fouts survived the campaign despite being dogged by the release of multiple audio recordings, where he can be heard making vulgar and disparaging comments about women, African Americans and the disabled.
Fouts has always insisted the tapes are fakes manufactured by his political enemies.
He’s also the subject of a recent federal lawsuit filed by Warren’s former diversity coordinator, who alleges Fouts created a racially hostile environment at city hall.
But Fouts has proven himself a resilient politician. He attributes his success to improved city services, and pushing for more development in the city’s struggling neighborhoods, including a new civic center complex in Warren’s south end.
