Pontiac Mayoral Candidate's Conviction Under Fire as He Pursues Office Despite Corruption Scandal.
A Wayne County Circuit Court judge will be tasked with determining whether Pontiac mayoral candidate Michael McGuinness is eligible to run for office under a state constitutional amendment inspired by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's corruption scandal. The measure, passed in 2010 following widespread public outrage over corruption, bars former public officials convicted of felony crimes involving dishonesty or deceit from holding elected office or high-level public jobs for 20 years.
McGuinness, who served as chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party during the 2010 election cycle, was involved in an election-fraud scheme. He was accused of forging documents and placing Tea Party candidates on the ballot under a third party to mislead voters and draw votes away from Republicans in several local races. In 2011, McGuinness was convicted of uttering and publishing and perjury and sentenced to probation, community service, and a $1,000 fine.
Now president of the Pontiac City Council, McGuinness is seeking to run for mayor despite his felony conviction. An activist has filed an emergency court motion questioning whether McGuinness's past conviction bars him from seeking public office under the state constitutional amendment inspired by Kilpatrick's corruption scandal.
Lawmakers said the measure was meant to restore confidence in government and prevent disgraced officials from returning to power following public outrage over political corruption. Detroit attorney Todd Russell Perkins, representing activist Marcus Kelley, who submitted the emergency court motion, argues that McGuinness's conviction raises important questions about public integrity and transparency.
"We're not just talking about felony offenses; we're talking about felony offenses in which he tried to affect the outcome of an election," Perkins said. "It remains unclear whether serving as a political party chair qualifies as holding a position in local, state, or federal government under the amendment."
Perkins added that McGuinness's case is not meant to be a personal attack but rather to determine if the candidate falls within the law. The unsealing of court records related to McGuinness's conviction could provide crucial information for voters in Pontiac.
The motion filed by Kelley argues that it is "in the public interest" to discover and learn about McGuinness's employment and specific circumstances surrounding his conviction, particularly since he was serving as chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party at the time.
A Wayne County Circuit Court judge will be tasked with determining whether Pontiac mayoral candidate Michael McGuinness is eligible to run for office under a state constitutional amendment inspired by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's corruption scandal. The measure, passed in 2010 following widespread public outrage over corruption, bars former public officials convicted of felony crimes involving dishonesty or deceit from holding elected office or high-level public jobs for 20 years.
McGuinness, who served as chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party during the 2010 election cycle, was involved in an election-fraud scheme. He was accused of forging documents and placing Tea Party candidates on the ballot under a third party to mislead voters and draw votes away from Republicans in several local races. In 2011, McGuinness was convicted of uttering and publishing and perjury and sentenced to probation, community service, and a $1,000 fine.
Now president of the Pontiac City Council, McGuinness is seeking to run for mayor despite his felony conviction. An activist has filed an emergency court motion questioning whether McGuinness's past conviction bars him from seeking public office under the state constitutional amendment inspired by Kilpatrick's corruption scandal.
Lawmakers said the measure was meant to restore confidence in government and prevent disgraced officials from returning to power following public outrage over political corruption. Detroit attorney Todd Russell Perkins, representing activist Marcus Kelley, who submitted the emergency court motion, argues that McGuinness's conviction raises important questions about public integrity and transparency.
"We're not just talking about felony offenses; we're talking about felony offenses in which he tried to affect the outcome of an election," Perkins said. "It remains unclear whether serving as a political party chair qualifies as holding a position in local, state, or federal government under the amendment."
Perkins added that McGuinness's case is not meant to be a personal attack but rather to determine if the candidate falls within the law. The unsealing of court records related to McGuinness's conviction could provide crucial information for voters in Pontiac.
The motion filed by Kelley argues that it is "in the public interest" to discover and learn about McGuinness's employment and specific circumstances surrounding his conviction, particularly since he was serving as chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party at the time.
. Like, I get it, people make mistakes and all, but this guy's past conviction seems pretty serious to me 
. And now there's some activist trying to figure out if he's eligible to run under a state law that's supposed to prevent exactly this kinda thing from happening again 
. It's like, the law was put in place after Kwame Kilpatrick's whole corruption scandal went down, and it seems like McGuinness is basically playing with fire 
. I don't know what the judge will decide, but I hope someone's doing their due diligence to make sure this guy doesn't get away with some shady stuff 
.
So like, Michael McGuinness, who's running for mayor in Pontiac, has a felony conviction from 2011... and now he wanna be in office anyway? 
Like, what even is that? He was convicted of election-fraud and forgery, and still thinks it's okay to run for public office? I'm literally shook 
. And the fact that the activist is questioning whether this law applies to him is like, super relevant because, I mean, how can we trust someone with a felony conviction in their past to make good decisions for our community? 
.
He got convicted for some pretty shady stuff like election-fraud scheme, forging documents, and perjury... that's some serious red flags 
.
It's like he thinks he can just waltz in and ignore all the laws that are supposed to protect us from people like him.
. Can't we trust our politicians to do the right thing? 
And now, McGuinness is trying to take advantage of it? No thanks... 
So this guy gets convicted of election fraud and now he wants to be mayor? That's like trying to win a prize for 'Most Likely to Bribe Their Way to Power' 
. And honestly, I'm not sure if 20 years is long enough for someone who's basically done one wrong thing already 
. Can't we just make the punishment 'volunteer work' for the next 20 years? That way everyone gets a chance to serve their community while doing some actual good 
.
.
. If someone is willing to play fast and loose with election laws like McGuinness did, it raises some serious questions about who they're really representing 
.
. They need to be able to trust their elected officials, especially when it comes to something as big as the mayor's office 
.
. It's time to shine some light on this situation and make sure everything is on the up and up 
. It's all about maintaining integrity in government and keeping the public's trust. I mean, we've seen what happens when politicians think they're above the law - it's a total disaster 
This all reminds me of that time I thought Bill Clinton would never get off for his impeachment... like, what a wild ride! 
how can u even? didnt do ur sentence prob or community serv or something 
and what about the whole election fraud thing fam? that's like a big deal