Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman submitted six overdue campaign statements to the Oakland County Elections Division on April 22.Â
Trachelle C. Young, Esq., Waterman s attorney, told The Oakland Press that it s unfortunate that we are forced to seek redress in the courts on a matter that should be clear as it has been directly addressed by the courts. Mayor Waterman is a history maker and game changer, which has tremendously benefited the Pontiac community, she said. She will continue to stand for justice and equal access to ballots to prevent disenfranchisement and voter suppression tactics and we look forward to our day in court.
Pontiac mayoral race: Waterman files lawsuit to stay on ballot, challenge filed against Greimel
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PONTIAC, Mich. – Mayor Deirdre Waterman’s campaign has filed a lawsuit to keep her on the ballot after the head of the Oakland County Elections Division said she would not appear because of outstanding campaign finance reports.
“He’s overstepped by telling the city clerk what he can and cannot do and he’s just wrong in his position,” attorney Trachelle Young said.
Young maintains the courts have ruled limiting ballot access for candidates is not the correct remedy. She has asked for emergency consideration from the Oakland County Circuit Court.
In the 2021 race for Novi City Council, one candidate has already stumbled and been disqualified, while two others dropped out.
Less than a week after filing to run, Bin Qamruzzaman was disqualified as a candidate, for failure to file multiple documents relating to campaign finance, City Clerk Cortney Hanson said.
Qamruzzaman filed the paperwork to run for council on April 20, the filing deadline, but Hanson was notified by the Oakland County Elections Division in a letter that Qamruzzaman had not filed proper documents from his 2019 campaign and owed $2,800 in late fees. I didn t know about those late fees from two years ago, Qamruzzaman said on Monday. I didn t collect any money or spend any money in the last campaign, and I was running it myself and couldn t keep up with the workload.