State Rep. Lori Stone wins Warren's mayor race, becomes first woman to lead city

State Rep. Lori Stone will become Warren's first female mayor after prevailing over city Human Resources Director George Dimas in a Tuesday election where voters rejected Mayor Jim Fouts' endorsements for the city's top position and most City Council posts.

Stone won 53% of the vote while Dimas had 47%, according to unofficial results of Tuesday's general election. Stone will succeed Fouts, who was elected in 2007 but was barred from running again because of term limits.

Three out of four incumbent council members seeking re-election won despite opposition from Fouts and attacks from a shadowy nonprofit group run by current and former city of Warren employees. Four candidates opposed by the longtime mayor were victorious on the seven-member council.

A former teacher, Stone, 43, campaigned on seeking more federal and state aid for the city and consulting with council members. She has served in the Michigan House of Representatives since 2019, but will have to vacate the role to become mayor sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Stone said she would sit down and have conversations with the Warren City Council members, who've had a contentious relationship with Fouts, and find projects they could work on together.

During the campaign, she emphasized her ability to respond to community needs. In the Legislature, Stone said she was part of a group of legislators that oversaw the clean-up of the yellow-green liquid that oozed onto Interstate 696 in December 2019.

Maurice Davis cast his ballot for Stone. He was drawn to her because of his party affiliation. He’s a registered Democrat, but considers himself an independent.

Davis, a senior buyer in the automotive industry, said he hopes the next mayor and city council will develop a downtown, complete with retail stores, residential development, restaurants and bars.

“I would like to see a vibrant downtown, as Warren being the third largest city in the state of Michigan and we don’t have a 'downtown.' That does boggle my mind, being that we have a lot of big Fortune 500 companies in this city,” he said.

Within minutes of Warren posting its unofficial election results, congratulations notes were posted on Stone's social media accounts.

"Warren's future is in good hands!" one commenter said on Stone's Facebook page.

Stone couldn't be reached for comment early Wednesday morning.

Mike Radtke, a Sterling Heights City Council member and political consultant, said Stone's hard work led to the victory.

"She's a veracious door-knocker," Radtke said.

The Warren mayor's race was one of a dozen municipal races up for grabs in Macomb County on Tuesday.

In Eastpointe, former City Council member Michael Klinefelt appeared to defeat retired educator Mary Hall-Rayford in the race for mayor. With all precincts reporting early Wednesday, Klinefelt had 69.8% of the vote, and Hall-Rayford, who is also a member of the Eastpointe school board, had 30.2%. Klinefelt succeeds Mayor Monique Owens, who failed to make the general election ballot.

A key election in Warren

Stone will succeed Fouts who had a volatile relationship with the Warren City Council over the budget, a proposed town center development and other issues that have resulted so far in more than $930,000 in legal fees because of court fights.

Leading up to Tuesday's election, Fouts endorsed a slate of newcomers in a bid to break the logjam with the council. He also endorsed Dimas, a 76-year-old former deputy mayor and City Council member.

Those elected to the Warren City Council on Tuesday include numerous candidates who weren't backed by Fouts and a few who were. At least four winning candidates weren't endorsed by the mayor.

In the race for the council's two at-large seats, voters reelected incumbent council member Angela Rogensues, while tapping newcomer Dave Dwyer, a Fouts-backed candidate, over nurse Marie Adkins and Donna Kaczor Caumartin, another Fouts-endorsed candidate. The United Auto Workers union backed Rogensues.

In the District 1 race, small business owner Melody Magee defeated retired resident Charles Perry. In District 2, incumbent councilman Jonathan Lafferty beat Fouts-backed business analyst Adam Sawka.

In District 3, council member Mindy Moore, who has been particularly critical of Fouts, was victorious over Warren Police Lt. Daniel Bozek, a Fouts-supported candidate.

And in District 4, Fouts-endorsed contract manager Gary Boike defeated council member Garry Watts. In District 5, retired resident Henry "Hal" Newnan beat Fouts-backed outreach specialist Brittani Tringali.

In the mayoral race, Dimas had said he would try to bridge the divide with City Council by meeting one-on-one with each council member to get input and try to build a working relationship. But he criticized the the current council’s behavior.

“There was a lot of damage that was done as a result of this City Council that hated the mayor,” said Dimas, a former longtime Chrysler employee. Dimas declined to talk to a reporter early Wednesday.

Gerard Smith, a Warren resident since 2002, also voted for Stone for mayor.

“She seemed to know what she was doing,” Smith said, adding that she has been a public servant for a while and isn’t a Republican.

Smith, a musician who also works a day job, said he just would always want to make sure Republicans don’t win any seats.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a Democrat, but I’m certainly an anti-Republican,” he said.

Warren City Council election

Seven seats were up for grabs in the Warren City Council election. All of the races were relatively close. None of the winners prevailed by double digits.

In the at-large race, Dwyer had 27.3%, Rogensues had 27.1%, Caumartin had 23% and Adkins trailed at 22.5%, according to the unofficial results.

In the District 1 race, Magee bested Perry 58%-42%, while Lafferty won in District 2 with 52.5% to Sawka's 47.5%.

In District 3, Moore got 53% to Bozek's 47%.

In District 4, Boike had 54% and Watts had 46%. In District 5, Newnan had 53.5% and Tringali had 46.5%.

Warren voters also reelected incumbent Sonja Buffa as city clerk over Macomb County Commissioner Mai Xiong. Buffa had 53.8% of the vote to Xiong's 46.2%.

Eastpointe mayoral election

In Eastpointe, voters are ensured of getting a new leader after Owens, the current mayor, finished third in the August primary. Klinefelt, whose mother is a state senator, finished first in the primary, while Hall-Rayford finished a distant second in a four-candidate race.

Klinefelt has said he wants to restore the city's reputation after a series of controversies under Owens and hopes to "restore decorum in city business."

Among Hall-Rayford's priorities were creating more recreation programs for residents of both Roseville and Eastpointe, re-evaluating the city's water bill structure and negotiating better rates with the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Owens, Eastpointe's first Black mayor, was charged earlier this year by the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office with fraudulently applying for a CARES ACT grant in November 2020 and receiving $10,000. The felony charge could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to five years upon conviction. But in late September, Owens pleaded no contest to making a false statement, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. She is awaiting sentencing.

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