Deadline Detroit | Detroit mayor derides ‘purely frivolous’ ballot status challenge by election rival

Anthony Adams, a former Detroit deputy mayor who started a David Goliath race to deny Mike Duggan a third term, is attempting a legal challenge.

Anthony Adams: “The law is the law.” (Photo: campaign)

The political rival asks the town clerk to remove the mayor’s name from the main elections in August, as the Free Press describes:

Adams … challenged the certification of Duggan’s name on the ballot, claiming the mayor lied on the re-election papers he submitted last week. Despite confirming that his campaign financial reports are up to date, Duggan was unable to file a full financial statement for the campaign in July 2018, according to Adams’ attorney, which was filed with the Detroit City Clerk. …

Duggan’s campaign called the challenge “purely frivolous”. …

Campaign manager Alexis Wiley said Monday that the campaign provided a detailed response to the employee’s request for information in September 2018. “It’s evident that Anthony Adams believes his only hope of beating Mayor Duggan is that the mayor won’t vote,” Wiley said in a statement. “We fully meet all legal requirements and expect that this challenge will be rejected as unfounded.”

Adams tells reporter Joe Guillen that the mayor “has broken the law and also committed perjury by submitting a false declaration to the Electoral Commission. I think this challenge is open and closed. The law is the law.”

Town clerk Janice Winfrey says she is awaiting a decision from the Wayne County Clerk’s Office, which is overseeing the filing of the campaign funding.