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Tag: Robert Davis

  • Highland Park activist sues pastor and mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch for defamation – Detroit Metro Times

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    Highland Park activist Robert Davis is suing Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch Jr. for slander and defamation, claiming the megachurch leader maliciously lied about him during and after a recent debate. 

    The lawsuit, filed Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court, argues Kinloch falsely alleged Davis was a “covert operative” for Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who is the leading mayoral candidate. 

    Kinloch’s claims come after Metro Times wrote a series of stories about delinquent water bills and controversial property deals involving the reverend and his Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations. 

    During a televised mayoral debate on Oct. 15, Kinloch claimed without presenting evidence that Davis was a paid operative for Sheffield’s campaign. 

    “When she [Sheffield] talks about my integrity and allegations, she’s talking about her covert operative that’s throwing rocks while they hide their hand,” Kinloch said. “All of these assaults have come by one person — Robert Davis.”

    During a post-debate interview with reporters, Kinloch also alleged Davis approached his campaign with offers to “dig up dirt” on Sheffield for money. 

    Two newspaper reporters called Davis to ask for his comment on the allegations, and The Detroit News published a story that included Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements,” the lawsuit states.  

    Davis emphatically denies those allegations and says Kinloch fabricated the claims in an attempt to “resuscitate his failing and bewildered mayoral campaign.” Davis added that the “false and defamatory statements” were made “with actual malice.”

    “Kinloch has a strong animus, hatred and dislike for the Plaintiff because Plaintiff has exposed to the media and to the general public Defendant Kinloch’s past criminal convictions for beating and assaulting his ex-wife and Plaintiff has revealed and exposed fraudulent real-estate transactions between Defendants Kinloch and Triumph Church, which are currently under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”),” Davis wrote in the lawsuit. 

    A Detroit News and WDIV survey conducted Oct. 16-18 shows Sheffield leading the race with support from about 65% of likely voters, compared with 14% for Kinloch. Another 20% said they’re undecided, and roughly 1% backed another candidate. 

    The winner will replace three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who has endorsed Sheffield and is running for governor in 2026 as an independent. 

    Davis, who is a political consultant, is seeking at least $250,000 in damages, saying he “has lost out on potential clients” as a result of Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements.”

    In addition, Davis is asking a judge to declare that Triumph’s purchase and sale of the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield “was NOT for a lawful church or religious purchase” and “was fraudulent in violation of Michigan and Internal Revenue Service laws. 

    Earlier this month, Davis alleged in a lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court that Kinloch violated state and federal laws after his church bought the property and then conveyed it to him last year for $1 through a private limited liability company that he controls. 

    Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.

    For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.

    Kinloch’s church and campaign have declined to answer questions about the property deal and did not respond to Davis’s lawsuit. 

    Davis has also raised questions about Kinloch’s $1.3 million home in Oakland Township. 

    Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in Oakland Township in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    State law requires nonprofit officers to act in the church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders. 

    Davis also revealed that two of Kinloch’s churches in Detroit owed nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills. 


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  • Kinloch’s megachurch bought a $6.6M theater in Southfield, then transferred it to his private company for $1  – Detroit Metro Times

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    In May 2022, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. announced his megachurch planned to buy a former movie theater site in Southfield and convert it into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need. 

    More than three years later, as Kinloch runs for mayor of Detroit, the former AMC Star Southfield theater still sits empty after an unusual land deal in which Triumph Church bought the property in May 2024 and then transferred it on the same day for $1 to a newly created company solely controlled by Kinloch, according to county records obtained by Metro Times. 

    The LLC, “Triumph Southfield Property,” was created six days before the sale and lists Kinloch as the sole resident agent, state records show.  

    The property is valued at $6.6 million. 

    By switching ownership to a private company, Kinloch subjected the land to annual property taxes of approximately $200,000 a year. State law allows churches and other nonprofits to own land without paying property taxes on it. Once placed in a private LLC, the property does not qualify for that exemption.

    According to tax records, Kinloch’s company failed to pay its outstanding $228,447 tax bill on the property by the Sept. 2 deadline, resulting in a $7,934 interest payment. The tax bill also appears to include a delinquent $49,557 water bill. Under Michigan law, cities can add unpaid water and sewer charges as a lien to the property and roll them onto the owner’s property tax bill. 

    On May 21, 2024, Triumph Church bought the former AMC Star Southfield theater, according to property records. The Oakland County Register of Deeds redacted the purchase price and transfer tax on the deed, leaving the amount Triumph paid unclear. The property was quickly transferred to Kinloch’s LLC for $1, and his company took out a $2.175 million loan from CRE Bridge Capital and put the theater up as collateral, including the right to collect any future rent, records show. According to the mortgage, the loan must be paid off by Nov. 16, with a possible extension to May 16, 2026.  

    CRE Bridge Capital’s website describes the Southfield loan this way:

    “A $2,175,000 loan secured by a senior lien on a 178,050 sf building that was formerly an AMC movie theater. Loan proceeds were used to refinance an existing loan and to give the sponsor time to secure a construction loan to renovate the building. This is an amortizing loan as the sponsor will be paying down the principal balance each month with operating cash flow from its business.”

    CRE Bridge Capital didn’t respond to questions for comment. 

    County records show that the church entered into a land contract in September 2022 with Manchester Star LLC of Shelby Township for the AMC property before buying it outright in May 2024. 

    Kinloch’s campaign didn’t respond to questions for comment, but Triumph Church offered a brief written statement. 

    “Triumph Church, its leadership and members have done its business in accordance with the law,” Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said. 

    But he declined to answer specific questions about the purchase, including how much the church paid for the theater, why it transferred the property to Kinloch’s LLC for $1, what the plans are for the property, who is responsible for the property taxes, and how the $2.175 million debt will be repaid. 

    Kinloch said in May 2022 that construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months. That clearly didn’t happen. 

    The records surrounding the property swap were obtained by Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who is suing the Oakland Oakland County Register of Deeds and Equalization Department to release unredacted public records related to the land. 

    In a court filing Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court, Davis is asking Judge Martha D. Anderson to order the release of unredacted records and to declare that the church’s acquisition and same-day transfer “was NOT for a lawful church or religious purpose.” Davis alleges Triumph “fraudulently conveyed this property to a newly formed private limited liability company, Triumph Southfield Property, LLC, which is controlled solely by its Senior Pastor, Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr.” 

    Davis contends the sale violated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) laws that govern religious organizations because the church sold “a valuable commercial piece of property below fair market value to a private corporation” controlled by Kinloch. 

    He argues the county’s redactions conceal the true purchase price and hinder public scrutiny of a transaction that moved a church asset into the pastor’s privately controlled entity. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders. 

    State law also requires nonprofit officers to act in a church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. 

    Oakland County officials have declined to respond to our requests for comment on the redactions.

    Davis’s court filing also points to the property’s tax status, and he argues that the assessment of local taxes on the private company “is evidence that the intended use” of the site “is NOT for a religious or church purpose.” 

    Godbee insists Davis is fabricating the information, even though it came from public records. 

    “We again have no response to another lie that is not based in fact offered by Robert Davis,” Godbee said. 

    During the mayoral debate Thursday with his opponent, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, Kinloch alleged Davis was working for Sheffield’s campaign, a claim Davis vehemently denies. Sheffield alluded to the property deal, first reported by Metro Times last week, during the debate.

    “While you’ve been building up Southfield, you could have been helping build up Detroit,” Sheffield said. “We know pastors all around the city that have contributed to economic development, who built housing, who helped transform their communities. His church is in my district, and our community wants to know where he’s been.”

    Davis tells Metro Times he plans to sue Kinloch, his campaign, his brother Jonathan Kinloch, and Godbee, alleging they defamed him with false statements made in text messages, online, and in statements to the media. 

    “Rev. Kinloch has gotten so desperate that he is now making false and defamatory statements about me,” Davis says. “I hope he has a good lawyer to defend him in court because before the general election, I will be suing him, his campaign, Ralph Godbee and his brother Jonathan Kinloch for making false and defamatory statements about me.”

    Davis argues the lies are “out of desperation to add smoke and mirrors to deflect from his unethical and unlawful conduct.”

    Kinloch, who finished second in Detroit’s August mayoral primary, will face Sheffield on Nov. 4. He garnered 17.4% of the vote, while Sheffield won with 50.8%. 

    Kinloch has made his leadership of Triumph Church central to his campaign, but he’s declining to respond to questions about the megachurch.

    This is not the first eyebrow-raising land deal involving Kinloch and Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills.

    For most of the past decade, Kinloch has lived in a $1.3 mansion in Oakland Township. Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    In the same month they bought the house, Kinloch and his wife Robin Kinloch secured another $84,000 mortgage for the home, records show. Then in March 2023, the Kinlochs opened a $725,000 revolving-credit mortgage. 

    Davis recently filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, and the IRS, requesting an investigation into the home purchase.  

    In 2016, two years after Triumph Church sold the house to Kinloch, its church on Joy Road in Detroit began falling behind on its water bills. The delinquency reached more than $60,000 in 2020.

    Davis’s latest filing adds Triumph Church as a defendant in the lawsuit against the Wayne County Register of Deeds. That allows the church to argue if the documents should remain a secret, Davis says. 

    A hearing is scheduled in Oakland County Circuit Court on Wednesday.


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  • Triumph Church and Detroit mayoral candidate Kinloch accused of illegal property deal involving old theater site – Detroit Metro Times

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    A new lawsuit alleges that Triumph Church and its pastor, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., who is a candidate for Detroit mayor, violated state and federal laws after the church purchased the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield.

    The church later conveyed that property to a private limited liability company “controlled exclusively” by Kinloch, according to the lawsuit filed by Highland Park activist Robert Davis in Oakland County Circuit Court on Tuesday. 

    Davis is asking a judge to force the Oakland County Register of Deeds and Equalization Department to release unredacted public records related to the property in Southfield. Davis contends those records, which the county refused to disclose without redactions, could shed light on whether Triumph Church or Kinloch violated state and federal laws.

    The county redacted the purchase price and transfer tax. 

    “This lawsuit is necessary to expose the full extent of what I believe to be unlawful conduct by Triumph Church and its senior pastor, Solomon Kinloch Jr.,” Davis wrote in the complaint. 

    Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporations Act also requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organizations and avoid conflicts of interest. 

    Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills, bought the theater location in 2024, according to real estate records. Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need, Crain’s Detroit reported in 2022. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.

    For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.

    Triumph Church declined to answer specific questions about the purchase, including how much the church paid for the property and why it was conveyed to Kinloch. The church also would not say how much Kinloch’s LLC paid Triumph for the property.  

    “We have no response to the continued false allegations and frivolous actions of Robert Davis,” Triumph Church’s Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said in a statement to Metro Times. “They are meritless and simply not true.”

    The site has been vacant since AMC shut down the theater during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

    According to the complaint, Davis filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking deeds, purchase documents, and property tax records from Oakland County, but the county’s Register of Deeds and Equalization Department refused to release the information. He is now asking the court to order the release of those records.

    “The requested documents will demonstrate whether Triumph Church’s property purchase was lawful and consistent with its tax-exempt purpose,” the lawsuit states. 

    Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. And the Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporation Act requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organization and avoid conflicts of interest.

    Kinloch, who finished second in Detroit’s August mayoral primary, will face City Council President Mary Sheffield in the November general election. He has made his leadership of Triumph Church a central theme of his campaign.

    But his mayoral run has also shed some unwanted light on Kinloch and his church. Triumph’s two Detroit churches recently owed nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills. 

    Davis has also filed county, state, and federal complaints against the church and Kinloch over his $1.3 million home in Oakland Township. Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    In late July, the Detroit Free Press reported that Kinloch pleaded guilty to assaulting his first wife after threatening her with a butcher knife and beating her with its handle, according to police.

    Kinloch has also faced questions about residency. For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He said he later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area.

    In the latest case, Davis contends Triumph Church is trying to keep the property records from being disclosed. 

    “Triumph Church is seeking to keep the purchase price a secret because they fraudulently conveyed this property” to an LLC controlled by Kinloch, Davis said. Metro Times could not immediately reach Oakland County officials for comment.


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  • State AG urged to investigate how popular Detroit Democrat avoided mandatory jail time for third DUI

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    Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is under fire for her office’s handling of a third drunk driving case against Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch.

    Local activist Robert Davis is calling on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate how Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch dodged a mandatory jail sentence after pleading guilty to his third drunk driving offense in 2005.

    In a letter sent Thursday to Nessel’s office, Davis argued that the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office “blatantly failed” to enforce a plea agreement that required Kinloch to serve 30 days in jail in 2005. Instead, Kinloch was released from six months of non-reporting probation in early 2006 without serving the mandatory time.

    “The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office’s blatant failure to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement constitutes misconduct,” Davis wrote. “The Attorney General must investigate and take supervisory control due to misconduct committed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Kinloch’s felony DUI case.”

    Davis pointed to court records showing that then-Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans approved a probation officer’s unusual request to discharge Kinloch early and eliminate his 30-day jail requirement. When the prosecutor’s office belatedly sought to enforce the sentence in 2007, Evans granted the request. But no one followed through, and Kinloch never went to jail.

    “Despite Judge Evans’ January 9, 2008 Opinion and Order GRANTING the Wayne County Prosecutor’s motion to enforce the sentencing agreement, since that order’s entry, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has NEVER sought to enforce the sentencing agreement and plea agreement that required Mr. Kinloch to serve 30-days in the Wayne County Jail,” Davis wrote.

    In a statement to Metro Times on Friday, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Maria Miller said, “Prosecutor [Kym] Worthy will not dignify the request with a response.”

    A spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Friday that the case is best handled by Wayne County prosecutors unless Davis files a former complaint that alleges criminal wrongdoing.

    “As this matter was handled by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, I must refer you to that office for further insights into the handling of this case,” AG spokesperson Danny Wimmer said. “If Mr. Davis intends to allege specific criminal wrongdoing, I believe he is aware of the process to formally file a criminal complaint with this department.”

    The case resurfaced last month when Metro Times reported that Kinloch, a powerful Detroit Democrat, never served jail time. Prosecutors at the time acknowledged the problem but let the issue quietly drop after media scrutiny faded.

    In the letter, Davis noted that then-Assistant Prosecutors Paul Bernier and Jeffrey Caminsky urged Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda R. Evans to enforce the jail sentence. It’s unclear what became of those requests, and Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Bernier or Caminsky.

    Kinloch, 56, has long been a fixture in Detroit politics. He was appointed to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners in 2021 and won a four-year term the following year. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan named him to the Board of Water Commissioners in 2018, a position he still holds. He also serves as chairman of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, is vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and heads the Democratic Party’s 13th Congressional District. Over the years he has also sat on the Wayne County Housing Commission, the Detroit Library Commission, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, and the county’s planning and development department.

    Kinloch is also the brother of Solomon Kinoch, pastor of Triumph Church, who is running for mayor in the general election against City Council President Mary Sheffield.

    In an interview last month, Kinloch told Metro Times he pulled no strings and that the probation department recommended his release from jail.

    “It was a scary time, and it was 20 years ago, and I did everything the court required of me,” Kinloch said.

    In his letter to the AG’s office, Davis alleged “Kinloch has bragged openly about how his political connections and influence allowed him not to serve the mandatory 30-day jail sentence.”

    Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach Kinloch for a response.

    Davis recently sued Detroit police and Wayne County prosecutors after both failed to timely disclose records about the case under the Freedom of Information Act.

    Last month, a Detroit man alleged wrongdoing after prosecutors dismissed a case against a woman accused of falsely accusing her daughter’s father of molesting her child. The ex-partner, Taylor Clark, is the granddaughter of retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway, whose cousin Richard Hathaway is the chief assistant at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Clark lives with Michael Hathaway in a luxury apartment in Royal Oak, according to court records. She has resided with the former judge since she was 15, according to her ex-partner, who asked not to be identified because of the severity of the allegations that Clark leveled against him.

    Worthy said she had been unaware of the allegations and would recuse her office from the case. But she denied that any of the Hathaways were involved in dismissing the case.

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  • Judge orders Detroit clerk to follow election transparency laws following watchdog lawsuit

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    Steve Neavling

    Voting at a precinct in Detroit.

    A Wayne County judge on Wednesday ordered the Detroit City Clerk’s Office to follow election transparency laws after a lawsuit alleged officials began processing and tabulating absentee ballots early without public notice.

    Robert Davis, a citizen watchdog, filed the emergency lawsuit against the clerk’s office on Monday, alleging the city began processing and tabulating absentee ballots last week without taking the legal steps required to do so.

    Davis says the case before Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Patricia Fresard opens the door for mayoral and city council candidates who lost Tuesday’s primary election to demand a recount.

    “It provides the unsuccessful candidates with an avenue to challenge the election results for their particular race,” Davis tells Metro Times.

    Stopping short of ruling that the clerk’s office violated the law, Fresard ordered the city to confirm it will comply with the law going forward and asked Davis to “recommend what procedural changes need to go into effect in order to ensure transparency occurs in future elections,” he says.

    In the lawsuit, Davis claimed the clerk’s office failed to publicly post the days that the ballots were being processed, how many were tabulated, and the names of the election inspectors. That’s important because election monitors and challengers have the right to be present during the process, but they “don’t know where and when it’s happening,” Davis says.

    The Detroit Election Commission also failed to establish an absent voting counting board for each election day precinct in the city, Davis contends. In addition, the city council is mandated to approve the locations where the boards tabulate the ballots, but that never happened either, according to Davis’s lawsuit.

    Davis reported the alleged violations to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and Secretary of State’s Office, but neither would address the claims, he says. A spokesperson for the SOS Office counters that Davis requested an intervention the evening before he said he was going to file a lawsuit, not giving officials enough time to respond.

    Beginning last year, state law began allowing clerks up to eight days before an election to process and tabulate absentee ballots to expedite a process that has delayed results by hours and even days. The process includes verifying the voter’s signature on the return envelope, opening it, and preparing the ballot for counting. But to process and tabulate absentee ballots early, state law requires clerks to follow steps that were ignored.

    Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach the clerk’s office for comment.

    Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. were named the winners of Tuesday’s primary and are set for the general election in November.

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  • Judge Dana Hathaway pushes back against efforts to remove her from ballot

    Judge Dana Hathaway pushes back against efforts to remove her from ballot

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    Wayne County Circuit Court

    Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Dana Hathaway.

    Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway is firing back at an activist’s attempts to remove her from the ballot, saying she followed the directions given to her by the Michigan Bureau of Elections.

    Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who is known for disqualifying candidates from the ballot, is contesting Hathaway’s bid to run for reelection to the Wayne County Circuit Court. In a complaint filed with the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, Davis argues Hathaway must be removed from the ballot because her affidavit of identity “contains a false statement.”

    Candidates are required to identify every county in which they ran for office. On Hathaway’s affidavit, which she submitted on March 5, the judge wrote “state” instead of the counties in which she previously ran.

    In an email to Metro Times, Hathaway says the Michigan Bureau of Elections notified her on Feb. 5 that it “is fine” to list “state” instead of the counties in which she ran.

    “An error on this line will not disqualify or cause issues for a candidate,” state officials wrote to Hathaway.

    This is proof, Hathaway says, that she did nothing wrong.

    “There was no mistake,” Hathaway said. “As you may be aware, Mr. Davis likes to create non-issues to harass candidates. … The Bureau of Election has made it clear he has no basis to challenge.”

    She added in a follow-up email on Friday morning, “This is much ado about nothing.”

    But Hathaway’s contention that Davis likes to “create non-issues” is misleading. Davis has successfully forced numerous candidates for judge, mayor, and city council off of ballots for failing to properly fill out affidavits of identities.

    In an interview with Davis on Friday, he says the Michigan Bureau of Elections does not have the final say on whether a candidate can be removed from a ballot.

    He plans to soon file a lawsuit with the Michigan Court of Claims, which he points out has the authority to remove candidates from the ballot, even if the Michigan Bureau of Elections contends a candidate is still eligible. In a lawsuit filed by Davis, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in April 2023 that the statute, not state officials, determines the eligibility of a candidate. And the statute, Davis says, clearly states that a candidate cannot make mistakes or omissions on the affidavit of identity.

    “The statute is very clear, and the case law is very clear: If you omit mandatory information, then you cannot be certified to appear on the ballot,” Davis says. “It’s quite sad when you have a judge that is ignorant of the law.”

    Davis adds that the Bureau of Elections is “overstepping their legal authority in their effort to appease and accommodate judges.”

    Davis says the courts, not state election officials, will have the final decision.

    “Ultimately it’s going to be determined by the courts,” Davis says. I gave (state election officials) a courtesy to submit a challenge to give them an opportunity to try to address it. Now that I know they are going to defend their stupidity, this is going straight to the courts.”

    State election officials didn’t return requests for comment.

    Hathaway is part of a family with strong ties to the judicial system in Michigan. At least six Hathaways are current or retired Wayne County Circuit Court judges.

    Her husband Nicholas J. Bobak Hathaway, and another relative, Bridget Hathaway, also serve on the Wayne County Circuit Court. Her husband changed his last name to Hathaway when he ran for the position in 2020.

    Her father is Richard Hathaway, a retired Wayne County Circuit judge, one-time Wayne County treasurer, and a chief assistant Wayne County prosecutor. Her mother is Diane Hathaway, a former Michigan Supreme Court justice who was sentenced to a year in federal prison in 2013 after pleading guilty to bank fraud.

    Hathaway was hospitalized on March 20 for unknown reasons. At 1:18 p.m., her husband, who was downtown at the time, called 911 and told the operator his wife was on the upper floor of their home in Grosse Pointe Park.

    “I’m very scared,” according to audio of the redacted call obtained by Metro Times.

    Hathaway was at Ascension St. John in Detroit for several days.

    She did not respond to questions from Metro Times about her hospital stay.

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  • Election committee gives green light to recall of Highland Park mayor over skyrocketing water bills

    Election committee gives green light to recall of Highland Park mayor over skyrocketing water bills

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    Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald.

    The Wayne County Election Committee approved language Thursday for a campaign to recall Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald for allowing residents’ utility bills to skyrocket.

    Highland Park activist Robert Davis says he and recall supporters aren’t wasting time in collecting signatures to remove the first-term mayor.

    “Her days as mayor are numbered,” Davis tells Metro Times. “We’re going to hit the ground running. In the next couple of weeks, we are going to convene a strategy meeting so when the weather breaks in March, we will commence circulating petitions.”

    Davis has 180 days to submit enough signatures to place the recall on the November ballot. Under state law, Davis must collect signatures equal to 25% of all votes cast for governor in Highland Park in the 2022 election. That amounts to a little more than 500 signatures.

    The election committee, which is made up of the Wayne County treasurer, clerk, and probate judge, unanimously determined the language of the recall met the standards to begin the process of removing the mayor.

    Under state law, the recall language must be clear and factual. It does not have to prove criminal wrongdoing.

    Davis submitted three reasons to recall McDonald: She uses on-duty police officers to chauffeur her around, she allegedly recommended that the city council approve a water agreement that resulted in an increase in residents’ utility bills, and she declined to veto the water agreement.

    The commission voted in favor of the language that indicates McDonald declined to veto a water agreement with the Great Lakes Water Authority to end a years-long dispute over millions of dollars in unpaid water bills. As a result of the pact, Davis says residential water bills have soared.

    The committee didn’t vote on the police chauffeur language because only one of Davis’s proposals needed to be approved to begin the recall process.

    “The voters are already up in arms by the fact that their water and sewage rates have significantly increased as a result of the mayor failing to inform the residents of Highland Park that, as part of the agreement with the state and Great Lakes Water Authority, the city would have to implement drastic water rate increases, which are like 200%,” Davis says.

    McDonald tells Metro Times that she plans to appeal the committee’s decision and defend herself to “the fullest and to the best of my ability.”

    “I will appeal this decision and move forward,” McDonald says.

    McDonald says she plans to release a more thorough statement later Thursday or Friday.

    Davis has held Highland Park officials to account. Last month, he was responsible for a judge ousting the city’s seven-term treasurer Janice Taylor-Bibbs from office. The judge agreed with a lawsuit filed by Davis that argued the treasurer was ineligible to run for reelection in November because she owes more than $90,500 as a result of a housing scandal. Davis also successfully sued the city over its controversial marijuana ordinance. In July 2023, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge agreed with Davis that the ordinance violated the Michigan Zoning and Enabling Act because city officials failed to get approval from the city’s Planning Commission to create eight zones where cannabis businesses were permitted to open.

    Davis also filed a lawsuit in 2022 that resulted in McDonald’s opponents being removed from the ballot for failing to properly fill out their Affidavit of Identity to run in the non-partisan race.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Recall campaign seeks to oust ‘incompetent and unqualified’ mayor of Highland Park

    Recall campaign seeks to oust ‘incompetent and unqualified’ mayor of Highland Park

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    Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald.

    Less than a week after successfully ousting Highland Park’s seven-term treasurer, a prominent local activist is now turning his attention to expelling another of the city’s elected officials – Mayor Glenda McDonald.

    Robert Davis recently submitted language to recall McDonald, telling Metro Times she’s “incompetent and unqualified” to lead the cash-strapped city.

    The Wayne County Election Committee is meeting Thursday to determine if the language of the recall meets the standards to begin the process of removing the first-term mayor.

    Davis submitted three reasons to recall McDonald: She uses on-duty police officers to chauffeur her around, she allegedly recommended that the city council approve a water agreement that resulted in an increase in residents’ utility bills, and she declined to veto the water agreement.

    Under state law, the recall language must be clear and factual. It does not have to prove criminal wrongdoing.

    If the committee approves the language, Davis has 180 days to submit enough signatures to place the recall on the November ballot. Under state law, Davis must collect signatures equal to 25% of all votes cast for governor in Highland Park in the 2022 election. That amounts to roughly 500 or so signatures.

    Davis, who lives in Highland Park, says voters are angry that the city reached an agreement with the Great Lakes Water Authority to end a years-long dispute over millions of dollars in unpaid water bills. As a result of the pact, Davis says residential water bills have skyrocketed.

    “The citizens are up in arms,” Davis says. “My water bill doubled.”

    Davis also took issue with McDonald using on-duty cops to chauffeur her around at a time when the city has a police shortage and a high crime rate.

    “Our cops need to be patrolling our streets and keeping our community safe, not chauffeuring around an elected official,” Davis says.

    Davis decided to pursue the recall because he says McDonald is the wrong leader for a city that desperately needs competent governance.

    “She has no experience leading a government, and it is glaringly obvious that she is in over her head,” Davis says. “She wanted the position, not because she is qualified, but because she wanted the notoriety, fame, and attention.”

    Ironically, McDonald ended up running unopposed in November 2022 because Davis had filed a lawsuit that resulted in her opponents being removed from the ballot for failing to properly fill out their Affidavit of Identity to run in the non-partisan race.

    “She would not have won the election had her opponents not been removed from the ballot,” Davis insists.

    McDonald declined to address the recall effort or the allegations leveled against her, saying her attorney advised her that she should wait until after the commission makes its decision.

    “The only thing I would need to defend is what is approved,” she tells Metro Times.

    She adds that “allegedly Mr. Davis is who Mr. Davis is. I don’t have anything to say about him.”

    No doubt Davis has been a perpetual headache for Highland Park officials. In addition to getting Treasurer Janice Taylor-Bibbs booted from office and the mayoral candidates removed from the ballot, Davis successfully sued the city over its controversial marijuana ordinance. In July 2023, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge agreed with Davis that the ordinance violated the Michigan Zoning and Enabling Act because city officials failed to get approval from the city’s Planning Commission to create eight zones where cannabis businesses were permitted to open.

    Davis alleged that some city officials created the ordinance to help supporters open a cannabis business in the city.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Arrest warrant issued for teen accused of murdering Philadelphia journalist Josh Kruger

    Arrest warrant issued for teen accused of murdering Philadelphia journalist Josh Kruger

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    An arrest warrant has been issued for a 19-year-old suspect in the murder of journalist Josh Kruger, who was shot seven times in his Philadelphia home on Monday.

    Philadelphia Police Lt. Hamilton Marshmond told reporters Friday that cops are looking for potentially “armed and dangerous” Robert Davis, according to ABC News.

    Investigators believe Kruger knew Davis and “was trying to help” the alleged shooter, who’s believed to have been homeless at one point.

    Prior to working as a journalist focusing on homelessness, addiction and LGBTQ+ issues, the 39-year-old victim had been homeless himself. He went on to become an advocate for underserved communities, working for the mayor’s office and the Office of Homeless Services and Department of Health.

    In a statement to ABC 6, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner described Kruger as an “openly queer writer who wrote about his own journey surviving substance use disorder and homelessness.”

    “We are devastated that Josh’s life was ended so violently,” the DA’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee said in a statement regarding the tragic event.

    Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney was among the first to mourn Kruger’s death.

    “Shocked and saddened by Josh Kruger’s death,” he posted on social media Monday. “He cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing. Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him.”

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    Brian Niemietz

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