WARREN MAYORAL RACE: Walsh blames Steenbergh for controversy
BY MARY OWEN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Warren mayoral candidate Mike Walsh said Thursday he doesn't plan to bow out of the race, despite allegations that he doesn't meet the city's residency requirement.

Walsh, who is in a tight contest with two-term Mayor Mark Steenbergh, said the accusations are a last-ditch attempt by Steenbergh to discredit him.

"Mark Steenbergh and his henchmen have their fingerprints all over this," said Walsh, a long-time Macomb County commissioner who has lived in Warren for about 34 years, though not during 1993-2000.

The Steenbergh camp denied involvement, and said the mayor did not plan to seek an injunction to stop the election.

Up for grabs is the 4-year post that pays $103,885 a year.

Days before the Nov. 4 election and with nearly two-thirds of the city's absentee ballots already in, a failed mayoral candidate raised the issue Wednesday.

On Thursday, election preparations continued on schedule.

Phillip Camarda, who came in third after Walsh in the primary, said he raised the residency issue after Walsh stated during a Monday mayoral debate that he had lived in the city for a little over two years.

Camarda said he doesn't plan to pursue any legal action, but wanted to inform voters.

Walsh said Camarda, who is running for Walsh's county commission seat next year, is seeking to elevate his own political career.

"This man has no integrity," Walsh said. "This Camarda character is unreal."

Richard Sabaugh, a political consultant working for Walsh, said he believes the Steenbergh team is using Camarda to discredit Walsh.

Retorted Deputy Mayor Mike Greiner: "Camarda doesn't like us, so this is kind of absurd. If Walsh doesn't live in Warren that's his business. We're running as if he's our opponent at this point."

If Walsh does win and the election is successfully challenged, the highest vote-getter among City Council candidates would become mayor. If the Sept. 9 primary is any indicator, that person would be Steenbergh's biggest political nemesis -- Councilman Jim Fouts.

City Clerk Richard Sulaka said he has no intention of stopping the election.

The City Charter requires that mayoral candidates live in Warren for three years "immediately prior" to filing for candidacy. Walsh apparently missed by six months.

He moved to Warren in 1962. In October 1992 his home burned down. He lived in a Warren hotel until June 1993.

After that, Walsh moved to Redford Township to live with his brother until January 2001. Between 1993 and 2001, Walsh lived for short stints with his youngest daughter in Sterling Heights. Voter records show Walsh was registered in Redford Township before registering in Warren.

In January 2001, Walsh's son, Carl Walsh, bought him a condominium in Warren. He registered to vote at that address in February 2001. Walsh filed for candidacy in June 2003 and said he was not informed of any residency requirement.

Troy attorney David Richards, who has consulted with the Walsh campaign, said he believes the 3-year requirement is unconstitutional as indicated by editor's notes in the City Charter.

But the Warren City Attorney's Office argues that editor's notes are not reliable because they are not updated.

Richards disagrees. He adds that in 1991, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the Hazel Park City Charter setting a 2-year residency requirement for City Council candidates.

"If the issue came before a judge they would determine that Walsh is eligible to run," Richards said.