Two Democrats may have won their respective mayoral races Tuesday, but the result will be a loss — albeit likely temporarily — for Democrats in the Michigan House.
Two of the Tuesday contests in Southeast Michigan featured state lawmakers, Reps. Kevin Coleman (D-Westland) and Lori Stone (D-Warren), who triumphed in mayoral races in their respective cities.
Democrats hold a trifecta in state government for the first time in about 40 years, including a slim 56-54 majority in the state House, which they used to pass a slate of progressive priorities, including measures on gun violence prevention, abortion rights and the repeal of Michigan’s Right to Work law, will now be a 54-54 deadlock with Republicans.
With plans for the Legislature to adjourn for the year soon, the pressure will be on for Democrats to push through legislation, especially constitutionally mandated financial disclosure policies, before Coleman and Stone resign their seats to take up their new offices.
Michigan election law allows Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to call a special election in a representative’s district once a seat is vacated, or she can direct that the vacancy be filled at the next general election.
Both Coleman and Stone will be sworn into office after the election is certified, likely later this month, according to the Associated Press.
In Westland, Coleman beat out interim Mayor Mike Londeau, 8,144 to 5,630 votes, or 59.% to 40.8%, in a nonpartisan contest to fill the final two years of former Mayor Bill Wild’s term after he resigned in January for a job in the private sector.
The 40-year-old Coleman, who is in his third term in the Michigan House, was endorsed by the United Auto Workers union, as well as three Westland City Council members. He also previously served on the Westland City Council.
“We won!! I say ‘we’ because this victory is not mine- It’s yours,” Coleman posted to social media following his win. “I look forward to serving YOU as Mayor of our great City of Westland and updating you on our transition to a new administration and new direction on your behalf at City Hall.”
Meanwhile, in Warren, the 43-year-old Stone bested city Human Resources Director George Dimas to become that city’s first female mayor, replacing Jim Fouts, who was barred from running for reelection by a voter-approved city statute creating term limits for local officials.
Stone, a three-term lawmaker and former teacher who was also endorsed by the UAW, as well as the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, polled 11,876 votes to Dimas’ 10,488, or 53.1% to 46.9%.
Although the House seats aren’t expected to flip — both lawmakers represent what are considered safe Democratic districts — they still leave crucial seats vacant for a time.
Coleman previously said the significance of his role to the Democratic majority isn’t lost on him, and that he carefully considered whether or not to seek local office after three terms in the statehouse.
“We just won the majority,” Coleman told the Advance in August. “So it’s important that we keep it, but the thing that I’ve reassured everybody is that I’m in a strong Dem seat [in Westland], so there’s no possibility of us losing it.”
The last time there was a tie in the House was during the 1993-94 session when Democrat Curtis Hertel Sr. and Republican Paul Hillegonds were co-speakers, although current House rules wouldn’t allow that result.
While Democrats will not be able to solely control the flow of legislation until they regain the majority, House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) will remain in that role. That would only change if Republicans were to win both of the special elections, which is not expected.
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