Filing errors disqualify 3 candidates in Flint City Council race

FLINT, Mich. — At least three Flint City Council hopefuls — including one incumbent — will not appear on the Aug. 4, 2026, primary ballot due to errors in their filing paperwork.

The disqualified candidates are Skeetter Holmes (1st Ward), Beverly Biggs-Leavy (3rd Ward) and 4th Ward incumbent Judy Priestley, according to the Genesee County Clerk’s candidate list as of April 16.

Priestley and Biggs-Leavy were both disqualified for the same issue: each submitted filing paperwork while still owing campaign finance fees, said Genesee County Clerk/Register Domonique Clemons.

“They falsely signed that statement when at the time of signing, both of them owed fees of different amounts,” Clemons said. “In both of their cases, they did come to the county after the fact and paid off those fines, but the fact that they submitted that paperwork before filing, that does disqualify them.”

Holmes was disqualified because he was not a registered voter in the city of Flint at the time of filing. The Flint City Charter requires candidates to be registered for more than one year to be eligible for a City Council seat according to Clemons.

Priestley said she thought she had until the filing deadline of April 21 to get her finances squared away. This led to her signing her petition affidavit while her fees were still outstanding. 

“That was my mistake, and it cost me from being on the ballot,” Priestley said. “I own my mistake. I only had one thing on my mind — getting the signatures in.”

Priestley said she hopes to retain her seat by running as a write-in candidate, which she plans to announce in an official capacity later this month. 

“We know [write-in candidacy] works – we saw it in the 3rd Ward in the last election,” Priestley said. “I think the majority of the residents of the 4th Ward have seen the work that I’ve put in for them.”

Biggs-Leavy also plans to continue her campaign as a write-in candidate. She said she was unaware of any outstanding fees when she submitted her paperwork.

“If I knew I’d owed the county any money, I wouldn’t have signed the affidavit,” Biggs-Leavy said. “I was under the impression I didn’t owe them a dime.”

Biggs-Leavy paid the remaining fine in late January and was surprised when she received an email notice of her disqualification on April 15, she said. 

“The law and administrative rule is clear in this instance,” Clemons said. “There’s no room for leeway — you either have or haven’t paid your fees when you sign your paperwork.”

Holmes could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

An unofficial ballot list of Flint City Council candidates is included below:

1st Ward

• Debra Coleman
• Dione Freeman
• Cynthia Haynes
• Arthur Woodson 

2nd Ward

• Maurice Davis
• Laquindra Hodge
• LaShawn Johnson (3rd Ward incumbent)
• Ladel Lewis (2nd Ward incumbent)

3rd Ward

• Leon El-Alamin (1st Ward incumbent)
• Paradise Williams

4th Ward

• Ramie Yelle

5th Ward

• Joel Arnold
• Wantwaz Davis
• Jeron Dotson
• Dewuan Robinson

7th Ward

• Darell Brown
• Candice Mushatt (7th Ward incumbent)

8th Ward

• Casey Lester

The races for the 6th and 9th wards currently have no candidates listed. Clemons said the races will still continue if no candidates are confirmed after the April 21 deadline, with write-in options still being eligible to run. 

If neither an official candidate nor a write-in contender is chosen in the August primary, the council will be able to make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy, Clemons said.