Flint City Councilman Dennis Pfeiffer appeals recall language

Flint, MI – Flint City Councilman Dennis Pfeiffer has filed an appeal of the Genesee County Election Commission’s approval of recall language against him.

Pfeiffer’s August 4, 2023, court filing states that the recall language, approved by the commission in late July, is not factual or clear because a May 20 special meeting cited within it was not properly noticed, as the language alleges.

The filing references section 3-202 of Flint’s City Charter, which states, “The Mayor or any two (2) members of the City Council may call a special meeting of the City Council upon twenty-four (24) hours notice to each City Council member and the public stating of the purpose of the meeting.”

Pfeiffer’s filing goes on to claim that no such 24-hour notice was given, therefore there was no meeting and Pfeiffer could not have failed to attend it.

The filing also includes an affidavit from Flint’s Network Coordinator, Andrew Foster, clarifying that the meeting in question was not posted online 24 hours in advance.

Foster’s statement notes that metadata from the city’s website shows that the public notice for the May 20 meeting was not posted to the city’s website until 5:26 p.m. on May 19, 2023.

Pfeiffer and his attorney, Loyst Fletcher, Jr., did not respond to Flint Beat’s request for comment by press time.

The July 27 election commission meeting at which Pfeiffer’s language was approved consisted of Genesee County Clerk Domonique Clemons, Judge Jennie E. Barkey and Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson.

Clemons said that even though he believes in the right to appeal, he still sticks with the commission’s judgement.

“Of course, the election commission holds in our decision,” he told Flint Beat in response to Pfeiffer’s filing.

If the language stays approved through the appeal process, then Pfeiffer’s petition needs 705 signatures in order to go to a ballot measure.

The language against Pfeiffer follows similar wording to recalls submitted and approved against former Council President Allie Herkenroder, Council Vice President Ladel Lewis and Councilmembers Judy Priestley and Eva Worthing last month — all of which cite the same May 20 special meeting.

Herkenroder has since resigned her position on council. Lewis, Worthing and Priestley did not file appeals within the 10-day window following their petition language hearings on June 27, 2023 and July 12, 2023.