Flint Mayor faces third recall attempt

Flint, MI — Another series of recall petitions has been filed against Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, making this the third time this year a resident has attempted to oust him from his elected seat. 

The Genesee County Election Commission set a date for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, to consider the language submitted against Neeley. The meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. in Judge Barkey’s Courtroom. Petitions against Flint City Council members Ladel Lewis and Judy Priestly will also be considered at this meeting. 

Alternatively, language submitted against Flint City Council member Tonya Burns will be reviewed on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 8:15 a.m. in Judge Barkey’s Courtroom.

The nine newest petitions were submitted by resident Eddie Matten, the same petitioner who petitioned against Neeley in early November 2024. 

Flint Beat reached out to Matten and the Mayor’s office for statements, but neither returned calls or emails by press time.

The language submitted is as follows:

1. Sheldon Andre Neeley stated in a Scripps news article on May 16, 2024 “That deadlines were set and deadlines were missed, I admit to that,” for service line replacement. 
2. Sheldon Andre Neeley stated in a Scripps news article on May 16, 2024 “That deadlines were set and deadlines were missed for service line replacement and restoration. 
3. On August 27, 2024, Flint Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley was denied qualified immunity in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Fire Chief Raymond C. Barton. 
4. On Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley’s Facebook post June 11, 2024, he stated five years ago, a conversation was inappropriately recorded without his permission by an unscrupulous journalist who continues to attempt to profit from the pain of the Flint Water Crisis. 
5. Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley’s Facebook post on June 11, 2024, he walks back [the] water crisis accusation that he believed that the Mott Foundation selected two of Flint Michigan’s emergency managers. 
6. On June 11, 2024, Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley stated on his Facebook post that he is asking Flint residents to disregard any mistaken assumptions he made in 2019 about the Mott Foundation selecting two of Flint’s emergency managers.
7. On Mayor Sheldon Neeley’s Facebook post on June 11, 2024, Mayor Sheldon A. Neeley stated he was mistaken in the assumption that the Mott Foundation selected two of Flint’s emergency managers. 
8. On May 10, 2024, Mayor Sheldon Andre Neeley signed Executive Order #23-001 prohibiting unauthorized access to the garage below City Hall. 
9. On May 10, 2023 Mayor Sheldon Andre Neeley signed Executive Order #23-001 prohibiting unauthorized access to the garage below City Hall.