Sturgis commission deadlocks twice after Mullins calls for Perez’s resignation and censure; commissioner later alleges legal violations

During Wednesday night’s Sturgis City Commission meeting, Vice Mayor Jeff Mullins called for Mayor Frank Perez to resign, then led two failed attempts to discipline him during a tense and sharply divided meeting. 

Mullins accused Perez of repeatedly being “at odds with commission rules, regulations, policies, and laws,” saying he had tried to determine whether the conduct was inadvertent or intentional.

“I thought long and hard — I’m trying to figure out a way to extend grace, and I’ve tried to figure out whether it’s inadvertent or whether it’s intentional,” Mullins said. “I’m thinking of two words — one is malfeasance and one is negligence.” 

Mullins said he had recently spoken with Perez privately in an attempt to smooth things over, but said those conversations were unsuccessful.

“With that knowledge and in an effort to avoid making the commission have to consider further action, I’d like to make a simple proposal to the mayor,” Mullins said. “I hope that he recognizes that his compliance will ultimately be what’s best for the city commission, for city staff, and for the city of Sturgis as a whole.” 

Mullins then formally asked Perez to step down, invoking a phrase Perez has frequently used in meetings.

“Mayor Frank Perez, I’ll say it again for you, what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and I humbly ask for you to do the right thing and resign from the Sturgis City Commission effective immediately.” 

Perez declined, saying he has consistently addressed issues brought before the commission and would continue doing so.

“I won’t turn a blind eye and sometimes it’s unpopular to do the right thing, Jeff, and sometimes doing the right thing comes with consequences, but I will not back down,” Perez said. “The last two years I’ve dealt with issue after issue after issue.” 

Perez then criticized Mullins’ previous tenure as mayor.

“As opposed to when you were mayor, I looked into everything and will continue to do so,” Perez said. “I know it makes at least two of you uncomfortable, but I’m not here to be liked, I’m here to do a job.” 

After Perez refused to resign, Mullins said he expected that answer and introduced a resolution to formally censure him.

A censure is a formal public statement of disapproval and would not remove Perez from office. Mullins described it as disciplinary action for unethical behavior.

The resolution accused Perez of repeatedly ignoring legal guidance, engaging in unethical and illegal behavior, undermining decorum and eroding trust on the commission. No specific alleged violations were publicly detailed during the meeting. 

Commissioner Aaron Miller seconded the motion and then posed what he described as a theoretical question to Perez.

“If what you believed was right conflicted with Michigan law, would you follow what is right in your own opinion?” Miller asked. 

Perez responded, “At the end of the day, sometimes doing the right thing is the unpopular thing.” 

Miller immediately objected to the answer.

“Wow, yikes, that’s scary, that’s really, really scary,” Miller said. 

Miller later added, “I thought that to be an easy question. The answer should be what is spelled out in Michigan law, the U.S. Constitution, federal law, the city charter, procedure and policy is what is right. That should’ve been the answer, and I’ve heard all I need to hear.” 

The censure vote then failed on a 4-4 tie.

Voting yes were Dan Boring, Justin Wickey, Miller and Mullins. Voting no were Richard Bir, Linda Harrington, Cathi Abbs and Perez. Marvin Smith was absent. 

After the failed censure, Mullins pursued a second avenue by asking commissioners to remove Perez from the internally selected mayoral seat while leaving him on the commission.

“By law we cannot remove the member of the city commission, but we can make changes in our leadership,” Mullins said. “I would like to ask the city commission to strip Mayor Perez of his mayoral duties and immediately perform the nomination process for his replacement.” 

Mullins added that if the motion succeeded, he would nominate Miller for mayor. 

Sturgis commissioners elect the mayor from among themselves during annual organizational meetings. Perez was most recently reappointed mayor in November by a 5-4 vote.

Before the second vote, Harrington, who announced earlier in the meeting that she was resigning and that Wednesday would be her final meeting, said she did not feel comfortable voting on the issue and would prefer it be delayed until the next meeting. Harrington did not provide a specific reason for her resignation. 

The vote split the same way as the censure motion and also failed 4-4. 

Afterward, Mullins said he had expected the outcome.

“The intent was to open eyes and open ears. I totally expected it to go the exact way it went tonight,” Mullins said. “Even if these things failed, at least there’s public record to reflect that these things were attempted.” 

Perez later gave closing remarks before commissioners entered closed session regarding City Manager Andrew Kuk.

“There is opportunity for change, there’s a lot of things that we can do, there’s a lot of things that we can start planning so that we can all do better,” Perez said. “We can’t just continue to turn a blind eye and as you quoted me, what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.” 

Following closed session, the commission accepted Kuk’s resignation.

Miller expands allegations Thursday

In a phone interview with Watershed Voice on Thursday, April 23, Miller made stronger allegations against Perez, claiming Perez had broken the law while in office. Miller argued Perez was the person best positioned to publicly disclose the details, and did not identify specific statutes he believed had been violated.

“There is plenty that I cannot share because it is protected, as advised by our legal counsel,” Miller said. “There’s a lot that I would love to get out in the open, because sunshine is the best disinfectant.” 

Miller said Perez’s response during Wednesday’s meeting to a question about whether he would follow Michigan law showed disregard for legal obligations.

“He essentially admitted indirectly last night,” Miller said. “He has a very flippant attitude toward following the law.

“I asked him, if it comes down to you’ve got a way you think is right, but it differs from Michigan law, which way are you going to follow?” Miller said. “To me, he answered the question by what he said.” 

Miller again argued Perez was the commissioner who should publicly explain both his alleged conduct and the circumstances surrounding Kuk’s departure.

“Reasons that led to last night that the public are looking for and that I can’t share could absolutely be revealed by Mayor Perez, and they ought to be revealed by Mayor Perez,” Miller said.

Miller added that even if publicly revealing those details would violate Michigan law, Perez had previously shown little regard for legal obligations.

“Even if for him to reveal and spill all would break Michigan law, I stipulate that he doesn’t have an attitude of respect toward Michigan law in the first place,” Miller said. 

Miller also accused other commissioners who voted against both motions of sharing what he described as disregard for legal obligations.

“I would say Mayor Perez is not the only one with a flippant attitude toward following the law,” Miller said.

When asked who he meant, Miller pointed to the four votes cast against both motions, identifying Perez, Cathi Abbs, Linda Harrington and Richard Bir.

Miller also publicly called for Perez to resign entirely.

“Mayor Perez needs to resign, not as just mayor, as a commissioner of the Sturgis City Commission,” Miller said. 

Watershed Voice requested comment from Perez regarding allegations made during the meeting and Miller’s remarks to Watershed on Thursday. A response was not received by publication time.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.