Detroit City Council member vows fight to appear on ballot after disqualification

Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero will go to court to appear on the August primary ballot, unless attorney Mark Brewer can convince elections officials to reverse their decision.

Gabriela Santiago-Romero on Oct. 19, 2024, outside Western International High School for a GOTV event.

An unpaid late fee over a contested campaign finance filing may keep Detroit City Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, District 6, off the August ballot.

The Southwest Detroit incumbent is fighting to stay on the ballot after being disqualified over a failure to pay fees associated with her campaign committee.

Santiago-Romero and her campaign argue their campaign committee never should have been assessed the fee in the first place.

The dispute between the campaign and the city and county elections departments is headed to court unless attorneys convince elections officials to put Santiago-Romero’s name on the ballot, a spokesperson for the lawmaker said Thursday.

Since I first reported Santiago-Romero’s disqualification on Monday, the council member has claimed a County campaign finance official made a human error, acknowledging the mistake that led to the unpaid fee.

On social media, Santiago-Romero has urged supporters to call and email the city and county’s elections divisions to demand her name appear on the ballot.

Her supporters have said her disqualification would risk voters being disenfranchised.

“The Clerk’s office is endangering the rights of District 6 voters to choose their candidate, “ Working Families Party director, Branden Snyder, said in a statement.

Santiago-Romero is holding a press conference on Friday at 1pm at the Clark Park stage.

The campaign’s attorney is attempting to resolve the dispute with Wayne County and the city, a spokesperson said Thursday morning.