Councilmembers continue to overstep their authority

If you take the time to read the lawsuit filed by City Manager Max Garbarino, you may notice a common thread within it.
And that is: we have a city council that is out of control and a mayor who is, at best, clueless.
Yes, we do realize what’s presented in Garbarino’s lawsuit against the mayor, city council and police chief are allegations, and only allegations.
But, even if just a fraction of what is alleged is true, we have one of the worst city councils in the city’s history – and believe us, that’s saying a lot.
Most alarming in the lawsuit is the effort by some councilmembers to pressure Garbarino to fire the city clerk for, basically, doing her job.
What they were upset about is that the city clerk was following the law, and reporting suspicious-looking ballots being dumped by some council members, and calling for the state to investigate the matter.
As for the 2021 election, it now looks like the results are suspect, but also that those who harvested ballots are not about to stop.
Fortunately, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office took up the request for the state Attorney General’s Office for a special prosecutor and has agreed to look into the matter. From what we hear, charges are pending very soon.
It’s going to take time to right this wrong, and there will likely be pressure to fire Garbarino.
As residents and voters, Hamtramck has to take back control. Otherwise, we’ve seen this chaos play out before, and it always ends up with the state having to intervene.
Once again, we stress that the city council take a close read of the city charter, and realize you are not the administration — nor in charge of the city.
Posted June 13, 2025