UPDATED – Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Griffin not on mayoral ballot due to debt issue

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – UPDATED – Kalamazoo City Clerk Scott Borling, as well as Kalamazoo County Clerk Meredith Place, have confirmed that Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin and City Commission candidate Jason Morris will not be listed on the upcoming ballot this November.

Vice Mayor Griffin is running for the seat of Mayor, which is currently held by David Anderson, while Morris was running for a city commissioner position.

In a joint statement released to news outlets Monday, Clerk Borling explained that there are no solutions to put their names back on the ballots due to legal limitations.

Vice Mayor Griffin released a video on Sunday, explaining that her name had been dropped from the ballot due to an outstanding debt of $500 from a previous campaign, which she said she was unaware of at the time.

She said that even though her name was taken off the ballot, she would continue to run her campaign.

In a related matter, in order to run for mayor, Griffin had to submit a notice of resignation as vice mayor, which is effective at 11:59 p.m. on November 1. That stipulation is required under city law.

Similarly, Morris issued a separate statement Monday morning, explaining that his name was dropped due to an outstanding debt of $600 from a previous school board campaign with the Kalamazoo Public Schools District.

He said he was unaware that this would cause any conflict with his bid for city commission, adding that he takes full responsibility for the oversight.

He also told MLive that at this time, he is unsure if he will continue his campaign.

The issue, Clerk Borling told news outlets, is that both of these candidates signed an affidavit claiming that they had no outstanding campaign debts, and that by law, it cannot be fixed after the fact.

“Every candidate running for elected office in Kalamazoo County is responsible for ensuring any outstanding fees or fines are paid and that all filings and reports are up-to-date prior to submitting their paperwork to be included on the ballot,” Borling said in the joint statement.

However, Borling said both candidates are still eligible to run as write-in candidates.

— Original Story —

Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin is being left off of the city’s mayoral ballot due to a debt dispute, according to a video announcement released Sunday.

The vice mayor had previously announced her candidacy for the position last month, having filed the paperwork to do so. She also submitted her resignation from her City Commission seat, as required to run for mayor.

The resignation will be effective at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 1.

According to the update posted, Griffin was informed Friday by the City Clerk’s office that her name will not be on the ballot due to outstanding debts.

In order to join the mayoral ballot, the campaign of a candidate must not owe any debts, and hers owed $500, which she says she was unaware of. That $500 was from a campaign she had ran on in 2019 for her commissioner position.

“Because I did not know about the $500 debt at the time, I signed the affidavit claiming no debts on July 19,” Griffin said. “My application was approved uncontested by the City Clerk’s office.”

Although Griffin says she paid that debt once she became aware of it, she says that she is still no longer on the ballot.

However, she says that she will not be ending her campaign or her bid for the position, and will continue to work towards resolving this matter.

“I fully expect that I will be treated as candidates have in the past who have been in my similar situation, and have had their name on the ballots, and have been able, if elected, to serve,” Griffin said.

The video statement can be viewed on Griffin’s campaign page, or embedded below.