Fouts files for state House race
Former mayor will face of with incumbent McFall in August primary for 14th District seat
Former Warren Mayor James Fouts filed paperwork on April 19 to run for the 14th District State House of Representatives seat.
Fouts filed to run as a Democrat. He previously ran for a state house seat as a Republican in 1976.
Fouts will face incumbent Michael McFall (D-Hazel Park) in the August 2024 primary election. Republican Barbara Barber of Madison Heights has also filed as a 14h District candidate.
The 14th District is one of the house districts affected by the recent court-ordered redrawing and includes parts of Oakland and Macomb counties.
Fouts served 16 years as Warren’s mayor but term limits approved by voters in 2020 prevented him from running for a fifth term. Fouts challenged the term limits in court, but after a Macomb County Circuit Court judge ruled he was eligible to be on the 2023 mayoral primary ballot, that decision was overturned by the Michigan Court of Appeals. After former State Rep. Lori Stone was elected as Warren’s first woman mayor in November 2023, Fouts said he wanted to stay involved in the community and continue to work in public service in some capacity and hinted that he might pursue a higher office.
McFall said in a social media post on Friday in response to learning Fouts had filed to run against him that he stands on his people-centered record and his support of legislation to cut taxes for retirees, repeal right to work, and give public school children access to free breakfast and lunch.
Fouts, who was known to personally return calls of his Warren constituents when he was mayor, said he seeks to take his problem-solving skills and personal attention to citizens to Lansing.