(STURGIS) - An attempt to remove Frank Perez as Mayor of Sturgis failed Wednesday night.
During the City Commission meeting, Vice Mayor Jeff Mullins brought up that there have been ongoing problems with Perez since he joined the Commission. Mullins says since he became a Commissioner Frank Perez has impeded Commission rules, regulations, policies and laws. Mullins says he has tried to figure out if this behavior by Perez is inadvertent or intentional. He believes Mayor Perez's wrongdoings are intentional, because his improper and unethical behaviors have been repeated ever after being informed and warned on multiple occasions.
No specifics were given by Mullins on what Perez has done.
Mullins says he spoke with Perez on the telephone April 17 in an attempt to smooth things over and no agreement was reached. The two met in person and again could not come to an agreement.
Mullins then asked Perez to resign as Mayor. Before giving his answer, Perez responded to Mullins' comments. Perez says from the moment he became Mayor, and he has always looked into any issue or any critique as to how the City can provide services better. He says sometimes it's unpopular to do the right thing and sometimes doing the right thing comes with consequences and he won't back down. (LISTEN ABOVE).
Perez then said he would not step down.
Mullins then presented a resolution, asking for the City Commission to censure Perez as Mayor. The vote ended in a tie at 4-4, with Commissioners Daniel Boring, Justin Wickey, Aaron Miller and Mullins voting Yes; and Commissioners Rick Bir, Cathi Abbs, Linda Harrington and Perez voting No.
Mullins then presented a second resolution that asked the Commissioners to remove Perez as Mayor and allow him to stay on the Commission. That vote also ended in a 4-4 tie with the Commission voting the same way as the previous proposal.
Mullins finished his comments saying he was not surprised by how the votes went on the resolutions. He says his intent was to open people's eyes and hearts about what is happening.