PONTIAC, Mich. – Mike McGuinness has been the Pontiac City Council President for four years and has heard about every possible snipe and insult.
“I’ve been called everything you can imagine, including a vampire,” McGuinness said on Thursday outside of Pontiac City Hall. “I can tell you: I am not a vampire.”
One of Metro Detroit’s more hotly contested races that will be decided next week is in Pontiac, where McGuinness is running for mayor against former three-term city councilman and former council president, Kermit Williams.
While he’s not being accused of being a vampire, McGuinness, who is Gay, has dealt with constant attacks about his sexuality and was on the wrong end of another one this week.
In a grainy video from a nightclub in Pontiac, posted to Facebook on Wednesday (Oct. 29), a woman hops on the microphone during the party and starts rallying people to vote.
“I need y’all to flood the polls,” the woman, who later identifies herself in the video as Dawn Hannah, says, “Y’all better get out and vote for Kermit Williams unless we going to have another gay white man over us.”
Hannah is a well-known community activist who’s running a write-in campaign for the District 3 city council seat.
Her social media is full of posts and messages urging people to vote for her and Williams on Election Day.
Williams told Local 4 that Hannah is not connected with him or his campaign in any way and does not speak for him. Adding that his 20 years of working for the city speak for themselves.
Williams posted a statement on his Facebook page on Thursday morning denouncing what Hannah said – without directly referencing her by name, saying in part:
“Our campaign stands firmly against hate speech, division, and negativity of any kind,” he said. “This election is about bringing our city together.”
McGuinness says that Hannah’s comment, whether she works with his campaign or not, has been part of a very nasty campaign led by Williams.
“There have been mailers from out of town attacking me,” McGuinness said. “From Michigan Voices to Facebook Lives, all of this deluge, all the debate performances, is just a matter of public record that my opponent has been very divisive.”
“I’ve had to endure a lot of attacks, and this is just the latest example,” McGuinness added.
Local 4 reached out to Dawn Hannah for comment and has yet to receive a response. McGuinness says he wants to focus more on the issues and uniting the city.
“I’ve tried to be very positive, focus on the issues, focus on the city’s future, because that’s really what the people of Pontiac want and deserve,” McGuinness said. “It’s up to the city of Pontiac to say what approach best represents them and what vibe are they feeling.”