Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor today issued a sharply worded endorsement of Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Tony Marrocco’s opponent, saying that the incumbent’s supportive demeanor of the past has been undermined by a scheme to charge several communities millions of dollars in legal fees.
Taylor said he is backing the Republican candidate, Congresswoman Candice Miller, because Marrocco secretly charged 11 communities in Macomb County $5.6 million “without justification” for legal fees he paid to a New York law firm. In Sterling Heights, the fourth-largest city in Michigan, the municipality’s share was approximately $1.8 million.
Taylor
Taylor said the expenses were discovered after the city filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding that the public works office reveal key pieces of financial information. The dispute is apparently linked to the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor, a massive suburban sewer pipe that Oakland and Macomb counties purchased from the Detroit water department several years ago.
Sterling Heights officials had already complained that their sewer rates have skyrocketed by 120 percent over the past seven years to pay for improvements to the interceptor.
In an endorsement statement, Taylor said:
… Throughout the campaign I have tried to stay neutral, as I have personally had no negative experiences with Mr. Marrocco and he has always been gracious and supportive of me in the past. However, recent discoveries have caused me to reconsider my stance.
City administration in Sterling Heights is frustrated — to say the least — with the lack of transparency in the public works office, particularly with regards to increases in sewer rates. A recent FOIA request revealed that millions of dollars in legal fees paid to a New York law firm have been charged to Sterling Heights residents without justification. This is just one of many issues that cause our administration concern.
Similarly, federal probes into corruption in Macomb County continue to swirl, with allegations of shakedowns, bribes, and other illegal activity concerning one or more employees of the public works office. Although everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I have lost trust in the public works office and sense that my constituents have lost trust as well.
Dino Bucci, a top Marrocco aide, has not faced a federal indictment but a lawsuit claims that, in his role as a Macomb Township board member, he demanded $76,000 in kickbacks from a local contractor/developer. On Wednesday night, at the Macomb Township board meeting, hecklers in the audience shouted insults at Bucci and demanded he resign. He has continued to show up for work daily at the public works office.
Meanwhile, Clean Water Action, a prominent environmental group, has endorsed Marrocco for re-election.
In an email sent to supporters this morning by Marrocco, he included the endorsement statement by CWA: “On November 8 you’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of clean water in Macomb County by voting for a proven environmental champion, Anthony Marrocco, for Macomb County public works commissioner.
“With two decades of experience as public works commissioner, Anthony Marrocco has a distinguished record of standing up for affordable and forward thinking clean water management. He is the driving force behind important infrastructure improvements to our wastewater management system, including the new $30 million Clintondale Pump Station in Clinton Township. ”
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, CWA was a fierce critic of beach closings in Macomb County, with Marrocco’s department cited as a leading culprit.
Four years ago, Marrocco received the backing of a separate environmental group, the Sierra Club, but they did not endorse him this year, preferring to stay neutral in the contentious race.
Hey Mike, I wouldn’t be talking about bribes, the Feds are coming to Sterling Heights, and they may just get you. So in your line of bribes, does this mean you sitting in the Rizzo Suite at Comerica Park this past year count? Or is that a “political gift” for your support in the awarding of a contract to Rizzo? Wouldn’t throw stones, sure your are not so squeaky clean either. Or maybe just as dirty as Lake St. Clair is after a rainstorm.