WARREN, Mich. – Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said new audio released Monday by MotorCityMuckraker.com, which alleges racist and sexist comments by the mayor, is fake.
Fouts insists the audio recordings, which allegedly captured him making racist comments about black people and vulgar sexist comments about women, have been fabricated by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. The source of the recordings is not known and was not reported.
"Those are engineered tapes by Mark Hackel and his friends. That is not my voice," Fouts said Monday as he left a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Warren. "Those are engineered tapes inspired by Mark Hackel, just like the last one. It is not me. That is not me at all."
The "last one" Fouts is referring to is a recording released in December which allegedly captured him making comments about people with special needs.
Read back: Alleged recording of Fouts insulting people with special needs creates firestorm
When those recordings came out, the Warren mayor defended himself in a Facebook post:
In response to the nasty tape recording released by Mark Hackel. It's clear this an attempt to silence me and intimidate...
Posted by Jim Fouts on Thursday, December 15, 2016
On Monday, Fouts was back on Facebook defending himself and claiming the county executive hijacked his ceremony for Dr. King:
Just attended what should have been a joyous occasion for our 4th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony. Instead...
Posted by Jim Fouts on Monday, January 16, 2017
This all started in November when Fouts took to Facebook warning Warren residents of an impending "mini Flint" situation in his city. The mayor was hinting at an alleged environmental disaster. He said there was an "environmental scandal brewing in Macomb County."
In response, Hackel held a news conference during which he called Fouts' comments "absolutely deplorable." Hackel said the mayor has a track record of "alarmist" comments such as this. The county executive denied any such claim of a water scandal in his county.
Fouts then alleged Hackel allowed illegal dumping to take place at the Freedom Hill Landfill. The Warren mayor said $90,000 is owed to the county for what he called illegal dumping. He has filed a complaint with the state's attorney general asking for an investigation.
The two elected officials have been sparring ever since.
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