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Tyrone Carter has no comment on dismissal of ethics complaint against council opponent [1]

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Date: 2025-07-10

The Detroit Board of Ethics has dismissed my complaint alleging Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero embezzled taxpayer funds to pay for her re-election campaign materials that were distributed in her district, District 6, last November and December.

The reason for the dismissal was so vague that anyone can read whatever they want into it. The dishonest councilwoman can say, for example, that my claim was completely baseless. I can say that it was because what she did was very immoral but technically not illegal.

State Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Michigan House District 1) still has no comment. I have given him more than a week to respond. The reason we should care what he thinks about the incumbent’s profound dishonesty is because now that Democrats no longer have control of both houses of the Michigan legislature, Carter is running for Detroit City Council, District 6.

Carter has been quite underwhelming as a state legislator. But even he would be a marked improvement over the dishonest and ineffectual incumbent, Santiago-Romero.

The incumbent says she doesn’t take money from corporations. But everything she says should be taken with a great deal of skepticism. Maybe she doesn’t take money directly from corporations, but as a University of Michigan graduate, she’s probably smart enough to come up with a workaround.

Sam Robinson, reporting on a candidate forum a couple of weeks ago for Michigan Chronicle, wrote that

Throughout his career, Carter has accepted money from companies like DTE [Energy] and Consumers Energy, Comerica Bank or Marathon Petroleum. Santiago-Romero has refused money from corporate PACS, and has made it a sticking point of her campaign. Carter said it’s insulting when voters insinuate politicians who take corporate money owe them something in return. “Who you accept money from means you’re bought and paid for — it’s an insult to almost anybody running,” Carter said. “The biggest contributor to any campaign that I’ve ever had was me… How do you represent the poorest district, you’re not rich. Where do you get the money from? I love this stuff about, ‘I’m not taking corporate money.’ I’m in Lansing, yes, I’ve taken money from DTE, but I call DTE every week and say, ‘What’s the update?'” It’s not about someone taking money and a quid-pro-quo. At the end of the day, I don’t need this job to pay my bills. My job is to make sure the people I represent get what they need.” Carter said when he raised more than $200,000 last year as the chair of the regulatory reform committee, it went to some colleagues who said they don’t take corporate money.

But even if it is true that Santiago-Romero does not take corporate money, what does that gain the District 6 residents? Nothing at all. When one of her constituents has a problem with the notoriously greedy DTE Energy, Santiago-Romero takes DTE’s side. And even when Santiago-Romero is on the right side of an issue, she makes no effort whatsoever to convince her colleagues on the council to vote with her.

“I won’t be taking corporate PAC money because I believe you should be accountable to the people,” Santiago-Romero said. “People do have money, there are rich people with money in District 6 — we cover Corktown, downtown, Midtown, Woodbridge, with very wealthy people who are able to donate. I also get donations from across the state and across the country because my vision and passion to serve goes beyond this city. I have already been offered PAC money that I will not take and will not accept, because I can continue working with Rocket Mortgage without taking their money. I already work with DTE, meet with them consistently without taking their money.”

Yeah, why should DTE Energy give Santiago-Romero any money when she does what they want regardless?

And that bit about being accountable to the people is just a bald-faced lie. She doesn’t think she’s accountable to any of her constituents. I can’t talk to her about anything because she has already decided she’s too important to waste even a minute talking to me. And that even though she has said on the record that she and I used to be friends. That’s how she treats her friends: takes them for granted and expects them to support her, but they should not want anything whatsoever in return from her.

And I’m supposed to be okay with that? Hell no. Get her out of there, let’s have the slight improvement of Councilman Carter.

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