Councilman Doug Thomas

Does Dearborn Councilman Doug Thomas live in Dearborn or Bonita Springs, Florida?

Dearborn resident and former council candidate Nancy Siwik says the councilman is a Florida resident and should be removed from office and erased from the November ballot because he is in violation of the City Charter.

Ms. Siwik presented the City Council with documents Monday evening that she says supports her claim that the legal residency of Councilman Thomas is a condominium in the city of Bonita Springs, Florida, and not Dearborn.

Ms. Siwik asked the City Council to have Dearborn’s legal department look into the matter and remove Thomas from his position as a councilman and from the November ballot because he is not a Dearborn resident, which is a requirement of Dearborn’s City Charter.

Ms. Siwik presented property data that shows Doug and Jane Thomas homestead a condo on 25900 Hickory Blvd., in Bonita Springs, which makes it their principal residence.

At the meeting Monday, Thomas said his Michigan Driver’s license proved he lived at 511 Elmwood in Dearborn, a property currently listed for sale at $239,000, according to documents Siwik presented council members Monday night. Thomas did not deny the existence of a home in Florida but said it was homestead in his wife’s name.

Council President Thomas Tafelski tried to bring the discussion to a close after those remarks from Thomas, saying it was becoming “political.”

Siwik took umbrage with Tafelski’s comment. She came back to the microphone and explained that her actions were not political, pointing out that she no longer was on the ballot for council and that she waited until after her primary loss to bring this news about Thomas into the open.

Before taking her seat, Siwik reminded council members that neither Michigan nor Florida law allows people to list more than one dwelling as a “principal residence” in order to take the tax exemptions that come with such a designation.

What action Dearborn’s legal department now takes next could determine the political career of Councilman Thomas.