Charles Pugh (born August 3, 1971 in Detroit) was elected president of City Council in 2009. Prior to his election, he served as an anchor on WJBK from 1999 to 2009. He maintains a web site, Pugh and You, with political content.
Pugh resigned from the station in March 2009 to pursue his political campaign. He won the most votes of any council candidate on election day, giving him the title of council president, despite a controversy late in the campaign when he acknowledged that he had been struggling financially and his home had been foreclosed.
Around 10pm on Friday, February 5, 2010, he wrecked is city-owned car while exiting I-75 at Mack. According to his account, which State Police say was consistent with the scene, he was avoiding another driver entering his lane. He waited until February 8 to file a report. City of Detroit documents say that the car was towed a day earlier, on Thursday, February 4.
In June 2011 at a LBGT event hosted by Model D, he stated that he "will be everybody's mayor."
In October 2011, he sent an email to constituents asking them not to support the Charter Revision Commission's proposal, saying it would take power from City Council. The Commission warned that his email might break campaigning laws. After the charter passed, he said that "on the whole, I think that it's a decent document."
In November 2011, Charlie LeDuff reported that Pugh had not filed campaign finance reports for two years. Pugh said reports would be filed in several weeks and that he would pay the $2,000 fine. He also said that charges for clothes and ATM withdrawals on his accounts were from a campaign director. The campaign director, who now works for the Obama administration, said she had left the campaign years ago and had no involvement. Pugh claimed he didn't have access to the card with the charges.
Sources
- "Pugh, Brown will lead revamped Detroit council". Detroit News, November 3, 2009.
- "Charles Says Goodbye to Fox 2". WJBK-TV, March 29, 2009.
- "Can Detroit's First Openly Gay Pol Save the City?". TIME, November 2, 2009.
- Pugh Wrecks City Car, Talks about Accident. FOX News. 18 February 2010.
- "Inclusivity and visibility": Gay Detroit going forward discussed at Model D Speaker Series. ModelD. 28 June 2011.
- Pugh: No violations intended in expressing opposition to charter measure. Detroit News. 21 October 2011.
- Revised Detroit charter sails through. Free Press. 9 November 2011.
- Charlie LeDuff Takes a Look at Charles Pugh's Political Finances. My Fox Detroit. 9 November 2011.
- Charlie LeDuff Uncovers More Confusing Pugh Paperwork. My Fox Detroit. 10 November 2011.