Bay City mayoral veto of ‘welcoming city’ resolution upheld after 5-4 vote amid heated public comment

The Bay City City Commission on April 7, 2025 failed 5-4 to override the mayor’s veto of a “welcoming city” resolution, sustaining the mayor’s action and ending the formal effort to reinstate the measure.

The veto and override attempt drew more than two hours of public comment and extended debate among commissioners. The mayor, speaking before the vote, said the veto was grounded in concern for “process, law, and ensuring that our city government operates within its proper role and authority,” and added, “My veto was not about rejecting the idea that Bay City should be a welcoming place.”

Supporters of the resolution said the measure was meant to protect residents’ willingness to report crimes and to limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement; opponents repeatedly warned the declaration could jeopardize state and federal grants. Commissioner Runberg, whose resolution was the subject of the veto, told the commission she “takes issue with it being called symbolic because there is concrete actions that are consequences,”…