Warren council votes to deny mayor’s appointment of Tom Bommarito as community and economic development director

The Warren City Council on June 10 voted to deny Mayor Lori Stone’s appointment of Tom Bommarito to the position of community and economic development director after public comment and lengthy council debate.

Supporters of the appointment, including Mayor Lori Stone, described Bommarito’s decade of work directing downtown and development efforts and cited ongoing projects such as the Van Dyke corridor and several housing developments. “He has served as the economic development director for the last 10 years,” Mayor Lori Stone said, listing Brownfield and TIFA work and regional collaborations.

Opponents and several speakers at the public-comment period urged the council to reject the appointment. Resident Laurie Harris urged the council to reject Bommarito on the basis of what she described as past spending and a “lack of a good plan,” saying the mayor had appointed someone “not worthy of this position.” Resident Maggie Huntone criticized prior development costs she attributed to earlier administrations and said council should “reject in the strongest possible terms” the reappointment. Joel Vanderlinen and other residents raised related concerns during public comment.

On the council floor, members debated whether economic development and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA)/Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) director roles should be combined or separated, and whether a budgeted position existed for the community and economic development director on July 1. Council member Jonathan Lafferty said the city needs a stronger, outward-facing economic-development effort and moved to deny the appointment. “The city of Warren needs economic leadership and it needs not one but a team of economic development,” Lafferty said during debate.

City attorney comment and council discussion clarified that the DDA appoints its own DDA director and that a denial by council of a mayoral appointment does not affect DDA appointments. Mr. Schroeder (city attorney) summarized the charter’s appointment process and noted that the council’s action pertains only to the city department head position.

The motion to deny was called and recorded votes in favor of denial were captured during the meeting (Council member Jonathan Lafferty, Council member Janet Moore, Council member Dwyer, Council member Boiecki recorded as voting to deny). Following the recorded votes and council discussion, the appointment was denied.

Why it matters: The council’s decision leaves the city’s formal community and economic development director position without confirmation from the mayor’s nominee, while the DDA’s internal appointment process remains independent. Councilmembers and residents tied the issue to larger questions about who leads economic strategy for Warren, how development work is funded, and whether DDA/TIFA responsibilities should be separated from a city department head.

Council direction and next steps included calls from multiple members for a clearer organizational plan and the possibility of separating or more clearly funding distinct economic development and DDA roles; no formal vote on creating a new funded position occurred at the meeting.

Ending: The denial does not remove Bommarito from any DDA role the authority itself may assign; it only declined the mayor’s nominee for the city department position. Councilmembers said they intend to continue work on a clearer structure and funding for economic-development leadership.