Congressional candidate fired from Detroit Law Department

Democratic congressional hopeful Shakira Hawkins was fired Wednesday from the Detroit Law Department based on a federal law that prevents certain civil servants from running for office. 

Hawkins provided a copy of the June 26 termination letter, signed by Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett, which informed her that her role as a senior assistant corporation counsel would end on the same day. Mallett said Hawkins’ decision to run for the 13th Congressional District runs afoul of the Hatch Act, which prohibits local government employees from running for public office in partisan elections if their salary is entirely federally funded.

“Once we became aware of Ms. Hawkins’ candidacy, we acted immediately to terminate her employment, pursuant to the requirements of the Hatch Act,” Mallett said in a statement. 

Hawkins was working in a temporary position paid for with federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Hawkins said she was hired in November 2022 as an attorney involved in nuisance abatement lawsuits. She started working for the city in 2021 within the Department of Appeals and Hearings.

​The Hatch Act restricts the political activity of people employed by state, or local executive agencies that work in programs financed by federal loans or grants. Hawkins said she knew part of her $130,000 salary was funded by ARPA grants, but didn’t know it was the sole source of funding. She said that information was not disclosed to her by the city.

“I obviously would have found another job if I had known that my employment was going to be at risk as a result of running for federal office,” Hawkins said. “That wasn’t something I anticipated. I just didn’t know.”

Hawkins said she’s hiring an attorney and exploring options to challenge her firing. She said violations of the Hatch Act may not always warrant dismissal.

The act states that federal agencies can report potential violations to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which determines whether an investigation should occur. Confirmed violations can result in an employee’s termination or require cities to pay a fine if the employee isn’t fired. 

Hawkins approached Mallett for an endorsement three weeks ago, she said, but was turned down. Hawkins said Mallett seemed surprised to learn that she was running for office, though she secured ballot access in April. Hawkins said she was likewise blindsided by her ouster. 

Mallett said he assigned an attorney to research the Hatch Act once he became aware of Hawkins’ candidacy and immediately severed her employment when the legal analysis was finished. 

Mayor Mike Duggan recently endorsed Mary Waters, a city council member who is also running for the Democratic nomination. 

Waters said Thursday that she didn’t know that Hawkins was terminated. 

Hawkins and Waters are running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, in the Aug. 6 primary election. The winner will take on Republican Martell Bivings, who is running alone for the GOP nomination. 

Michigan’s 13th Congressional District covers most of Detroit, all of Highland Park and Hamtramck, extends east to Grosse Pointes and southwest to communities like Allen Park, Taylor and Romulus.