By Rob South, WKAR
LANSING, MI –
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings says he won't pursue perjury charges against Lansing city council member Tina Houghton. Some of Houghton's critics allege she lied about delinquent property taxes when she applied to run for office.
Dunnings says he based his decision on an affidavit from City Treasurer Antonia Kraus who indicated Houghton was not in default to the city when she filled out the application. At that time, Houghton's unpaid property taxes had been turned over to the county for collection.
Activist John Pollard led the charge to prosecute Houghton. He says he'll look for ways to keep the issue alive.
"I think some state election laws could be violated," he says. "So I'm gonna go to the Secretary of State, probably the Attorney General and then I'm gonna take this whole thing and dump it into the FBI and see what they think about this."
Last month, an Ingham County judge denied an injunction request to keep Houghton from taking office. Shortly after Houghton was elected, it was discovered that she was close to $3,400 behind on her property taxes. Houghton repaid the tax debt before taking office earlier this month.