Councilwoman Mary Waters Fires Aide After Discovered Abusing Power to Get Job as Ombudsman Staff
Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters has fired her community liaison, Reggie Davis, after a Detroit Office of Inspector General (OIG) report revealed he posed as part of the incoming Ombudsman staff team while seeking a $197,000-a-year job.
The investigation found that Davis and former council president Charles Pugh, who is a convicted sex offender, contacted a private contractor that supplies software to the Ombudsman's Office, pretending to be members of the incoming team. The vendor, WingSwept, was initially unaware that Davis and Pugh were not genuine representatives of the Ombudsman staff.
The report concluded that Davis "abused his position" by obtaining confidential information from the contractor for personal gain. Waters fired Davis after reviewing the OIG's October 27 report, which stated that he had misrepresented himself as part of the incoming team to obtain access to sensitive information.
Davis was one of ten finalists for the $197,000-a-year Ombudsman position, but his actions have raised serious questions about his integrity and fitness for the role. The investigation found that Davis identified himself as a City Council employee and claimed to be part of the incoming Ombudsman team during phone calls and video meetings.
The OIG report also highlighted concerns about Davis's past conduct, including allegations of harassment against two women who later secured personal protection orders against him. It is unclear why Davis was working with Pugh, who was sentenced to 5½ to 15 years in prison on child sex-crime convictions after pleading guilty to felony counts.
In a written response to the OIG report, Davis's attorney argued that his client had only sought publicly available information and had used an "imprecise" description of himself as part of the incoming team. However, the OIG disagreed, finding that Davis had abused his position by misrepresenting himself and accessing confidential information without authority.
The incident has raised questions about the vetting process for high-level positions in Detroit City Council and the need for greater accountability among city officials. Waters's decision to fire Davis serves as a warning to other employees who may be tempted to abuse their power or misuse their position for personal gain.
Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters has fired her community liaison, Reggie Davis, after a Detroit Office of Inspector General (OIG) report revealed he posed as part of the incoming Ombudsman staff team while seeking a $197,000-a-year job.
The investigation found that Davis and former council president Charles Pugh, who is a convicted sex offender, contacted a private contractor that supplies software to the Ombudsman's Office, pretending to be members of the incoming team. The vendor, WingSwept, was initially unaware that Davis and Pugh were not genuine representatives of the Ombudsman staff.
The report concluded that Davis "abused his position" by obtaining confidential information from the contractor for personal gain. Waters fired Davis after reviewing the OIG's October 27 report, which stated that he had misrepresented himself as part of the incoming team to obtain access to sensitive information.
Davis was one of ten finalists for the $197,000-a-year Ombudsman position, but his actions have raised serious questions about his integrity and fitness for the role. The investigation found that Davis identified himself as a City Council employee and claimed to be part of the incoming Ombudsman team during phone calls and video meetings.
The OIG report also highlighted concerns about Davis's past conduct, including allegations of harassment against two women who later secured personal protection orders against him. It is unclear why Davis was working with Pugh, who was sentenced to 5½ to 15 years in prison on child sex-crime convictions after pleading guilty to felony counts.
In a written response to the OIG report, Davis's attorney argued that his client had only sought publicly available information and had used an "imprecise" description of himself as part of the incoming team. However, the OIG disagreed, finding that Davis had abused his position by misrepresenting himself and accessing confidential information without authority.
The incident has raised questions about the vetting process for high-level positions in Detroit City Council and the need for greater accountability among city officials. Waters's decision to fire Davis serves as a warning to other employees who may be tempted to abuse their power or misuse their position for personal gain.
. I mean, can you believe someone would take advantage of the system like that? Reggie Davis thought he could just pose as part of a legit team and get all this confidential info for himself? That's just wrong. And to think he was even considered for a $197k job, it's crazy. I guess you have to question how much vetting goes on in these kinds of positions. Maybe they need to be more thorough with their background checks and stuff. It's not like we don't already have enough issues with corruption and abuse of power... 
. I mean, Reggie Davis was literally getting paid 197k a year and he still managed to get caught? What's wrong with people these days?! 
It's like, you're trying to be a big shot, but then you go and abuse your power for personal gain... not cool, Reggie. Not cool at all 
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Just thinkin', how can u trust ppl in power if they cant even get their own staff vetted properly? 
The fact that Reggie Davis was able to scam his way into the Ombudsman team and access sensitive info is super suspicious. And what's up with him workin' with Pugh, who's a convicted sex offender? That's just creepy 
. It's gotta be more than just a coincidence that these two are connected. Maybe we need 2 do a deeper investigation into the council's vetting process and see if there's been any other shady dealings goin on 
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. A councilwoman fires her aide for trying to scam his way into a $197k job? That's some crazy stuff. I mean, I get it, accountability is important and all that, but this guy was straight-up trying to use his position for personal gain. And what's even crazier is that he had a history of harassing women before getting the job 
. You gotta wonder how many other shady characters are hiding in plain sight, waiting for their chance to mess things up. The city needs to step up its vetting process and make sure people like this aren't getting away with it 
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