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Dem Senate candidate pushing water affordability agenda racked up unpaid bills on $1.28M home
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Democrat Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow accrued nearly a year’s worth of unpaid utility charges on her million-dollar home while campaigning on affordability.
Until Friday, McMorrow and her husband, former Gawker executive Ray Wert, had not paid water or sewer charges on their home in Royal Oak, Mich., since June 2025, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The property had accrued $3,000.37 in unpaid bills and late fees.
The debt was paid shortly after Fox News Digital reached out for comment.
«The bills in question have been paid,» the spokesperson said. «We respect the commitment to covering anything other than the fact that every single American’s bills – from gas to groceries to electricity – are going way up because of Donald Trump and his enablers like Mike Rogers.»
Mallory McMorrow campaigns at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention in Detroit on April 19, 2026. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group)
DEM SENATE HOPEFUL RIPPED FOR TRASHING MIDDLE AMERICA IN UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: ‘TICKS ME OFF’
McMorrow, a state legislator vying for the Democratic nomination in one of the country’s top Senate races, has repeatedly fallen behind on payments in recent years.
Records show the couple has been fined 10 times totaling more than $400 in late fees for nonpayment since late 2021, when they purchased a $1.28 million home in the Detroit suburb. A report in the Detroit Metro Times that year described the property — with a pool and outside courtyard — as a home «to marvel at.»
McMorrow and Wert also let overdue water bills pile up on the home in the latter half of 2024, when they went five months without making a payment. When the couple finally paid $917 in January 2025, records showed an unpaid balance of $45 in late fees.
Royal Oak Township sends water bills quarterly and assesses a 5% late fee on unpaid balances. If McMorrow had failed to pay the balance by June 1, another 5% penalty would have been added, according to a billing notice.
Under Royal Oak policy, unpaid water and sewer bills can eventually be added to the couple’s property tax bill and prolonged nonpayment can result in water shutoff.
The delinquent payments come as recent disclosures show McMorrow and her husband may be millionaires.
She estimated her net worth between $588,041 and $1.87 million last year, Michigan Advance reported. Up to $1.15 million was reported under her name or as a joint asset with her husband, according to a financial disclosure filed last year.
McMorrow earned $101,554 from her state senator salary, according to the filing. She also reported just over $106,000 in royalties.
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
BLUE STATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO MADE ‘AFFORDABILITY’ A KEY ISSUE IN CAMPAIGN RIPPED FOR CHARGING $13 FOR WATER
While McMorrow was falling behind on payments, she championed «affordability» legislation that would end water shutoffs for not paying city bills.
McMorrow cosponsored a measure last year that would cap water bills for qualifying low-income residents and offer debt forgiveness for overdue balances. The program would be funded through a regular surcharge on most Michigan water customers.
She has also backed the Human Right to Water Act, which would recognize access to affordable drinking water as a right and direct the state government to develop «affordability criteria.»
In a March 2021 Facebook post, she advocated for legislation that would «end water shutoffs.»
«Let’s be clear, access to water is a human right, even when there’s not a pandemic,» she wrote.
McMorrow’s delinquent water bills come as she is running in a combative three-way Democratic primary to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who is retiring.
The swing seat is a must-win race for Democrats hoping to retake Senate control, but Republicans also view the contest as a top flip opportunity. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., cleared the field last year with President Donald Trump’s backing while the Democratic candidates continue to duke it out ahead of the August primary.
McMorrow is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes calling on the wealthy to pay their «fair share» in taxes. Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed is running to her left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate with support from the party’s establishment swing, has espoused more centrist views.
Controversial streamer Hasan Piker and Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, take a selfie with young fans after a campaign event at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on April 7, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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Progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have endorsed McMorrow’s campaign.
She recently faced scrutiny for deleting thousands of old social media posts prior to her Senate campaign launch that denigrated «Middle America» and associated Trump and his base with Nazi Germany. CNN first reported on the trove of since-deleted posts.
The Senate hopeful largely defended her posts in an interview with the network, arguing she «tweeted normal things like a normal person.»
politics, democrats elections, elizabeth warren, bills, senate elections, democrats senate
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Mamdani repeatedly sidesteps questions on reported plan to revive tax hikes on wealthy New Yorkers
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New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani repeatedly sidestepped questions Thursday about reported plans to launch a public pressure campaign this fall pushing tax hikes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations.
Mamdani reportedly plans to build public support after Labor Day for similar proposals that Gov. Kathy Hochul previously rejected in early 2026. The reported push is expected ahead of the New York Legislature’s return to Albany in January 2027 and Hochul’s re-election campaign this fall, according to The New York Post.
During an interview with Fox 5 New York, Mamdani repeatedly declined to answer questions about the potential campaign before later saying such discussions would only come after the November election.
Asked whether he had spoken with Hochul about the reported campaign, Mamdani did not answer directly, instead using the opportunity to tout the opening of 2,000 free child care seats for New Yorkers through their policy efforts.
NYC MAYOR MAMDANI CALLS THREAT OF RICH PEOPLE LEAVING NYC OVER TAXES ‘IMAGINED’
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters about the city’s finances during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
«The governor and I are in constant communication and, frankly, I appreciate her partnership because if it wasn’t for the governor, then we wouldn’t have been able to stand together to announce that we had more than 5,000 New Yorkers come forward to apply for these 2,000 free child care seats,» he said. «And I’m so excited about that, and the fact that we’re going to expand to 12,000, and the work that’s still to come.»
The reporter then pressed Mamdani on whether the Democratic Socialists of America would join the potential campaign this fall, but he again declined to answer directly, saying his focus remains on the present.
BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS
Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, left, and Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, speak during an announcement in New York, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«My focus right now is where we are, which is August, and ensuring that everything that we’re doing is keeping New Yorkers safe amidst a heat wave and preparing for the school year,» Mamdani said. «A lot of the conversation about what comes after November, I think, is a conversation for what comes after November.»
«So you don’t plan to launch a campaign to tax the rich before the November election?» the reporter asked.
«The conversations I’ve been having with the governor and with my team are about the here and now and there will always be time for the conversations that come after that,» Mamdani said.
MAMDANI EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR NYC HOMEOWNERS TO SEEK EXEMPTION FROM NEW PIED-À-TERRE TAX
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously backed a proposal to tax luxury second homes owned by non-residents, targeting ultra-wealthy property owners. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The reported campaign would revive a previous push by Mamdani to close the city’s multibillion-dollar budget gap through tax increases, a proposal Hochul previously rejected. Mamdani’s earlier plan called for raising the city’s personal income tax rate on filers earning $1 million or more, a move he projected could generate roughly $3 billion annually, while also increasing corporate tax rates.
As an alternative, Hochul and Mamdani jointly advanced the state’s first pied-à-terre tax, an annual surcharge on certain high-value second homes, which passed in May 2026. State and city officials have projected the measure could raise about $500 million annually.
Mamdani also said his May 2026 executive budget closed what his administration described as an inherited $12 billion budget gap, crediting aggressive savings, new investments, his partnership with Albany and new tax revenue, including the pied-à-terre tax.
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
zohran mamdani, new york city, elections state and local, taxes, kathy hochul
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Fiscalía prepara escrito de acusación para audiencia intermedia y cierra investigación contra exvicepresidente panameño José Gabriel “Gaby” Carrizo
El Ministerio Público de Panamá se encuentra en la etapa decisiva del caso contra José Gabriel “Gaby” Carrizo, exvicepresidente de la República (2019-2024) y excandidato presidencial.
El proceso, que investiga el presunto delito de enriquecimiento injustificado agravado, avanza tras el cierre formal de la investigación, lo que obliga a la Fiscalía Anticorrupción a presentar un escrito de acusación para su revisión judicial.
La defensa de Carrizo, representada por el abogado Víctor Orobio, confirmó a TVN que había recibido la notificación oficial sobre el cierre de la investigación.
“Ya nos notificaron del cierre de la investigación. Estamos esperando la presentación del escrito de acusación y de la fecha de la audiencia intermedia”, detalló Orobio.
El cierre de la investigación responde a la expiración del plazo legal para las pesquisas, después de que los tribunales rechazaran la solicitud fiscal de extender el periodo bajo la figura de “investigación compleja”.
Por tanto, la Fiscalía Anticorrupción debe ahora solicitar formalmente la audiencia y presentar el escrito de acusación, en el que se expondrán los hechos, la calificación jurídica y las pruebas reunidas.
Posteriormente, la defensa tendrá la oportunidad de contestar e introducir sus propias pruebas para la audiencia intermedia.
La causa se originó tras un informe de la Contraloría General de la República, que identificó un supuesto incremento patrimonial injustificado de Carrizo por $1,9 millones durante su gestión pública.
Como consecuencia, el contralor Anel “Bolo” Flores dispuso en noviembre de 2025 el secuestro de bienes y cuentas bancarias pertenecientes al exvicepresidente hasta por $1,3 millones.
El secuestro de bienes, anunciado públicamente el 6 de noviembre, se implementó, según se dijo, como medida cautelar para asegurar fondos en caso de una eventual condena y resarcimiento al Estado panameño.
La decisión de la Contraloría, bajo la gestión de Flores, intensificó la presión sobre Carrizo, quien ya era objeto de dos investigaciones distintas por presuntas irregularidades durante su periodo como vicepresidente entre 2019 y 2024.
La intervención de la Contraloría en este caso marcó la segunda ocasión en la que se aplica una medida similar contra un miembro de alto perfil del Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD).
Esta reiteración provocó en su momento especulaciones y aumentó la controversia pública sobre la transparencia y la gestión de los recursos estatales.
El presunto enriquecimiento injustificado constituye una infracción que afecta de manera directa la confianza ciudadana en las instituciones públicas.
Las autoridades buscan determinar si Carrizo obtuvo ventajas económicas ilícitas aprovechando su cargo, un aspecto central para la integridad de la función pública.
La medida de secuestro de bienes tiene como finalidad principal garantizar la posibilidad de reparación al Estado en caso de condena. Los bienes afectados permanecerán bajo custodia judicial hasta que se resuelva el caso en las instancias correspondientes.
El caso de Carrizo se suma a una cadena de escándalos que han sacudido el escenario político panameño, profundizando el malestar social y la desconfianza en la administración pública.
La lucha contra la corrupción se impone como un reto permanente para Panamá, que requiere acciones decididas de todos los sectores para fortalecer el Estado de derecho y la gobernabilidad.
El desenlace del proceso judicial contra el exvicepresidente será determinante para definir el alcance real de la política anticorrupción en el país y marcará un precedente sobre la responsabilidad de los altos funcionarios en la gestión de los recursos públicos.
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