Detroit council hopeful Charles Pugh faces loss of condo

Christine MacDonald and David Josar / The Detroit News

Detroit--City Council front-runner Charles Pugh is set to lose his downtown condo at a foreclosure auction just days before the Nov. 3 election after defaulting on a $331,000 bank loan, records show.

The Oct. 29 sale will follow a handful of financial problems for Pugh, a former broadcaster and political newcomer who finished first in the Aug. 4 primary.

Last month, his condo association filed suit, claiming he owed more than $4,900 in unpaid dues and lawyer fees. This spring, Wayne County began foreclosure proceedings on the condo on Adelaide Street after he didn't pay $2,631.89 in property taxes. The proceedings stopped when Pugh paid the taxes, and campaign staffers say he has paid some of the money owed to the condo association.

Pugh didn't return phone calls, but campaign manager Jillian Semaan said his "sacrifice" to quit lucrative broadcast jobs to run for council is "commendable." Pugh has blamed his money problems on leaving Fox 2 and a job at WJLB-97.9 FM.

"He is able to represent the people of the city of Detroit because he knows what they are going through," Semaan said. "He is experiencing it."

Records show Pugh paid $385,000 for the condominium in 2005 and took two loans from Countrywide Mortgage the day he assumed ownership.

One was for $77,000 and another for $308,000, which has jumped to $331,370 with interest and fees.

According to documents, Pugh was charged 8.25 percent interest, making his monthly payment on his 30-year mortgage payment $2,892. That does not include any insurance and property tax.

According to the notice that ran in Tuesday's Detroit Legal News, Pugh will have six months after sale to reclaim the condo by paying off the debt.

Council candidate John Bennett said while he understands many are going through similar problems, "voters should look at this and the other council members who have had issues. It could possibly be an indication of what the future may bring."

Candidate Gary Brown was sympathetic, saying "these are trying times."

"He is in the same situation as other sitting council members as well as a great number of Michiganders," Brown said.

Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, who is running for re-election, walked away from his Rosedale Park home this year, before his monthly payment jumped $1,000 to about $3,600.

Eviction notices were filed against Pugh 11 times while he was in Trolley Plaza on Washington Boulevard from December 2001 through April 2005, records show.

In each case, he eventually paid his rent after he was sued in 36th District Court.

cmacdonald@detnews.com (313) 222-2396