WARREN, Mich. (AP) - The mayor of Michigan’s third-largest city is defending a $5,000 raise for a female assistant who held his hand while they walked during personal travel in Chicago.
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts says Amanda Mika got the raise in December because she took on extra responsibilities as a city employee when another employee went on sick leave.
A YouTube video shows Fouts and Mika at a Chicago hotel and holding hands in 2012. In a statement Friday, Fouts says there’s no connection between the pay raise and any personal trips. He says it “smacks of dirty politics.”
Mika couldn’t be reached for comment because no phone number is listed. Fouts told TV station WXYZ that they weren’t on a date in Chicago. He says he’s not dating Mika.
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