Mayor Mohammed Beydoun on Oct. 28 appointed Gary Miyake as Dearborn Heights corporation counsel, and the City Council confirmed the hire at the regular meeting.

The mayor told the council Miyake would take a lower fee than prior outside counsel and that he had asked Miyake to represent “Dearborn Heights as a whole,” not the mayor’s office alone, because the city is currently involved in federal litigation. A motion to approve the appointment was made and the council voted in favor.

Council members then addressed two council vacancies created when a member moved into the mayor’s office. After nominations and a roll-call process under the city charter, Councilman Robert (Bob) Constant accepted a nomination to fill a vacancy and was sworn in; the council then accepted a separate, contemporaneous motion to accept Constant’s resignation from the other seat so that he could legally hold the new position. That acceptance was recorded for the minute and carried by council vote.

Later in the meeting the council nominated and appointed Ray Muscat to fill the subsequent vacancy created by Constant’s resignation. Muscat took the oath of office at the meeting and said he would recuse himself where required and would work to get up to speed on items he would not oversee during his short term.

Why it matters: The appointments consolidate the city’s legal representation under a single corporation counsel and shift two seats on the seven-member council. The charter provisions guiding vacancies (sections 4.5 and 4.7) were expressly cited during the discussion, and the council recorded motions to both appoint and accept resignations so the transfers of office took effect for the municipal record.

Details and context: The mayor introduced Miyake and said the hire could save legal spending because it replaces separate special counsel contracts; the council confirmed the appointment without amendment. On the council vacancies, the mayor and corporate counsel gave guidance that the council could either nominate or use another procedure permitted by charter language. Council members nominated candidates in open session; nominees accepted on the record and were sworn in when the deputy clerk administered oaths. The council moved to place any formal documentation (resignation letters, oaths) in the clerk’s office files.

Outlook: Miyake’s term as corporation counsel was presented as effective immediately, with a term noted in the agenda packet to expire Dec. 31, 2025. The newly appointed council members will serve until the vacancies are filled at the next general city, state, or national election for the unexpired terms, consistent with charter language.