By Jim Bloch
The city of Port Huron is being run by a manager no longer credentialed by the International City/County Management Association.
The ICMA censured Port Huron City Manager James Freed and expelled him from the organization for violating Tenet 3 of the ICMA’s Code of Ethics. The executive board took the action at its meeting June 11, 2022. The organization announced Freed’s censure and expulsion in a post dated July 5, 2022 on its website.
Freed sued the ICMA in 31st Circuit Court of St. Clair County in September 2022, naming 21 officials in the suit; 19 of them are executive board members. Freed alleged that the ICMA defamed him, portrayed him in a false light and violated his right to privacy. Freed is represented by Todd Shoudy of Fletcher, Fealko, Shoudy & Francis, the law firm that represents the city.
The case was closed in circuit court on Sept. 25 and moved to the “Western (or U.S.) District Court,” according to court records.

Freed spoke about the case on the podcast “City Manager (Unfiltered)” with Joe Turner, an unabashed supporter of Freed, on Sept. 27. Turner devoted two subsequent podcasts to Freed and his case.
“I wanted to share what happened to me and my family,” said Freed on the podcast.
“I was wronged.”
Freed’s case
Freed’s allegations are complicated. He argued that the ICMA, led by its ethics director Martha Perego and her subordinate Jessica Cowles — the two other defendants — retaliated against him for his November 2018 letter to Perego and the ICMA director, complaining about Perego’s anti-Trump posts on Twitter, which violated the ICMA’s nonpartisanship clauses.
“This goes on for weeks,” Freed told Turner about Perego’s posts.
“As a result of Freed’s complaint, members of the ethics department, including Ms. Cowles, developed a deep and personal animosity towards Mr. Freed,” according to the suit. The board, of like political mind, shared that animosity.
“Some began to look for an opportunity to attack Mr. Freed’s character and reputation,” the filing said.
Then the harassment began. Days later, Cowles told Freed that an ethics complaint had been filed against him. It was dismissed in June 2019. Another ethics complaint was filed mid-year and dismissed in November. Both, Freed said, were acts of retaliation.
In 2021, the city won an appeal against MIOSHA, which had cited Port Huron for a work place safety violation for not enforcing COVID-19 masking protocols. The agency, it turned out, burned documents relevant to the city’s innocence, Freed said on the podcast.
The next year, ICMA censured Freed and expelled him.
“They’re going to destroy my career,” Freed told his wife, per the podcast.
ICMA’s censure
Tenet 3 of the ICMA’s ethic policy requires that city managers demonstrate “by word and action the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all public, professional, and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the trust and respect of the elected and appointed officials, employees, and the public.”
In June 2022, the association censured Freed and revoked his credentialed manager designation for violating the tenet. The condemnation centered on a social media post by Freed, an email from him to city employees and allegedly unprofessional comments Freed made to a colleague on the state association’s listserv.
In the ICMA’s words: “Following the city’s successful appeal of a state workplace safety violation, Freed directed a personal social media post to Michigan’s Governor ‘@gewhitmer you shouldn’t mess with a father who cares about the world his little girl grows up in.’
“When difficult and complex situations between local governments and state governments occur, a manager has an ethical responsibility outlined in Tenet 3 to ensure their conduct builds trust and respect with elected officials as well as the public. The board determined that Freed’s post did not reflect the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity and was especially inappropriate for a credentialed manager.
“Freed sent an email to city employees in November 2021 that included the statement, ‘Hear me now, I will never enforce a vaccine mandate upon my employees.’ The board concluded (1) a member has an affirmative duty to follow the law as outlined in Tenet 3’s commitment to honesty and integrity; (2) a member may choose to resign from their position if they find they cannot implement a law or policy because it conflicts with their personal or professional beliefs; and (3) a manager has a responsibility to ensure their conduct enhances public trust in their position, their organization, and the local government management profession. The board determined his preemptive declaration to city employees that he would never implement a specific law or policy was contrary to the principles in Tenet 3.”
The allegations are false, Freed told Turner; they were retaliatory and taken out of the context of the city manager’s overall actions to protect the city and city workers during the pandemic. ICMA officials conducted no real investigation of his actions or state’s lack of an actual vaccine mandate, Freed said.
“We have to show a jury what they did behind the scenes to ruin my professional career,” Freed said. “I want my name cleared.”
City council defends Freed
On June 20, 2022, the Port Huron City Council wrote to the ICMA, defending Freed.
“We have reviewed the complaint, primary source evidence and conclusions,” wrote Mayor Pauline Repp and the council. “In consultation with our legal counsel, we strongly disagree with your findings.
“No law or pending law was preemptively declared to be violated. You provided no such evidence to support your claim. On the contrary, our City Manager took steps, by word and action, to comply with all current laws and any pending laws, while at the same time respecting the civil rights of our dedicated employees.
“(Y)ou may not like professional criticism of elected or appointed officials, (but) it is lawful, ethical by ICMA standards and constitutionally protected. Our manager did not breach or erode public trust.”

Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.