Mallory McMorrow paid more than $3,000 in overdue water and sewer charges after Fox News Digital asked about the bills on her Royal Oak home.
Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow and her husband paid more than $3,000 in overdue water and sewer charges on their Royal Oak home after Fox News Digital asked about the unpaid balance, the outlet reported.
Fox News Digital said records it reviewed showed McMorrow, a Democratic state senator, and her husband, Ray Wert, had not paid water or sewer charges on the home since June 2025. The balance, including late fees, had reached $3,000.37 before it was paid after the outlet sought comment.
“The bills in question have been paid,” a McMorrow spokesperson told Fox News Digital, while criticizing Donald Trump and his allies over rising household costs.
The report puts a personal financial issue into the middle of a Senate campaign in which affordability is a central theme. McMorrow has supported legislation aimed at limiting water costs for qualifying low-income residents and addressing overdue balances, and she has also backed a proposal recognizing access to affordable drinking water as a right.
In a March 2021 Facebook post cited by Fox News Digital, McMorrow wrote, “Let’s be clear, access to water is a human right, even when there’s not a pandemic.”
According to the report, records show McMorrow and Wert have been assessed late fees multiple times since buying the Royal Oak property in late 2021. Fox News Digital reported the home was purchased for $1.28 million and that the couple had also fallen behind on water payments in late 2024 before making a payment in January 2025.
Local policy allows unpaid water and sewer bills eventually to be added to a property tax bill, and prolonged nonpayment can lead to water shutoff, Fox News Digital reported. The outlet said a billing notice showed another 5% penalty would have applied if the latest balance had not been paid by June 1.
McMorrow is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Michigan Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters. The primary also includes Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, while former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers is running with President Donald Trump’s backing.
The race is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the cycle, with Democrats defending a swing-state seat and Republicans looking for a pickup opportunity. The next test for McMorrow is whether the unpaid-bill report becomes a passing campaign dispute or a broader liability in a primary already centered on affordability and governing credibility.
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