DETROIT (WWJ) Detroit mayor Mike Duggan is engaged to the woman who runs a non-profit for which the Attorney General launched a two-year investigation into his and the city's involvement with.
Mayor Duggan is slated to marry Dr. Sonia Hassan in fall of 2021, according to the Michigan Chronicle.
Dr. Hassan is the Associate Vice President and Founder of the Office of Women’s Health at Wayne State University.
She also leads Make Your Date, a non-profit that helps at-risk mothers meet their due date by partnering with "public health leaders" and insurance companies to ensure they have proper care throughout their pregnancy.
Allegations related to Make Your Date Detroit surfaced in 2019, claiming city employees deleted emails to hide a personal relationship between Duggan and Hassan.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office launched a two-year investigation, interviewed nearly two dozen witnesses and reviewed more than 1,500 pages of financial documents from the Detroit Health Department, Southeast Michigan Health Association and Wayne State University. The mayor was also accused of giving preferential treatment to the non-profit by handpicking Hassan to lead it, funneling more than $350,000 in federal funds into it, and ordering city staff to raise money for it, according to the Detroit Free Press.
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However, Nessel said, after a thorough investigation, they decided not to file criminal charges against Duggan and several city employees citing lack of evidence.
“I would like to note that the absence of adequate evidence to charge individuals with crimes does not absolve the parties of their ethical obligation to meet the expectations of public trust inherent to their roles as employees and officials of the City of Detroit,” Nessel said in a press release in April of this year.
That wasn’t the first controversy involving Duggan and Hassan. In November of 2018; a Detroit business man, involved in a land dispute with the mayor, released video shot by a private investigator he hired to follow Duggan showing him visiting the Hassan’s home after hours. Duggan was married at the time.
Duggan filed for divorce from his previous wife, whom he has four grown children with, in 2019.
As for his engagement to Hassan, Duggan said he’s excited for the next chapter.
“Sonia and I couldn’t be happier and we’re looking forward to building our lives together,” Duggan told the Michigan Chronicle.
The two are set to marry in a private ceremony this fall with friends and family.