Ex-tribal police chief can't run for St. Ignace City Council

ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan appeals court says an Indian tribe's former police chief can't run for city council in the Upper Peninsula because of a federal conviction for corruption.

Fred Paquin sued after St. Ignace told him that he was ineligible to run in 2013 and 2015 because of restrictions in the Michigan Constitution. People convicted of a felony involving fraud or deceit in a public job in the preceding 20 years are disqualified.

Paquin was convicted of misusing federal money given to the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. But he claimed that he shouldn't be barred from running for city council because the tribe is sovereign.

The appeals court says Paquin is covered because the tribe is a local government.