Mary D. Waters facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary D. Waters
|
|
|---|---|
_(Cropped).jpg) |
|
| Member of the Detroit City Council At-Large | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 |
|
| Preceded by | Janeé Ayers |
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 4th district |
|
| In office January 1, 2001 – 2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Edward Vaughn |
| Succeeded by | Coleman A. Young II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 27, 1955 Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Michigan (BA) |
Mary D. Waters (born August 27, 1955) is an American politician from Detroit, Michigan. She is a member of the Detroit City Council. Previously she served for three terms as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, where she was Michigan's first African American minority floor leader from 2003 to 2006.
Early life and education
Waters was born in Alabama on August 27, 1955. While in gradeschool she picked cotton in Greenville Alabama, but moved to Detroit as a teen, when her father found work with the auto industry. Waters attended the Detroit Business Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, where she studied communications and behavioral sciences.
Career
On November 7, 2000, Waters was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives where she represented the 4th district from January 10, 2001 to 2006. Waters served as the Minority Floor Leader for the state House from 2003 to 2006, being the first African-American woman to serve as Democratic floor leader in the chamber. Waters left office in 2006 due to term limits.
In 2021, Waters won an at-large seat on the Detroit City Council. While on the City Council she proposed establishing gun-free zones in the city's downtown area. In October of 2023 she proposed eliminating all property taxes in Detroit.
Legal Challenges
In October 2010, Waters pleaded guilty along with her former campaign manager, Sam Riddle, for their roles following allegations they conspired to bribe a Southfield, Michigan City Councilman, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan. In May 2010, Waters pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false tax return. Later that year, she was sentenced to one year of probation on claims she received a $6,000 Rolex watch from a Southfield jewelry store. She later attempted unsuccessfully to withdraw her plea, and has since said that she was railroaded by "overzealous federal prosecutors" who really wanted Sam Riddle, her campaign manager. Riddle also pleaded guilty to conspiring with, then, Councilmember Monica Conyers, and other individuals, to disrupt commerce by extortion.
