Maryann Mahaffey (January 18, 1925 – July 27, 2006) was an American politician and activist.

Early life and education

Mahaffey was born in Burlington, Iowa. Mahaffey attended, and graduated from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in 1946.

Activism

While in college, during the summer of 1945, Mahaffey worked at Poston Internment Camp as a Recreation Director. In this work, she became aware that the internment camp's real was to hold American citizens because of their ethnicity and not because of any crimes they had committed. Influenced by her early work experiences, Mahaffey decided to attend the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

to obtain a master's degree in Social Work. She successfully ran for election in 1973 for

Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...

. Mahaffey was one of a few members of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

to be elected to public office.''Democratic Left,'' vol. 8 no. 1 (January 1990), page 7. She served on the Detroit City Council from 1973 until 2005, from 1990 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2005 as council president. She filed a lawsuit that allowed women to run for office under their birth name, instead of their husband's surname. She led efforts to open the Detroit Athletic Club to women and helped enact an ordinance prohibiting sexual harassment of city employees. She successfully opposed the closing of the city's main hospital for the uninsured and oversaw redevelopment of several

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

neighborhoods, and championed construction along the Woodward Corridor. Mahaffey was active in many organizations related to nutrition, women in politics, peace, and ending discrimination.

Personal life

While a student in the School of Social Work, she met Herman (Hy) Dooha, whom she married in June 1950. After Mahaffey and Dooha graduated in 1951, they moved to Indianapolis where Mahaffey began work with

Girl Scouts of the United States of America Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

. She died on July 27, 2006 from health complications related to

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, aged 81.

References

External links

Maryann Mahaffey Papers
Walter P. Reuther Library
MaryAnn Mahaffey Legacy Campaign
Wayne State University, School of Social Work
Maryann Mahaffey

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women academics Cornell College alumni Deaths from leukemia Detroit City Council members Members of the Democratic Socialists of America Politicians from Burlington, Iowa USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work alumni Wayne State University faculty Women city councillors in Michigan Michigan socialists {{Michigan-politician-stub