Mary D. Waters (born August 27, 1955) is an American politician serving as an at-large member of the

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 locatio ...

since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Waters previously served as a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

from 2001 to 2007, serving as the chamber's first Black minority leader from 2003 to 2006.

Early life and education

Waters was born in Alabama on August 27, 1955. While in grade school, she picked cotton in

Greenville, Alabama Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,374. Greenville is known as the Camellia City, wherein originated the movement to change t ...

, 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 The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where she studied communications and behavioral sciences.

Career

On November 7, 2000, Waters was elected to the

where she represented the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

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 African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman to serve as Democratic floor leader in the chamber. Waters left office in 2006 due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

. While in the Michigan legislature, Waters worked with

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...

who later became Michigan's governor. She often reminded her former colleague to take poverty-related issues like job training, insurance redlining and other maters related to Detroit seriously. She also backed candidate Whitmer by introducing her to Black church congregations in Detroit. In 2010 Waters ran unsuccessfully for District 1 State Senator in the Democratic Primary. In 2021, Waters won an at-large seat on the

. While on the City Council she proposed establishing gun-free zones in the city's downtown area. She also opposed the sale of occupied, city-owned houses, calling it "Putting profit ahead of people." In January 2022, Waters sought to succeed Brenda Jones as president of the Detroit City Council. The members of the council selected

Mary Sheffield Mary Sheffield (born 1987 or 1988) is an American serving as a member of the Detroit City Council since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the president of City Council since 2022, as the youngest person ever to hold that offic ...

by a vote of 7-2. In October 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 Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

City Councilman, according to th
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 Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''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 Monica Ann Conyers (Esters, October 31, 1964) is an American politician from Detroit, Michigan. Elected to the Detroit City Council in 2005, she was elected by its members to serve as '' president pro tempore'' of the council for the four-year t ...

, and other individuals, to disrupt commerce by extortion.

Congressional campaign

On February 8, 2024, Waters announced that she would be running for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. On the campaign trail, she has called for a ceasefire in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, and freeing of the hostages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Mary D. Living people 1955 births Baptists from Michigan Detroit Business Institute alumni University of Michigan alumni Women state legislators in Michigan African-American state legislators in Michigan Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature