Craig Covey (born 1957) is an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...
who served as
Mayor of Ferndale, Michigan from 2008 to 2011. He was the second openly gay mayor elected in the state of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he resigned the office in 2010 to take a seat on the
Oakland County Commission, where he served one term.
Biography
Born in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, Covey was an activist, and executive director of Stonewall Union (now
Stonewall Columbus
Stonewall Columbus is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) population of Columbus, Ohio. The organization is located in the Short North district of Columbus.
Established in 1981, Stonewall C ...
) in the 1980s. He lived in Michigan since moving to the state to become
executive director
Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization.
The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...
of the
Michigan Organization for Human Rights
The Michigan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR, ) was a Michigan-based civil rights and anti-discrimination organization. It was founded in 1977 and disbanded in 1994, with most of its assets transferring to the University of Michigan Bentley Hi ...
in 1985
and lived in Ferndale from 1989
until 2017.
Gay activism
Covey moved to Michigan from Ohio to head the Michigan Organization for Human Rights (now
Equality Michigan
Equality Michigan is an American civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization serving Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Equality Michigan serves Michigan's LGBT community through victims services, lobb ...
) in 1985.
He is credited with organizing Detroit's first Gay and Lesbian pride march, an event later known as
Motor City Pride
Motor City Pride is an annual LGBT pride street festival, held in Hart Plaza in Detroit, Michigan the second Saturday and Sunday of June. Previously held in Ferndale, Michigan, the festival moved to Detroit in 2011. It is the largest LGBT event ...
.
He founded the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project.
In 2001, he founded La Comunidad, a support group for gay Latino men in the metro Detroit area.
Covey was also CEO of the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project and Chief Operating Officer of the Michigan AIDS Coalition, the organization resulting from the merging of MAPP and the Michigan AIDS Fund in 2009. He left the Michigan AIDS Coalition the following year. He co-founded Ferndale Pride in 2011 when Motor City Pride moved from Ferndale to Detroit.
Political career
Covey lost his first race for Ferndale City Council in 1995 by a wide margin, but was elected on his second try and served from 1999 to 2008. He was Ferndale's first gay city councilor.
As a city council member, Covey introduced Ferndale's human rights ordinance in 2006, which was approved by voters in November of that year.
[
Ferndale's first gay mayor, he was elected on November 6, 2007 for a two-year term, succeeding three-term mayor Robert Porter, by defeating Tom Gagne 54% - 46%.]Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190.
Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...
on November 5, 2013, challenging incumbent David Coulter David Coulter may refer to:
* David Coulter (banker) (born 1949), director of Warburg Pincus
*David Coulter (politician), Democratic Party politician and county executive of Oakland County
* David Coulter (minister) (born 1957), Church of Scotland ...
, but was defeated. Covey unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard
Michael J. Bouchard is an American politician who has served as Sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Bouchard previously served in the Michigan State Senate from 1991 to 1999, and as the Senate Majo ...
in 2016.
See also
* LGBT community of Metro Detroit
The LGBT community in Metro Detroit is centered in Ferndale, Michigan, as of 2007. As of 1997, many LGBT people live in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, and Royal Oak. ''Model D'' stated in 2007 that there are populations of gays and lesbians in some D ...
References
External links
Covey's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covey, Craig
1957 births
County commissioners in Michigan
Living people
Ohio State University alumni
Gay politicians
LGBT mayors of places in the United States
Mayors of places in Michigan
LGBT people from Michigan
People from Ferndale, Michigan
21st-century American politicians
American chief executives
American chief operating officers
21st-century American LGBT people