Mary D. Waters (born August 27, 1955) is an American politician from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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 ...

. She is a 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 location ...

. Previously she served for three terms 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 2010 ...

, 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 grade school, she picked cotton in

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

, but moved to Detroit as a teen, when her father found work with the auto industry. Waters attended the

Detroit Business Institute The Detroit Business Institute (previously known as Detroit Business University and Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College) is an educational institute focusing on medical training founded in Detroit, Michigan. The school has held several ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where she studied communications and behavioral sciences.

Career

On November 7, 2000, Waters was elected to the

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 African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

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 that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

. 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, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...

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 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 offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...

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 SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

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 (née Esters; October 31, 1965) is an American politician in 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 ...

, 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 of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. On the campaign trail, she has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, and freeing of the hostages. https://www.marywatersforcongress.com/accomplishments

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 women in politics African-American state legislators in Michigan Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American legislators 21st-century Michigan politicians