Sharon McPhail is an American attorney and politician who served on 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 ...

from 2002 until 2006. McPhail was a candidate for mayor in the 1993 and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

elections. She was formerly a lawyer in private practice, a division chief in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, and an assistant United States attorney. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in

Michigan's 13th congressional district Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It is currently represented by Democrat Shri Thanedar. The district includes portions of Detroit and some of its suburbs, and it was t ...

in the

2022 United States House of Representatives elections The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections during incumbent president Joe Biden's term. The elections were held to elect representatives from all 435 U ...

Early life and education

She was born and raised in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. McPhail earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and sociology from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

Northeastern University School of Law Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as an evening program to meet the needs of its local community, NUSL is nationally recognized for its cooperative legal ed ...

. She was admitted to the

State Bar of Michigan The State Bar of Michigan is the governing body for lawyers in the State of Michigan. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in Michigan. The organization's mission is to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of jus ...

in 1976.

Career

She served as staff counsel for

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

and later as a partner with the law firm Feikens, Stevens, Hurley & P.C., before going into private practice. She has served as president of the local Wolverine Bar Association and

National Bar Association The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law profess ...

. She is a member of the

Detroit Board of Police Commissioners The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners is the civilian oversight organization of the Detroit Police Department. The current 11-member board has broad supervisory authority over the department. History The Detroit City Charter was enacted in 186 ...

and vice president of the Detroit Branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. In 1993, McPhail finished second in a primary election for mayor of Detroit in field of 23 candidates. She lost the general election to

Dennis Archer Dennis Wayne Archer (born January 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, jurist and former politician from Michigan. A Democrat, Archer served as Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit. He later served as president of the America ...

by 56 percent to 43 percent. McPhail was general counsel for a coalition dedicated to recapturing the right to vote for the

Detroit Public Schools Community District Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States and high school students in the insular city of Highland Park. The district, which replaced the original Detr ...

. She also served as general counsel for Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Represen ...

. McPhail was the superintendent of the Bay Mills Community College Charter School until she was fired in October 2018.

2022 U.S. House campaign

On March 15, 2022, McPhail announced her bid for the Democratic nomination for

, newly redrawn to favor Democrats.

Awards

McPhail was named one of ''

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

s 100 Most Influential Black Americans and has received the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

Humanitarian of the Year award, and the National

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...

Meritorious Service Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.

References

External links

Campaign Web siteOfficial City Council web page
(Archived - no longer updated)

Archived - no longer updated) *https://web.archive.org/web/20081029194430/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Gildon_Dissertation.pdf

"Sharon McPhail to resign" {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhail, Sharon Lawyers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Northeastern University alumni Northeastern University School of Law alumni African-American city council members in Michigan African-American women in politics Detroit City Council members Michigan Democrats Living people Women city councillors in Michigan Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women American people of Irish descent Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections