Karen Williams Weaver is an American psychologist and politician who was the mayor of Flint, Michigan, from 2015 to 2019. She was the first female mayor of the city and the 5th African-American to hold the office. Weaver is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, although local offices in Flint are officially nonpartisan. She is also a member of the

Michigan Economic Development Corporation The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is a public-private partnership agency and economic development corporation dedicated to job creation in the U.S. state of Michigan. Operating under the slogan "Pure Michigan", the MEDC attemp ...

, and Governor

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previo ...

's Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee. During her tenure as mayor, Weaver twice visited the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

and met U.S. Presidents

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. She oversaw the city's role in the recovery from the ongoing Flint water crisis, the most dominant issue during her mayoral tenure. Her term ended on November 11, 2019. She was defeated in her re-election by Sheldon Neeley the previous week.

Early life and education

The youngest of three children, Weaver was born in Flint and grew up on the city's north side. She graduated from

Flint Northern High School Flint Northern High School was a public secondary school located in Flint, Michigan. The original building "#1" was built in 1928 and demolished in the 1980s, after being the home of the Flint Academy. It was one of the high schools in the Flint ...

in 1977. She holds a bachelor's degree from

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yor ...

, a master's degree from Long Island University, and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University.

Career

Prior to being elected mayor of Flint in 2015, Weaver served on a number of committees in the city, including the Hurley Medical Center Board of Managers, Priority Children and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. In the mayoral election of November 3, 2015, Weaver received 7,825 votes (55%), defeating Mayor Dayne Walling, who received 6,061 votes (45%). Weaver took office on November 9, 2015. Shortly after taking office, she declared an emergency in the city due to the water crisis in the area. She also pushed for a similar declaration by state and federal authorities, which were granted by Michigan Governor

on January 5, and President

on January 16, 2016. According to Weaver, this declaration means that the federal government will now be responsible for disaster relief efforts, rather than the state of Michigan, as had been the case before. On January 19, 2016, Mayor Weaver visited the White House and met President Obama.Obama meets with Flint mayor; EPA says reviewing its role
CNN, January 19, 2016 On February 10, 2016, Weaver testified before the U.S. House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the water crisis. On February 12, 2016, she fired Flint Police Chief James Tolbert, Fire Chief David Cox, and City Administrator Natasha Henderson. Tolbert said her explanation was, "she wants to make some changes." The city council and state Receivership Transition Advisory Board approved her appointments for their successors (Tim Johnson as police chief and Raymond Barton as fire chief) later that month. On May 9, 2016, Henderson filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming she was fired from her position as city administrator after reporting Mayor Weaver may have been telling staff to direct water crisis donations to her own personal funds. Two days later, the city hired an attorney to investigate the claim. Weaver said Henderson's claims were "outrageously false." The case was dismissed on August 8, 2017. On March 24, 2016, Governor Snyder appointed Weaver to an eight-year term on the

's executive committee.Flint mayor appointed to MEDC executive committee
''The Flint Journal'' via MLive, March 24, 2016 Mayor Weaver was also appointed to Governor Snyder's Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee which is attempting to alleviate the problems caused during the Flint water crisis.Ron Fonger

''The Flint Journal'' via MLive (January 11, 2016). Mayor Weaver endorsed

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

and briefly spoke about the water crisis at that year's Democratic National Convention in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. On March 15, 2017, Mayor Weaver met President

to discuss funding for infrastructure and public safety for FlintFlint Mayor to meet with President during MI trip
WNEM-TV, March 17, 2017 and met with officials at the White House for further discussion of Flint's water infrastructure later that year.
''The Flint Journal'' via MLive.com, October 18, 2017 Mayor Weaver survived a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...

on November 7, 2017, with 53% of voters supporting her to stay in office. Of the other 17 mayoral contenders, Ninth Ward Flint City Councilman Scott Kincaid came in second place with about 32% of the vote. In November 2019, Weaver lost her bid for reelection to Sheldon Neeley, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Weaver ran against incumbent mayor Neeley in November 2022, after having gained second place in the August 2 primary. Neely was re-elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Karen Williams American women psychologists Long Island University alumni Mayors of Flint, Michigan Women mayors of places in Michigan Michigan Democrats Michigan State University alumni Tougaloo College alumni Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) African-American mayors in Michigan 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians African-American women mayors American clinical psychologists