The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The City Council consists of nine members elected for a four-year term in a single election conducted on an at-large and non-partisan basis. According to the city charter, the candidate who receives the highest number of votes becomes president of the Council, and the member receiving the second highest number of votes becomes the president pro tempore.[1]
The City Council was first constituted as the legislative body of the city in 1824, and was called the Common Council until July 1, 1974. Prior to 1918, the council was elected from city wards. However, starting in 1918, all city council members were elected at large, unusual for a city of Detroit's size. On November 4, 2009, city voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to once again elect most of the council by districts beginning in 2013, while allowing for two at-large seats.[2]
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If a vacancy occurs 30 days or more before the filing date for a city-wide general election or previously scheduled city-wide special election, the vacancy will be filled in that election for the remainder of the term. If the vacancy occurs less than 30 days before an election filing date, then a subsequent special election will be called by the City Council for the purpose of filling the vacancy for the remainder of the term. No special election will be held for a vacancy occurring after March 1 in the year of a city-wide general election.[1]
Starting in 1919, nine Detroit City Council members were elected at large. Members of the council, from 1919 to the present, are:[3]
| Year | Detroit City Council Members | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | John C. Lodge | James Vernor | John C. Nagel | Sherman Littlefield | William P. Bradley (Died June 1938) |
Charles F. Bielman (Died 4/16/1920) |
Fred W. Castator | David W. Simons | John Kronk |
| Richard M. Watson (Elected 11/21/1920) |
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| 1922 | Robert G. Ewald | ||||||||
| 1924 | John Stevenson | Arthur E. Dingeman | Phillip A. Callahan | ||||||
| 1926 | |||||||||
| 1928 | George A. Walters | John Kronk | |||||||
| 1930 | John C. Nagel | John S. Hall (Died 1/19/1934) |
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| 1932 | Frank Couzens | John W. Smith | Richard Lindsay (Died 1/7/37) |
John C. Lodge | Eugene Van Antwerp | Edward Jeffries | |||
| 1934 | George Engle (Until 6/23/37) |
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| Arthur E. Dingeman (11/13/34 - Oct. 1935) |
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| 1936 | Robert G. Ewald (Out 5/26/1942) |
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| John Kronk (Elected 4/5/37) |
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| 1938 | Philip Breitmeyer | Harry I. Dingeman (Out 4/10/41) |
Henry S. Sweeny | ||||||
| John W. Smith (Elected 11/8/38, Died June 1942) |
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| 1940 | Charles E. Dorais (Rsgd. 5/27/47) |
John Hamilton (Out 4/2/41) |
James H. Garlick | ||||||
| 1942 | William G. Rogell | George C. Edwards | William A. Comstock (Died 6/16/49) |
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| Frank Cody (Elected 11/3/42, Died April 1946) |
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| 1944 | Fred C. Castator | ||||||||
| 1946 | Charles G. Oakman | ||||||||
| Patrick J. McNamara (Elected 11/5/46) |
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| 1948 | Louis C. Miriani | Charles F. Edgecomb | Leo J. Nowicki (Resigned 4/14/48) |
Del A. Smith | John A. Kronk (Died 2/13/54) |
James H. Garlick | |||
| Edward Connor (Elected 11/2/48, Resigned 12/31/66) |
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| 1950 | Edward Jeffries (Died 4/2/50) |
Mary Beck | William G. Rogell | ||||||
| Eugene Van Antwerp (Elected 11/7/50, Died 8/5/62) |
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| 1952 | |||||||||
| 1954 | Charles Youngblood | Blanche Parent Wise | |||||||
| James H. Lincoln (Elected 11/2/44, Resigned 5/5/60) |
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| 1958 | Ed Carey | William T. Patrick (Resigned 12/31/63) |
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| Charles N. Youngblood (Elected 11/8/60) |
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| 1962 | James H. Brickley (Resigned 1/15/67) |
Anthony Wierzbicki | Mel Ravitz | ||||||
| Phillip J. Van Antwerp (Elected 4/1/63) |
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| Thomas L. Poindexter (Elected 11/3/64) |
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| 1966 | Louis C. Miriani | Nicholas Hood | |||||||
| Robert Tindal (Elected 11/5/68, Died 7/30/71) |
Anthony J. Wierzbicki (Elected 11/5/68) |
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| 1970 | Carl M. Levin | David Eberhard | Ernest C. Browne, Jr. | ||||||
| Erma Henderson (Elected 11/7/72) |
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| 1974 | Clyde Cleveland | Maryann Mahaffey | Jack Kelley | ||||||
| 1978 | Kenneth Cockrel, Sr. | Herbert McFaddend Jr. (Died 9/21/81) |
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| 1982 | Mel Ravitz | Barbara-Rose Collins (Resigned 11/90) |
John W. Peoples | ||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
| 1990 | Gil Hill | Rev. Keith Butler | Kay Everett | ||||||
| 1994 | Alberta Tinsley-Talabi | Nicholas Hood III | Sheila M. Cockrel | Brenda M. Scott (Died 9/02/02) |
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| 1998 | Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. | ||||||||
| 2002 | Sharon McPhail | Barbara-Rose Collins | Alonzo W. Bates | ||||||
| JoAnn Watson (Elected April 29, 2003) |
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| 2006 | Monica Conyers | Kwame Kenyatta | Martha Reeves | Brenda Jones | |||||
| 2010 | Charles Pugh | Gary Brown | Saunteel Jenkins | Andre L. Spivey | James Tate | ||||