My City November 2022

Woodrow Stanley (1991-2001) Woodrow Stanley was born in 1950 in Schlater,MS. In 1959, his family moved to Flint and Stanley attended Flint Schools, graduating from Flint Northern High. He then took a job with General Motors and paid his way through school at Mott Community College and then UM-Flint, where he earned a degree in political science. In 1983, he was elected to the Flint City Council where he served for four consecutive terms. In 1991, he ran and won the seat of mayor. In office, Stanley started the Mayor’s Youth Cabinet, a summer employment program, instituted Job Corps in the city and attempted to provide property tax relief to constituents. He would go on to win subsequent mayoral races against Don Williamson and Scott Kincaid. After the 1999 election, Flint’s problems grew too big to overcome.While in office, jobs continued to flow out of the city and Flint’s deficit continued to balloon, capping out at nearly $30 million. Stanley and the Flint Council were constantly at odds with finding ways to fix the problem. In an attempt to keep Buick City in operation, Stanley banned foreign cars at the city office, but to no avail.The final stroke came in 1999 when GM closed Buick City. Stanley attempted to privatize garbage pickup, sell city trees, and even bring in a Continental Basketball Association (CBA) franchise, all failed or were blocked by the council. Next, the City Council began to take a closer look at the budget and hired an auditor to examine the 2000 spending plan and found a “phantom” $10 million in revenue.When the council attempted to amend the plan, Stanley sued and was eventually forced to adopt the budget without the $10 million in question. With citizens fed up with abandoned houses, unrepaired roads and unkept public spaces, a recall effort began. Stanley lost the recall election by nearly 3,500 votes. After the election, Stanley exclaimed “they will never break Woodrow Stanley!”Proving true to his word just two years after his recall, Stanley was elected to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and became chairman in his second term. In 2008, he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives.While there, Stanley served on the Banking and Financial Services, Redistricting and Elections, and Regional Affairs Committees, as well as serving as the vice chairperson of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. During his professional life, he also served as president of the Michigan Municipal League, chair of the National League of Cities Advisory Council, vice chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and president of the Michigan Association of Mayors.Woodrow Stanley died in February 2022.

Matthew Collier (1987-91)

Born in Flint in 1957,MatthewCollier was Flint’s youngest elected “strong”mayor. Upon high school graduation, Collier attended the U.S.Military AcademyWest Point where he earned a degree in general engineering.He continued his military career, achieving Airborne Ranger status with the Army and rose to the rank of captain. In Fort Lewis,WA, Collier became the youngest programmanager in the Army. After six years, he came back to Flint and almost immediately threw his hat into the ring to become mayor. His opponent was incumbent James Sharp whose reputation was (unfairly) soiled by the AutoWorld debacle. Running on a platformof bringing jobs back to Flint and reducing crime, Collier beat Sharp by over 3,000 votes.He wasted no time making changes.On his first day in office, Collier fired the City of Flint executive staff, dealt with an oil spill on the Flint River, attended a press conference withMichigan Governor James Blanchard, received a death threat and learned of a recall effort initiated against him. Collier’s biggest goals were erasing a $4million dollar deficit while maintaining a balanced budget and keeping jobs in the city.He partnered withGeneralMotors to reopen a closed automobile plant as the “Great LakesTechnology Center” bringing approximately 7,000 jobs back to Flint. (The center closed in 2009.) In 1988, he andGenesee County officials negotiated a new water contract with the City of Detroit. (The contract would be in effect until the beginning of the FlintWater Crisis.) In 1989, Collier and his administration dealt with the fallout created whenMichael Moore released his documentary “Roger&Me” about the effects of theGMcutbacks on the city. Collier stated that the film“crippled the city’s self-image and demoralized Flint as a whole” and that “the film made it increasingly difficult to champion the city’s successes.”After losing the election toWoodrow Stanley in 1991, Collier continued his education at Harvard University, earning aMasters in Public Administration in 1993. Since that time, he has worked in a number of private and public positions such as vice president of engineering at Sensors, Inc. (1995), president and part-owner of SAFERSystems (1997), and vice president of Los Angeles-based Symark Software (2009). In 2015, Collier was appointed by President Obama as Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the U. S.Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently, he acts as the founder andCEOof VetAccel Inc., chief strategy officer for OutcomeMDand as senior advisor with Fieldstone Equity Partners. In 2020, Collier was named a member of the Joe Biden PresidentialTransitionAgency ReviewTeam.

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