My City November 2022

Dr. Karen Weaver (2015-19) Flint’s first femalemayor,KarenWeaver came froma family of firsts.Shewas one of three childrenborn toMarionCoates Williams (Flint’s first AfricanAmerican school teacher) andDr. T.WendellWilliamsMD, the first AfricanAmerican to serve on the Flint Board of Education.She attended school inFlint, graduating fromFlintNorthernHigh in 1977.Fromthere, she attendedUM-Flint and then transferred toTougalooCollege in Mississippi where she earned a degree inpsychology.Weaver went on to earnhermaster’s degree fromLong IslandUniversity inNew York and a doctorate in clinical psychology fromMichiganState University.Uponher return toFlint,Weaver worked as director of behavioral services atMottChildren’sHealthCenter and the chief operating officer of EnnisCenter forChildren.She also served on a number of committees including theHurleyMedical Center Board ofManagers, theCommunity FoundationofGreater Flint, and PriorityChildren.After defeating incumbentmayorDayneWalling in the 2015 election,Weaver immediately declared a city-wide emergency to deal with the growingwater crisis.She pushed for and gained similar declarations fromGov.RickSnyder andPresident BarackObama. In 2016, she testified to theU.S.Democratic SteeringCommittee as to the seriousness of the crisis.Asmayor, Weaver served as the president of theDowntownDevelopment Authority, amember of the State ofMichiganEconomic DevelopmentCorporation, 2ndVPof theAfricanAmerican MayorsAssociation, as advisorymember of theUnitedStates Conference ofMayors, and boardmember of theGreat Lakes and St.LawrenceCities Initiative.Gov.Snyder appointedher amember of the FlintWater InteragencyCoordinatingCommittee.Weaver appointedFlint’s first chief public health advisor and continued to meet with theWhiteHouse in efforts to acquire funding for renewed water infrastructure for the city.Her efforts secured $389million for recovery, $2.9million to recreate theEconomicDevelopment Department and $30million for newaffordable housing initiatives. In 2017,Weaver survived a recall attempt and remained inoffice to serve out her term.After her time inoffice, she started theKaren WilliamsWeaver Foundation to help communities build and renew infrastructure to support health and safeguard the right to safe and affordablewater.

Sheldon Neeley (2019-present) Born in 1969 in Flint, Sheldon Neeley attended Flint Schools and graduated from Flint Northern High in 1986. He then continued his education at Delta Community College where he earned an associate’s degree. He studied communications at Saginaw Valley State before joining the professional workforce. Neeley worked as an engineer for WJRT-12 in Flint and served as the local union president for the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians - Communication Workers of America. In 2002, he jumped into public service when he joined the Flint Civil Service Commission and in 2005, was elected to the City Council and reelected in 2009 and 2013. In 2014, Neeley went a step further and was elected by a landslide to represent Flint’s 34th District in the House of Representatives, and won subsequent elections by the same margin. In Lansing, he focused on public safety, education, restorative justice and Flint’s economy. Neeley championed the Flint Promise scholarship fund, awarding free college or reduced tuition to Flint graduates, and the Flint Development Center Literacy Lab.Throughout his political career, he hosted numerous Expungement Fairs to inform individuals of their rights in the process. In 2019, he ran against and defeated incumbent Karen Weaver with a campaign based upon better transparency and fiscal responsibility. In addition to his public and professional achievements, Neeley worked for ten years as a counselor in Flint Community Schools and acts as the voluntary CEO of the Flint Inner City Junior Golf League. u

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