Janeé Ayers
Member of the Detroit City Council At-Large
In office
February 17, 2015 – January 1, 2022
Preceded bySaunteel Jenkins
Personal details
Born (1981-10-10) October 10, 1981
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materBowling Green State University
ProfessionLabor union leader
WebsiteCouncil website
Campaign website

Janeé L. Ayers (born October 10, 1981) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. In 2015, Ayers was appointed to Detroit City Council as an at large member after the resignation of Saunteel Jenkins, and elected for the remainder of the term on November 8, 2016.[1] She was reelected to City Council for a full four-year term on November 7, 2017.[2] Ayers was defeated in the November 2021 City Council general election.[3]

Background

Janeé Ayers was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 10, 1981. Her mother Shirlene, is a retired Detroit Public Schools teacher and Detroit American Federation of Teachers (DFT) member. She has four siblings, three of whom are school teachers in the Greater Metro Detroit area.

Ayers grew up in North Rosedale Park on the city's Northwest side and graduated from Renaissance High School. She went on to attend Bowling Green State University and earned her degree in Political Science and Public Policy in 2003.[4]

Before being appointed to city council, Ayers worked for the Detroit Recreation Department and was a high school teacher for Detroit Public Schools, teaching science at Millennium High School until its closing in 2007.[5] While working for the Detroit Recreation Department, she was a member of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Following her stint with Detroit Public Schools, Ayers began working for MGM Grand Detroit and joined UNITE HERE! Local 24. There she began to focus her attention to the labor community. She was soon elected recording secretary and quickly became the youngest officer on the bargaining team. A few short years later, she was elected Vice President of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO.[6]

Political career

After the resignation of Saunteel Jenkins, Detroit City Council entered a long appointment process to fill the at large seat. Over 135 Detroit residents applied for the position, including former State representatives, a Wayne County Commissioner and multiple former city council candidates.[7] From this pool, Ayers was nominated by Council President Brenda Jones and Council Member Gabe Leland to advance to a round of 17 candidates who were publicly interviewed.[8] At the end of a lengthy voting process, Ayers was appointed to City Council on February 17, 2015 by a supermajority vote of 6-2.[9]

In 2016, Ayers ran for confirmation of her seat in a special election. She won the 2016 August primary and then defeated Daniel A Bullock in the November General Election by a margin of 61%-39%. Her total vote count of 100,385 was the highest total in a Michigan municipal election in the previous ten years.[10]

In 2017, Ayers sought reelection to a full 4 year council term. In the August Primary, she defeated a host of challengers to advance to the General Election. That November, Ayers won reelection to her seat by defeating challengers Mary Waters and Beverly Kindle-Walker.[11]

Ayers was defeated in the November 2021 City Council general election.[12]

Detroit City Council

One of Ayers most significant achievements as a Council Member was creating the Returning Citizens Task Force, a program designed to "meet the needs of a large population of Detroit residents who are challenged with successfully reintegrating back into the community from the corrections system. The overarching goal of the task force is to create a community based "one-stop" that will serve as the main resource for returning citizens once they are released."[13]

Committee assignments

In her first term as Council Member, Ayers served on the following City Council committees:

  • Budget, Finance and Audit (Vice-Chair) [14]
  • Public Health, and Safety (Vice-Chair) [15]
  • Internal Operations [16]
  • Rules [17]

On January 9, 2018, Council Member Ayers was assigned to serve on the following City Council Committees:

  • Budget, Finance and Audit (Chair)
  • Public Health and Safety (Vice-Chair)

Electoral history

2016 Primary Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 25,081 47.31
Nonpartisan David Alexander Bullock 12,135 22.89
Nonpartisan Eric Williams 9,085 17.14
Nonpartisan John W. Cromer 3,556 6.71
Nonpartisan Sigmunt John Szczepkowski, Jr. 2,876 5.42
Nonpartisan Write-In 282 0.53
Total votes 53,015 100
2016 General Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 100,635 60.58
Nonpartisan David Alexander Bullock 63,270 38.09
Nonpartisan Write-In 2,207 1.33
Total votes 166,112 100
2017 Primary Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Brenda Jones (incumbent) 46,110 45.05
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 25,742 25.15
Nonpartisan Mary Waters 17,190 16.79
Nonpartisan Beverly Kindle-Walker 6,587 6.44
Nonpartisan Alisa McKinney 6,185 6.04
Nonpartisan Write-In 545 0.53
Total votes 102,359 100
2017 General Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Brenda Jones (incumbent) 71,306 42.57
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 48,103 28.72
Nonpartisan Mary Waters 32,717 19.53
Nonpartisan Beverly Kindle-Walker 14,522 8.67
Nonpartisan Write-In 859 0.51
Total votes 167,507 100
2021 Primary Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 34,514 30.86
Nonpartisan Coleman A. Young, Jr. 34,159 30.54
Nonpartisan Mary Waters 26,028 23.27
Nonpartisan Nicole Small 11,990 10.72
Nonpartisan Jermain Lee Jones 4,647 4.15
Nonpartisan Write-In 515 0.46
Total votes 111,853 100
2021 General Election, Detroit City Council At-Large (Non-Partisan)[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Coleman A. Young, Jr. 48,380 31.26
Nonpartisan Mary Waters 41,678 26.93
Nonpartisan Janeé L. Ayers (incumbent) 39,001 25.20
Nonpartisan Nicole Small 25,306 16.35
Nonpartisan Write-In 402 0.26
Total votes 154,767 100

Awards and other honors

- 2016 Michigan Chronicle Woman of Excellence [24]

- 2017 Michigan Democratic Party Martin Luther King Jr. Award

References

  1. ↑ "Detroit council picks union leader Janee' Ayers to fill seat". Detroit Free Press. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Incumbents Keep Their Seats on Detroit City Council". wdet.org. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  3. ↑ "Janee Ayers' Ballotpedia". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Fighting for Detroit". bgsu.edu. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "BGSU alum sits on Detroit City Council". Sentinel-Tribune. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Metro Detroit AFL-CIO officer appointed to Detroit City Council". Kent-Ionia Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Detroit City Council vacancy draws 135 applicants". Detroit Free Press. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Meet the candidates to fill Detroit council's opening". Detroit Free Press. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  9. ↑ WDIV (17 February 2015). "Janee' Ayers named to Detroit City Council". ClickOnDetroit. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "2016 Michigan General Election: Wayne County results". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  11. ↑ "Detroit Nov. 7, 2017 General Election results". www.clickondetroit.com. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  12. ↑ "Janee Ayers' Ballotpedia". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Returning Citizen's Task Force". www.detroitmi.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  14. ↑ "Budget, Fianance and Audit".
  15. ↑ "Public Health, and Safety".
  16. ↑ "Internal Operations".
  17. ↑ "Rules".
  18. ↑ "August 2, 2016 Primary Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  19. ↑ "November 8, 2016 General Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  20. ↑ "August 7, 2017 Primary Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  21. ↑ "November 7, 2017 General Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  22. ↑ "August 5, 2021 Primary Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  23. ↑ "November 2, 2021 General Election Results". 5 January 2022 – via waynecounty.com/elected/clerk.
  24. ↑ jjackson675 (April 2016). "Announcing the 2016 Men and Women of Excellence honorees". michiganchronicle. Retrieved 1 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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