Coleman Young II explained

Coleman Young
Office:Member of the Detroit City Council
from the at-large district
Term Start:January 1, 2022
Predecessor:JaneƩ Ayers
State Senate1:Michigan
District1:1st
Term Start1:January 1, 2011
Term End1:January 1, 2019
Predecessor1:Hansen Clarke
Successor1:Stephanie Chang
State House2:Michigan
District2:4th
Term Start2:January 1, 2007
Term End2:December 31, 2010
Predecessor2:Mary D. Waters
Successor2:Maureen Stapleton
Birth Name:Coleman Alexander Young II
Birth Date:18 October 1982
Birth Place:Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Relatives:Coleman Young (father)
Education:Azusa Pacific University
Wayne State University (BA)

Coleman Alexander Young II (born October 18, 1982) is an American Democratic politician who is a current member of the Detroit City Council and a former member of the Michigan Senate. In the Michigan Senate, he represented the 1st district, which included the municipalities of Ecorse, Gibraltar, River Rouge, Riverview, Trenton, Woodhaven, Wyandotte and a portion of Detroit.[1] He served as the vice chair of the Local Government and Elections Committee,[2] General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee, Licensing And Regulatory Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee and Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.[3] Young also sat on the Appropriations Committee[4] and Insurance Committee.[5] He previously served as the vice chair of the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Committee and Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee, as well as having previously served on the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, Education Committee and Energy and Technology Committee.[6] From 2011 to 2014, Young served as the Senate Assistant Minority Caucus Chair and also served as the Senate Assistant Minority Floor Leader.[7]

From 2007 to 2010, Young served as the representative in the 4th District of the Michigan House of Representatives.[8] The 4th District was composed of the Lower East Side of Detroit, including a portion of Downtown and Midtown.[9] During his time in the House, Young served as the vice chair of the Insurance Committee[10] and sat on the Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee, Labor Committee and Transportation Committee.[11]

Young unsuccessfully ran in both the 2009 Detroit mayoral special election and the 2017 Detroit mayoral election, being the runner-up in the latter. In 2018, Young ran to represent Michigan's 13th U.S. Congressional district. The seat was vacant, due to the resignation of John Conyers.[12] Young lost the primary to Rashida Tlaib, who won the general election. In 2022, Young was elected to the Detroit City Council.

Personal life

Coleman Young II was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. He is the only son of former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young and former Assistant Public Works Director Annivory Calvert.[13] He was born Joel Loving, and raised in California, his father denying his existence until a paternity suit in 1989.[14] Young says that the move and name change were due to death threats against his father.[15] Later, Young, Sr. had Michigan courts restore Young's name to match his baptismal records.[16] In 1995, a new birth certificate was issued bearing the name Coleman A. Young Jr.[17] Young says he received a phone call from his father at the age of twelve wherein his father asked him to carry on the Coleman Young name and legacy.[18]

In 2005, Young returned to Detroit, where he currently resides. He is a member of St. Paul Church of God in Christ.[19]

Since July 2005, Young has hosted The "Young Effect," a weekly talk show broadcast Sunday evenings, on WHPR (Channel 91 Comcast) and simulcast on 88.1 FM.[20] The show is a live, uncensored, call-in show. Each week Young covers community issues and provides updates on activities at the Capitol.[21] He follows the broadcast show with a thirty-minute Town Hall Meeting on his Facebook page.

Education

Young graduated from P.A.L. Charter Academy High School in San Bernardino, California. After graduating High School, he enrolled at Azusa Pacific University, a private Christian college in Azusa, California.[22] In 2005, Young transferred to Wayne State University, to complete his Bachelor of Arts in communications.[23] As of 2018, Young attends Wayne State as a part-time student.[24]

Political career

In 2005, Young worked as an intern for Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson.[25] He has also worked for the Detroit City Council Research & Analysis Division.[26]

In the 2006 Primary Election, Young ran to fill a vacancy in the 4th District of Michigan's House of Representatives. He led a field of sixteen candidates to win the Democratic nomination.[27] Young defeated Republican Scott Withington with over 93 percent of the vote in the general election. In his 2008 re-election, Young won the primary with over 70 percent of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election.

Young unsuccessfully ran in the 2009 Detroit mayoral special election.

Young won election to the Michigan State Senate in 2010. In the August Primary Election, he bested former Michigan House member Mary D. Waters.[28] In the November General Election, he defeated Republican Dakeisha Harwick.

Young ran unopposed in the 2014 Democratic primary election. He defeated Republican Barry Berk in the general election.

In the 2017 Detroit mayoral election, Young ran an aggressive campaign against incumbent Mike Duggan (also a Democrat) for . In the nonpartisan election, Young and Duggan both proceeded to the general election. Duggan defeated Young in the general election 72% to 28%.

Legislative achievements

Young has sponsored twelve bills that have become law since first elected the Michigan House in 2007, more than any other member of the Detroit Caucus. During his tenure in the Michigan Legislature, Young has also had eleven resolutions adopted.[29]

In 2007, Young helped pass HB 4434, which amended the Tax Tribunal Act to provide for the mediation of disputes before the Tax Tribunal. The bill requires that residents receive a notice for blight before being ticketed. The bill also guarantees a dedicated funding source by creating the Michigan Tax Tribunal Fund, which can only be used for the operation of the Tribunal, rather than placing the funding in the General Fund, where it could be used for unrelated purposes. The bill decreases the operating costs of, and provides an additional source of revenue for, the Tax Tribunal.[30]

In 2008, Young helped pass HB 4868, which allows municipalities to waive blight violation fines for first-time offenders, if the fine occurs at an owner-occupied dwelling and the offender has corrected the circumstances for the violation.[31]

2008 also saw Young help pass HB 5842, which increased Sales Tax revenue and brought jobs to the Detroit region by expanding tax credits for the movie industry.[32]

In 2009, Young helped pass HB 4327, the Tisha Prater Act, which guarantees anti-discrimination protections for women affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. The legislation, named for Detroit Police Officer Tisha Prater, followed a 2008 Federal lawsuit filed when Prater was denied paid leave from work after she told the department that she was pregnant.[33] At the time, Detroit Police Department policy required pregnant women to take sick leave, instead of getting light-duty assignments offered to males limited by injuries suffered outside work. The legislation banned job discrimination based on a woman's pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and mandated paid maternity leave for pregnant police officers and firefighters. The bill passed the Michigan Senate unanimously. Governor Jennifer Granholm's signing of the bill marked the first time that the Governor, the ACLU and Michigan Right to Life came together in one room.[34]

Also in 2009, Young helped pass HB 4986, which amend the Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Act to expand eligibility for NEZ certificates. Owners and developers rehabilitating property located in a NEZ qualify for reduced property taxes.[35]

In 2013, Young helped pass SB 93, which renamed I-375 in Wayne County, as the "102nd United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.) Memorial Highway," in honor of the 102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops, an African American infantry unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War.[36]

In 2014, Young helped pass SB 146, again amending the Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Act to further expand eligibility for NEZ certificates.[37]

In 2016, Young helped pass SB 141, which regulated Michigan's medical marijuana industry.[38]

In 2018, Young helped pass SB 209, which designated a portion of highway M-10 in Wayne County as "Sergeant Collin Rose Memorial Highway," in honor of Sgt. Collin Rose, the first and only member of the Wayne State University Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.[39]

Electoral history

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Legislator . Michigan Votes.
  2. Web site: Local Government Committee. Michigan Senate. December 18, 2017. December 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171216150635/http://www.senate.michigan.gov/committee/local_govt_elec.html. dead.
  3. Web site: Appropriations Subcommittees. Michigan Senate. December 18, 2017. December 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052134/http://senate.michigan.gov/committee/appropssubcommittee.html. dead.
  4. Web site: Appropriations Committee. Michigan Senate. December 18, 2017. December 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052107/http://senate.michigan.gov/committee/approps.html. dead.
  5. Web site: Insurance Committee. Michigan Senate. December 18, 2017. December 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051838/http://senate.michigan.gov/committee/insurance.html. dead.
  6. Web site: MIRS Biographical Profiles. MIRS.
  7. Web site: Bio. Michigan Municipal League.
  8. Web site: Legislator . Michigan Votes.
  9. Web site: Bio. Vote Smart .
  10. Web site: HR 403: A resolution of tribute for the Honorable Coleman Young, II. Michigan House of Representatives.
  11. Dillon. Andy. January 26, 2009. Speaker Dillon Announces Committee Assignments for 2009-10. DOC. Michigan Association of Railway Passengers. Dec 18, 2017.
  12. Web site: Coleman Young II running for Congress. Detroit News.
  13. Web site: In his first public acknowledgment.... Orlando Sentinel.
  14. Web site: FOR DETROIT MAYOR, PATERNITY NO LIABILITY. Bach. Trevor. 21 May 1989. Hour Detroit. 18 December 2017.
  15. Web site: Terry. Nicquel. Tensions flare in studio before debate. The Detroit News. 19 December 2017.
  16. Web site: Coleman A. Young II picks up petitions for mayoral run. Detroit News.
  17. Web site: The Detroit News. Press Reader.
  18. Web site: Bach. Trevor. Everybody Loves Coleman. Hour Detroit. August 2017 . 18 December 2017.
  19. Web site: Young. Coleman. About Me. State Senate Democrats. 19 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222104935/http://senatedems.com/young/about-me/. December 22, 2017. dead.
  20. Web site: Shows. WHPR.
  21. Web site: The Young Effect on Detroit . BET .
  22. Web site: Diary of a longshot: Inside Coleman Young's no-frills bid for Detroit mayor.. Bridge MI. December 14, 2017. October 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171010163234/http://www.bridgemi.com/detroit-journalism-cooperative/diary-longshot-inside-coleman-youngs-no-frills-bid-detroit-mayor. dead.
  23. Web site: Young evokes dad while running for mayor as own man. Detroit News.
  24. Web site: Young. Coleman. About Me. State Senate Democrats. 19 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222104935/http://senatedems.com/young/about-me/. December 22, 2017. dead.
  25. Web site: Young evokes dad while running for mayor as own man. Detroit News.
  26. Web site: Coleman A. Young II picks up petitions for mayoral run. Detroit News.
  27. Web site: Can Detroit's Mayor Survive?. January 30, 2008. Newsweek.
  28. Web site: MIRS Biographical Profiles. MIRS.
  29. Web site: Search Bills by Sponsor. Michigan Legislature.
  30. Web site: House Bill 4434. Michigan Legislature.
  31. Web site: House Bill 4868. Michigan Legislature.
  32. Web site: House Bill 5842. Michigan Legislature.
  33. Web site: Young brings aggressive Senate style to mayor's race. Detroit News.
  34. Web site: Coleman Young II declares bid for Detroit mayor. Detroit News .
  35. Web site: Bill Analysis HB 4986. Michigan Legislature.
  36. Web site: Bill Analysis SB 93. Michigan Legislature.
  37. Web site: Senate Bill 146. Michigan Legislature.
  38. Web site: Senate Bill 141. Michigan Legislature.
  39. Web site: Senate Bill 209. Michigan Legislature.