Members of the Michigan House of Representatives Detroit Caucus announced their selected leadership team for the 101st Legislature, filling positions for the 2021-2022 term. State Rep. Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods) was unanimously selected to serve as Chair, along with state Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit) as Vice Chair, with Reps. Elect Helena Scott (D-Highland Park) to serve as Secretary and Stephanie Young (D-Detroit) as Treasurer.
“I am honored to have been unanimously elected to serve as Detroit Caucus Chair in the 101st Legislature. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure better jobs, better education, and more opportunities for all in Detroit and Michigan,” said Yancey. “I am also thrilled to work with the other elected officers and Caucus members to achieve our goals. The Detroit Caucus has always been a strong voice in the Legislature and I am grateful to be able to continue that legacy.”
Throughout her first full-term in office, Yancey has focused on strengthening criminal justice reform in Michigan along with her extensive work as a member of the Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. As co-chair of the Progressive Women’s Caucus Gender Violence Task Force, she also emerged as a leader of legislative efforts to raise awareness of domestic violence and human trafficking across the state.
“Congratulations to Representative Tenisha Yancey as the incoming Leader-elect for the Detroit Caucus. Rep. Yancey’s passion for Detroit and her commitment to advance important urban issues will be a strength for the entire Democratic Caucus. Her work on criminal justice reform has demonstrated her ability to get bipartisan legislation passed and signed into law. I look forward to the Detroit Caucus’ policy success in the 101st Legislature,” said state Rep. Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Township), who was formally selected as the next leader of the House Democratic Caucus this week.
New and returning members of the Detroit Caucus for the upcoming term include current state Reps. Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and Cynthia A. Johnson (D-Detroit), state Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Adam Hollier (D-Detroit), Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), Marshall Bullock (D-Detroit) and Betty Jean Alexander (D-Detroit), along with Reps. Elect Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit), Abraham Aiyash (D-Detroit) and Mary Cavanagh (D-Detroit).
“The Detroit Caucus made a great choice in selecting Tenisha Yancey, a true leader, as its new chair,” said Detroit Mayor Michael Duggan. “I look forward to working closely with her and the other members of the Caucus on the important issues in Lansing that matter most to Detroiters.”
Current members of the Detroit Caucus’ leadership team for the remainder of the 2019-2020 term include state Reps. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D-Detroit) as Chair, Carter as Vice Chair, Tate as Treasurer and Yancey as Secretary.
“The Detroit Caucus was founded in 2004, and Chaired by now Chief Judge Bill McConnico, and Vice Chair Sen. Morris Hood, III, yet our Caucus alumni stems back to representation of strong women in leadership like the Honorable Daisy Elliott, Mary Lou Parks, Teola P. Hunter, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Irma Clark Coleman, the late Alma Stallworth, and many more. I am honored to have served as the first woman Chair of the Detroit Caucus, and even prouder to pass the baton to Rep. Tenisha Yancey, from the 1st House District. She has been an incredible leader, and Secretary during the 100th Legislature, and I’m proud that she accepted the nomination from Vice Chair Rep. Tyrone Carter, and was unanimously elected to serve as the 101st Legislature’s Detroit Caucus Chair,” said Gay-Dagnogo. “Detroit is blessed to have her at the helm, supported by Rep. Carter, Rep. Elect Stephanie Young as Treasurer, and Rep. Elect Helena Scott as Secretary. I am confident that Detroit legislators will optimize opportunities for our city throughout their tenure.”