I asked for several bio's of current members of the Detroit City Council. Two were returned. Many times, as citizens, we only see what the media feeds us. I wanted to share with you some inside information so that you can make a better choice when you go to vote on Tuesday. It is up to you as a voter to get to know your elected officials, build relationships with them and hold them accountable, when need be. In order to change this city back into the jewel we desire, we MUST work together!
~Tiffany
Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley - TalabiAlberta Tinsley-Talabi epitomizes the true essence of reaching back and helping others. Her countless acts of kindness are demonstrated even when the cameras are not rolling. From going into her own refrigerator to feed the hungry and homeless to organizing a spontaneous back to school drive for neighborhood kids, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi has a heart for the people.
Elected to the Detroit City Council in 1993, Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talabi is committed to providing the necessary tools and programming to improve the quality of life for individuals and families. Her desire to improve public safety and clean up the city’s image has lead her to promote several initiatives that set the tone of her public service agenda.
Always focusing on building a better Detroit, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi has diligently campaigned to help ensure residents have a fair chance in life. Therefore she was key in founding the Coalition Against Billboard Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco (CABAAT), the first organization in the nation to identify and speak against the proliferation of alcohol and tobacco billboard advertising in African American neighborhoods. She also initiated the establishment of the Office of Targeted Business, a division of the Finance Department that monitors contract inclusion for small businesses in the city of Detroit.
In an effort to reduce the consumption of alcohol in Detroit by at least 50 percent, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi established the “City Council Task Force and Policy Panel on Substance Abuse Prevention” and developed the “Denounce the 40-Ounce” campaign. This initiative has evolved into the Partnership for a Drug-Free Detroit.
Most recently, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi opened the doors to the newly renovated Mack Alive Resource Center. As the founder of Mack Alive (founded in 1991) the Councilwoman’s vision has been and continues on to revitalize the community from an economic and psychological point of view. It is her belief that if you can get a person to change how they feel about themselves on the inside, then the change will eventually manifest and pour out into their individual lives, families and the community at large.
Alberta Tinsley-Talabi personifies the modern day version of a Proverb 31 Woman. For she cares for her family and her community.
Elected to the Detroit City Council in 1993, Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talabi is committed to providing the necessary tools and programming to improve the quality of life for individuals and families. Her desire to improve public safety and clean up the city’s image has lead her to promote several initiatives that set the tone of her public service agenda.
Always focusing on building a better Detroit, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi has diligently campaigned to help ensure residents have a fair chance in life. Therefore she was key in founding the Coalition Against Billboard Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco (CABAAT), the first organization in the nation to identify and speak against the proliferation of alcohol and tobacco billboard advertising in African American neighborhoods. She also initiated the establishment of the Office of Targeted Business, a division of the Finance Department that monitors contract inclusion for small businesses in the city of Detroit.
In an effort to reduce the consumption of alcohol in Detroit by at least 50 percent, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi established the “City Council Task Force and Policy Panel on Substance Abuse Prevention” and developed the “Denounce the 40-Ounce” campaign. This initiative has evolved into the Partnership for a Drug-Free Detroit.
Most recently, Councilwoman Tinsley-Talabi opened the doors to the newly renovated Mack Alive Resource Center. As the founder of Mack Alive (founded in 1991) the Councilwoman’s vision has been and continues on to revitalize the community from an economic and psychological point of view. It is her belief that if you can get a person to change how they feel about themselves on the inside, then the change will eventually manifest and pour out into their individual lives, families and the community at large.
Alberta Tinsley-Talabi personifies the modern day version of a Proverb 31 Woman. For she cares for her family and her community.
Councilwoman JoAnne Watson
Dr. JoAnn Watson is serving her first full term as a Member of the Detroit City Council, where she has sponsored more than 1,000 laws in 5 years, including: a ban on hand-held cell phones while driving, a ban on smoking in public places, and a law demanding that Detroit’s incinerator close and that the city institute citywide curbside recycling, among other progressive initiatives. She is the only woman to serve as the Executive Director of the Detroit NAACP. She was appointed as vice chair of the Detroit Human Rights Commission by Mayor Coleman A. Young and chaired Women’s Equality Day Celebrations in the City of Detroit for a decade. Formerly, she was a local and national YWCA executive. Prior to her election, Council Member Watson was Public Policy Liaison for Congressman John Conyers, and was a co-founder of the Coalition for Health Care Equity. She has hosted an award-winning radio/television talk show “Wake Up Detroit!” for nearly two decades, and has traveled throughout the Continent of Africa, the USSR, the Republic of Georgia, the Caribbean and nearly all 50 states.
Council Member Watson earned a Journalism Degree from the University of Michigan, where she was active with the peace and justice movement. Currently, she is a board member with: ACLU, NAACP, Vice-President of The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, Every Church a Peace Church and SEMCOG. Watson is the mother of four and has garnered more than 800 awards, including an Honorary Doctorate. She holds Lifetime Achievement Awards from the YWCA, the NAACP, the Detroit Human Rights Commission, the SCLC, and a National Award from the National Conference of Negro Women. She has authored hundreds of columns, articles, and books including: Should America Pay? The ABC’s of School Finance, Reparations Ray Jenkins’ 40-year quest for 40 acres and a Mule & an urban agenda, which she presented to then Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama earlier this year. Watson is currently helping thousands of citizens avoid foreclosures and water shut-offs & chairs the Anti-Foreclosure Committee of the 2008 Tri-County Summit. Council Member Watson has also played a key role in combating scrap metal thieves by sponsoring 4 tough laws & working closely w/ law enforcers & lately, she has unexpectedly become a ‘go-to’ person for citizens suffering from home invasions & slow police response.
Council Member Watson led the way to fund 4000 summer youth jobs in 2007 & 2008; she provided leadership to re-open the Dexter-Elmhurst Center & works with the Dr. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, to sustain the African World Festival as the “signature” Ethnic Festival on Detroit’s Riverfront. Council Member Watson is sponsoring two young Detroiters who are studying at the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba, which provides free tuition and lodging for African American Physicians-in training- who commit to return to Detroit and she has been “The” voice fighting to close the city’s Incinerator & she has sponsored laws and budget actions to launch citywide Recycling. Watson has sponsored legislation calling for Universal-Single Payer Health care & has sponsored a Resolution calling for a cabinet-level Peace Office to be established in the U.S.A. During the 1980’s she co-founded Peace Links in Detroit (with the Hon. Erma Henderson and the Hon. Maryann Mahaffey), and she visited Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi, Georgia in 1989 as a delegate with Women for a Meaningful Summit, traveling with the Hon. Millie Jeffrey and the Hon. Debbie Stabenow.
Council Member Watson earned a Journalism Degree from the University of Michigan, where she was active with the peace and justice movement. Currently, she is a board member with: ACLU, NAACP, Vice-President of The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, Every Church a Peace Church and SEMCOG. Watson is the mother of four and has garnered more than 800 awards, including an Honorary Doctorate. She holds Lifetime Achievement Awards from the YWCA, the NAACP, the Detroit Human Rights Commission, the SCLC, and a National Award from the National Conference of Negro Women. She has authored hundreds of columns, articles, and books including: Should America Pay? The ABC’s of School Finance, Reparations Ray Jenkins’ 40-year quest for 40 acres and a Mule & an urban agenda, which she presented to then Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama earlier this year. Watson is currently helping thousands of citizens avoid foreclosures and water shut-offs & chairs the Anti-Foreclosure Committee of the 2008 Tri-County Summit. Council Member Watson has also played a key role in combating scrap metal thieves by sponsoring 4 tough laws & working closely w/ law enforcers & lately, she has unexpectedly become a ‘go-to’ person for citizens suffering from home invasions & slow police response.
Council Member Watson led the way to fund 4000 summer youth jobs in 2007 & 2008; she provided leadership to re-open the Dexter-Elmhurst Center & works with the Dr. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, to sustain the African World Festival as the “signature” Ethnic Festival on Detroit’s Riverfront. Council Member Watson is sponsoring two young Detroiters who are studying at the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba, which provides free tuition and lodging for African American Physicians-in training- who commit to return to Detroit and she has been “The” voice fighting to close the city’s Incinerator & she has sponsored laws and budget actions to launch citywide Recycling. Watson has sponsored legislation calling for Universal-Single Payer Health care & has sponsored a Resolution calling for a cabinet-level Peace Office to be established in the U.S.A. During the 1980’s she co-founded Peace Links in Detroit (with the Hon. Erma Henderson and the Hon. Maryann Mahaffey), and she visited Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi, Georgia in 1989 as a delegate with Women for a Meaningful Summit, traveling with the Hon. Millie Jeffrey and the Hon. Debbie Stabenow.
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