Eric Mays

Eric Bradford Mays (September 16, 1958 – February 24, 2024) was an American auto worker, union organizer, and politician. Mays served as a member of the Flint City Council from November 2013 until his death in 2024, representing northwest Flint as the councilor from the city's first ward. He was one of the first elected officials to recognize the Flint water crisis, calling for investigations into the toxic water, despite opposition from other elected officials and government employees. Mays was also known to be controversial, due to several incidents where he was suspended and escorted out of city council meetings.

Early life and education Mays was born to Rosie B. Mays and the Reverend Louis H. Mays, pastor of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of Flint. He was one of nine children.

Mays graduated from Flint Northern High School in 1976, and in 1981 received a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in Political Science and Pre-Law.

Career Mays worked at General Motors, serving in several positions for local unions under the United Auto Workers Local 598, Regional Office, and Local 699

In 1981, Mays began attending city council meetings as a political action representative for the NAACP.

Mays was convicted of felony assault in 1987 for brandishing a .357 magnum revolver at a man who he claimed had previously broken into his home, then later threatened his life. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation. He initially hoped to go to law school, but the charge of felonious assault prevented him. In 1984, Mays challenged 2nd District Commissioner Sylvester Broome in the Democratic primary. Mays ran against in the 1st District in 1986, as a Democrat. Mays ran in a special election in August 2008 in the 1st Ward, losing to Delrico Loyd by 43 votes. Mays ran in the primary for the 2009 Flint mayoral special election. That year, Mays also ran as a write-in in the 1st Ward city council election.

On July 2, 2012, Mays was taking part in a public hearing on proposed tax abatements for downtown Flint buildings. He was asked to return to his seat by an assistant city attorney for going over his allotted three minutes to speak. Mays refused, claiming he should be given more time due to a prior interruption while criticizing the time limit instituted by emergency manager (EM) Michael Brown. He was granted extra time. When this extra time was passed he continued to speak. He was again asked to return to his seat but continued to speak. A police officer approached him, asking him to sit down. Mays refused, was handcuffed, and then led out of the building. He was issued a ticket for disrupting a meeting of a public body, a misdemeanor, and released. winning 709–702 against his opponent, Anita Brown.

2013 arrest On November 30, 2013, Mays was arrested on Interstate 475 for driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, refusal to be fingerprinted, no proof of insurance According to police and Gildner, he drove on the wrong side of the road and that his political opponents were trying to send him to jail to stop him speaking out about the Flint water crisis. When Mays put forward a demurrer, Earley tried to take away Mays' powers by issuing an executive order on December 13, 2013, that prohibited him from speaking to city staff and that he could only speak with Earley by email and that if any residents from the First Ward wanted anything from the city, they would have to contact the then City Clerk Inez Brown. Residents began to complain about the color, taste and smell of the water. By September of that year, Flint had issued several advisories to boil water. Already upset about the price of the water, Mays began questioning city staff about its quality. He was falsely told that the issues were due to the age of the water systems, to which he wondered why similar problems weren't reported when the DWSD supplied the water. That month, Mays made a Facebook post stating that the city council should host investigative hearings. Both city and state officials falsely claimed the water was safe and that a hearing was not necessary. The only no vote was Councilman Bryant Nolden, who wished for the water to be supplied from the Flint River. Mays stated he didn't understand why the city was able to spend $22,000 to prosecute him

He became increasingly irate despite attempts to bring order, leading to Councilwoman Monica Galloway reading him the city's disorderly conduct ordinance, stating he could be arrested if he failed to come to order. After continued disruption, Galloway requested that police remove Mays. Mays was initially removed from the meeting without an arrest being made, however officials later sought a charge of disorderly conduct after reviewing footage of the incident. On July 13 an arrest warrant was issued for Mays. however he fell 48 signatures short of the 900 valid signatures required after the invalidation of 176 signatures for various reasons.

Mays lost in the primaries, with Karen Weaver later beating the incumbent Dayne Walling in the elections to become the first female Mayor of Flint.

Laptop pawning On May 23, 2017, Mays admitted to pawning a laptop issued to him by the city to "Music Man Pawnshop" for $100. Kincaid filed a criminal complaint against Mays on May 25 that year due to the "misuse of taxpayer-funded equipment." On May 23, 2017, Mays stated "I don't think it's criminal, I think it just shows I'm poor,"

The sentencing was delayed until after the November 7 city council election, in which Mays was again running against Anita Brown.

2019–2021 In January 2019, Mays was removed as finance chair.

On January 21, 2020, Mays and City Council President Monica Galloway had been arguing at various points throughout a city council meeting. Approximately three and a half hours through the meeting, Galloway attempted to end a portion of the meeting when Mays talked over her, asking "President Galloway, point of information: Did you have to be rude to me?" She replied that she wasn't trying to, after which Mays said "Well then you shouldn't have, I was wrapping it up. You ain’t got to be like Hitler. You sound like it from where I sat, like Hitler, what you want me to do." He then gave a Nazi salute.

On January 27, Councilman Maurice Davis motioned to have Mays removed from his leadership roles as Vice President of the city council and finance chair. Shortly after Mays was removed by police due to surpassing his warnings for being out of order - resulting in him yelling in protest while being escorted out - the vote was called and returned a unanimous verdict to remove him of his roles at 6–0. On September 27, 2021, Mays was removed from a virtual meeting with fellow council members by the then-President Kate Fields without a chance for appeal, which resulted in Fields' censure and silencing the following day.

On November 25, 2021, Mays became President of the Flint City Council after receiving five votes including himself and four other council members. Mays said of this in the proceeding meeting "I look forward to getting everybody ready for the positions that they hold. And I'm telling you, I’ve been on this council for at least eight years. I ain’t tripping on a position. Just to have it and give to y’all has been a blessing."

2022 arrest and mayoral bid In March 2022, Mays was censured for 30 days due to a "lack of decorum during a meeting...berating City Clerk Inez Brown, City Administrator Clyde Edwards, and other members of the council." Mays filed a lawsuit to block the suspension which led to a temporary injunction, but the judge in the case dissolved the injunction, leaving Mays under suspension.

On April 25, 2022, during a council meeting, Mays was warned for using profanity. He requested to leave the meeting, saying "May I ask to be excused so you don't get the pleasure of throwing me out? May I be excused?" This was granted by the chair of the meeting, however after approximately 8–12 minutes Mays returned and was asked to leave the meeting. This is due to council rule 27.1 which states:

Mays appealed the ruling which, after deliberation, returned a 7–1 vote for Mays to leave, with Mays as the sole no vote. He refused to leave, after which he was arrested and removed by police, with the arresting officer testifying during the March 2023 trial that Mays stated to him that he would not leave unless he was handcuffed and arrested. Following his arrest and removal, a vote took place to remove him as President of the City Council, which returned with a unanimous 6–0 to remove him. Mays filed for appeal in the case on May 12.

Due to the guilty verdict, a recall proposal was filed by a resident of the first ward on June 21, 2023.

On August 1, Mays' attorneys sued the city council, asking that Judge B. Chris Christenson prevent the council from enforcing the suspension and to find the council in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA). The lawsuit claimed that the council were in violation of the OMA by not allowing Mays to "address a meeting of a public in his official capacity".

On December 20, 2023, Mays was escorted from a council meeting by three police officers after making "constant frivolous motions" and using "racist rhetoric.” He was suspended for 90 days after his removal. Mays denied the allegations and his attorneys filed for a temporary restraining order regarding the suspension in federal court. The federal judge turned down his request, leaving the suspension in place. Following his death, the City of Flint released a statement that praised Mays' "bold and courageous service" and "beloved among his constituents in the First Ward." The flag above the city hall was lowered to half-mast beginning February 26. Then-Mayor Sheldon Neeley called his death "a tremendous loss for our community and a shock to all friends and family".

Kevin Mays, Eric Mays' nephew, among a few mourners near Eric's home, said "We appreciate the love from the city. We know what the city meant to him, so you can only imagine what he meant to us. Everything he stood for leaves a legacy for our family, leaves great steps for us to follow in. However you felt about him, what he fought for was the people and how he felt about this community. He stood on that. He stood behind it. And we can't do anything but continue that fight." Due to this, the city suggested that a minute's silence take place on that day from noon. The suit was dismissed the same day.

Electoral history