Monica Conyers facts for kids

Monica Ann Conyers (born Esters, October 31, 1964) is an American politician from Detroit, Michigan. She was elected to the Detroit City Council in 2005. Her fellow council members chose her to be the president pro tempore of the council. This means she was the second-highest leader. Later, she faced legal issues related to her public role and served time in prison.

Early Life and Education

Monica Ann Esters was born in River Rouge, Michigan, on October 31, 1965. She grew up in west Detroit with her mother. She went to Henry Ford High School. After high school, she continued her education. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennett College. She studied Secondary Education and Political Science. Later, she completed a master's degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University. Conyers also earned a law degree from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law.

Political Career

Monica Conyers started her career as a teacher. She taught teenagers with special needs. She then moved into administration roles. She became a vice administrator for Detroit Public Schools. Conyers became more interested in politics and joined the Democratic Party.

In 2005, Conyers ran for a seat on the Detroit City Council. She won the election for a four-year term. At that time, all candidates ran "at-large." This means they had to get votes from people all over the city. The other council members then elected her to be the president pro tempore. This made her the second-in-command of the council. Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. was elected as the President of the City Council.

In 2008, Detroit's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, resigned. This happened on September 19, 2008. According to the city's rules, the council president, Kenneth Cockrel, Jr., became the new mayor. Because of this, Monica Conyers moved up from president pro tem to become the President of the City Council.

A special election for mayor was held on May 5, 2009. Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. ran for mayor but lost to Dave Bing. Monica Conyers looked into whether she could keep her position as Council President. She found out she could. However, she later learned that the city's legal team believed Cockrel had the right to return to his old job. So, she decided not to challenge this. She went back to being president pro tempore for the rest of her term.

Key Votes and Stances

Monica Conyers sometimes took different positions from her colleagues. Most members of the Michigan Democratic Party and the city council were Democrats. She spoke out against her party for running ads in a mayoral election in Flint, Michigan. During a difficult time for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Conyers was the only council member who voted against asking him to resign.

Legal Challenges

In 2009, Monica Conyers faced legal issues. These issues were related to a contract with the City of Detroit. She was found to have acted improperly regarding the contract. On June 26, 2009, she was charged with a crime related to this. She admitted her actions. On March 10, 2010, she was sentenced to 37 months in prison. She also received two years of supervised probation after her release.

She served her time at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia. She was released from prison on December 21, 2012, after 27 months. She then began her supervised probation. She spent some time in a special program in Detroit. On January 25, 2013, she was allowed to stay at home under supervision. A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said she earned credit for good behavior. She was officially released from federal supervision on May 16, 2013. To meet the work rules for her parole, Conyers worked part-time as a cashier and a ticket agent.

Personal Life

On June 4, 1990, Monica Esters married John Conyers. He was a well-known Congressman from Detroit. She was 25, and he was 61. They had two sons together: John James Conyers III and Carl Edward Conyers.

In 2015, reports said that Conyers had filed for divorce. However, in 2016, the divorce action was stopped. The couple remained married until John Conyers passed away in 2019.