Brenda Lawrence
| Brenda Lawrence | |
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 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 14th district |
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Assumed office January 3, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Gary Peters |
| Mayor of Southfield | |
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In office 2001–2015 |
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| Preceded by | Donald Fracassi |
| Succeeded by | Donald Fracassi (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 18, 1954 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | McArthur Lawrence |
| Education |
University of Detroit Central Michigan University (BA) |
| Website | Official House website |
Brenda Lulenar Lawrence (born October 18, 1954) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the Mayor of Southfield, Michigan from 2001 to 2015. The Democratic nominee for Oakland County Executive in 2008 and for Lieutenant Governor in 2010, she was elected U.S. Representative for Michigan's 14th congressional district after winning the seat in the 2014 elections.
Lawrence grew up in Detroit's northeast side, on Lumpkin Street. She was raised by her grandparents after her mother died when she was three years old. She graduated from Detroit's Pershing High School, and earned her bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University.
In the early 1990s, as an active member of the Parent-Teacher Association at her children's school, she sought and earned a seat on the Southfield Public Schools Board of Education, serving as president, vice president, and secretary.
In 1997, she was elected to serve on Southfield's City Council and in 1999 she was elected council president.
In 2001, she defeated longtime Southfield Mayor Donald Fracassi, becoming the city's first African-American and first female Mayor. She was re-elected in 2005 without opposition. As Mayor, she was invited by the U.S. House Oversight Committee in 2008 to represent United States mayors in testimony about the mortgage crisis and its effect on American communities. She returned to Washington later that year to lobby Congress for a bridge loan for the American auto industry.
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Wikipedia