Former Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who represented the Detroit area from 1965 until 2017, died Sunday at the age of 90. Conyers was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and he served in Congress longer than any other African American member. Conyers resigned in late 2017 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.
Conyers worked as an aide for Michigan Rep. John Dingell and as a general counsel for three Detroit labor groups before he ran for office himself in 1964. Conyers won the primary for the open seat 27.0-26.9―a margin of just 108 votes, against Richard Austin, who would later become Michigan’s secretary of state. That fall, Conyers won the general election in a landslide with 84% of the vote.
Conyers’ very first congressional employee was civil rights legend Rosa Parks, who would work for him until 1988. However, while Conyers’ arrival made him the first black member of the House Judiciary Committee, he initially didn’t have much influence there at all. He would later recount to Politico’s John Bresnahan that Chairman Emanuel Celler told him, “Just sit there and be quiet. When we need you, we'll tell you.” The freshman had so little to do that he even hosted a jazz station in D.C. for several years just to occupy his time. Conyers, though, eventually became that very committee’s chairman.
Conyers never had to worry about a Republican opponent in his safely Democratic seat, but he did go through some tough battles against fellow Detroit Democrats. Conyers ran for mayor in 1989 against incumbent Coleman Young, a former ally whose 1973 victory made him the city’s first black leader. That campaign went badly, though: Young won the nonpartisan primary with 51% of the vote while another candidate led Conyers 24-18 for the second general election spot.
Young won that race but decided to retire in 1993, and Conyers ran for mayor again. This campaign went even worse for the congressman, though. The New York Times reported at the time that Conyers “sometimes does not show up for scheduled speeches and at one point arrived for a televised debate wearing a three-piece suit but without socks.” Conyers response to all this was to reply, “I don't have to explain myself to the voters; they know who I am.” However, he ended up winning a distant fourth place with a mere 3% of the vote.
Conyers’ second poor mayoral showing may have hurt him at home, since he took just over half of the vote in his 1994 congressional primary. However, because his two opponents split the vote, the incumbent won 51-28. That was the last time, though, that Conyers would face a competitive primary for almost two decades.
However, he had more trouble after the 2012 round of redistricting. That year Conyers took just 55% of the vote in the primary, but the field was so crowded that the runner-up won just 18%. Two years later, though, Conyers was initially thrown off the ballot for not having enough valid signatures. The congressman’s team had allowed people to gather signatures who weren't registered voters or were registered to vote at the wrong address, which was against Michigan law. However, a judge struck down that legislation, and Conyers won without any further trouble.
In early 2015, Conyers became the House’ longest-serving sitting member, known as the dean of the House, after his old boss Dingell retired. However, Conyers’ long career began to unravel in late 2017 when leaked documents revealed that he had been accused of sexually harassing women on his staff and settled a complaint for $27,000.
Following this news, several women publicly came forward to lodge similar accusations, and Conyers' position became increasingly untenable. After another former Conyers staffer publicly accused him of unwanted touching and appearing naked in front of her, the longtime congressman announced that he would resign. Conyers endorsed his son, John Conyers III, on his way out, but the younger Conyers failed to turn in enough signatures to make the ballot.
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