Flint City Council selects Candice Mushatt as new 7th ward councilperson

Flint, MI — The Flint City Council voted 5-2 during a Special Meeting on July 26, 2023 to select Candice Mushatt as the new councilperson for the 7th ward.

Flint City Clerk Davina Donahue said Mushatt has to fill out paperwork, get sworn in and then she can begin her duties as the 7th ward councilwoman. Donahue said this process will occur before a special city council meeting set for Monday, July 31, 2023, which will allow Mushatt to start serving that day.

Mushatt, a Flint resident, currently works as the director of the Flint Community Water+ Lab. She has also previously worked for Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley when he served as 34th District State Representative and as a public information officer for the City of Flint under former mayor Dr. Karen Weaver.

During her interview, she spoke on racial relations, economic development, and what she would bring to Flint City Council, saying economic development is the greatest need in the 7th ward.

“While we have one side of the ward that might be fine economically, the other side is being impacted in a negative way,” Mushatt said. “When you have that negative impact, that then leads to certain situations like blight.”

The council interviewed three other candidates: Mercedes Kinnee, Doug Matthews, and Shannon A. Searcy. A fifth candidate, Ira Gilbert, rescinded his application about an hour into the meeting before the interviews began.

Flint City Council Vice President Ladel Lewis and Councilmembers Murphy, Judy Priestley, Dennis Pfeiffer, and Eva Worthing voted for Mushatt. Winfrey-Carter voted for Searcy, Councilwoman Tonya Burns voted for Kinnee, and Councilman Eric Mays, who was asked to leave the meeting before the interviews, was not present for the vote.