State Senator Martha G. Scott, a Democrat from Highland Park, was elected by Special Election in 2001 to the Michigan Senate for the 2nd District, which, after redistricting, includes portions of Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods, and the Grosse Pointes. She is currently in her first full term, which will expire in 2006.
Senator Scott began her public service career in 1972 as a Precinct Delegate. In 1977, she was appointed to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. In 1979, she served as Vice-Chair of the Wayne County Civil Service Commission. From 1984 to 1987, she was President of the Highland Park City Council. In 1988, she was elected the first woman Mayor of Highland Park, making her the first African American woman elected Mayor of a Michigan city.
In 1994, Senator Scott was elected State Representative of the 6th House District, representing Highland Park, Hamtramck and portions of Detroit. She was re-elected to her second and third House terms in November 1996 and 1998, respectively. During her productive tenure as State Representative, Senator Scott served on the House Education and Insurance committees and on Task Force committees for Corrections, Education, Higher Education, and Transportation.
She led the charge and fought for many issues that were beneficial to her district, such as restoration of the Davison Freeway (project repair and reconstruction); and for funding to be restored to Highland Park Community College. She is the author of House Bill 5175 of 1995 (Public Act 241), which required the Friend of the Court to initiate enforcement of an order requiring a parent to provide dependent health coverage if the parent failed to obtain or maintain that coverage. In addition, as State Representative, Senator Scott also sponsored House Bill 4620 of 2000 (Public Act 35), which provides for foreign state reciprocity for insurance adjusters doing business in Michigan.
As a Michigan Senator, Senator Scott authored Senate Bill 384 of 2005 (Public Act 48), which established the third Saturday of every June as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Michigan, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States, and which designated November 26 of every year as Sojourner Truth Day, in honor of the Underground Railroad and emancipation leader of the 1800s. She also authored Senate Bill 736 of 2001, which provides for domestic violence training for Friend of the Court employees, and Senate Bill 753 of 2003 (Public Act 431), which established the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Commission.
Senator Scott presently is the sponsor of bills that would reform Michigan’s insurance laws, and she remains dedicated to bringing affordable automobile and home insurance to the citizens of Michigan, particularly in our urban areas. To this end, she has established a website, www.insuranceredlining.com, that provides a source of information sharing on Michigan insurance rates, and contains information on proposed legislation, as well as a petition for Michigan residents to share their insurance story.
Senator Scott currently serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Her subcommittee assignments include: Vice Chairperson of the Department of Human Resources and Retirement subcommittees; and a member of the Commerce, Labor & Economic Development and K-12/School Aid/Education subcommittees.
Senator Scott is the Founder and President of the M.G. Scott Foundation. In conjunction with her Senate office, the Foundation hosts an annual health fair for the citizens of the 2nd Senate district, providing them with valuable, free information and testing. The Foundation also has provided scholarships to high school students to participate in the Youth in Government program, has assisted with a national cervical cancer awareness program, and is working toward the renovation and re-opening of the Highland Park Public Library.
Senator Scott is Past President of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Greater Detroit, and Past and Present Secretary of the National Foundation for Women Legislators. She is the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Insurance for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and Michigan State Director for Women in Government. Senator Scott is a member of the Citizens for Better Care Board of Directors; the Citizens for Better Government Executive Board; the Detroit Public Schools Transition Team; Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Beta Alpha Chapter; the Highland Park Early Childhood Task Force; Horizon Health System Osteopathic Founder’s Council; the Michigan Children’s Trust Fund Advisory Committee; the Michigan Policy Academy Team on Homeless Families and Children; the National Black Caucus of State Legislators; the National Council of Negro Women Legislators; the National Organization of Black Elected Legislators-Women; the National Order of Women Legislators; the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Executive Committee; Women in Government; the Youth in Government Board of Directors; and many other organizations. Senator Scott is also a 1998 Fellow at the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development.
Senator Scott is the recipient of Michigan NOW’s Legislator of the Year Award-Senate (2005); the Women’s Institute for Spiritual Enrichment, St. John Christian Methodist Episcopal Church’s Woman of Excellence Award (2005); Fight Crime: Invest in Kids’ Crime Fighters Award (2004); the Michigan Democratic Women’s Caucus Eleanor Roosevelt Award (2004): Michigan’s Children’s Do Something Wonderful for Children Award (2002); and the National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women’s Club-Detroit’s Sojourner Truth Award (2002). While she was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, constituents in Hamtramck presented her with an Outstanding Leadership Award for her continued work on Bilingual Education at Eastern Michigan University.
She is a South Carolina native and graduate of Highland Park Public Schools and Highland Park Junior College. In 1990, she received an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the Urban Bible Institute of Detroit, and an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the Tennessee School of Religion. Senator Scott retired in 1986 from Michigan Bell after 26 years of service. She has two children (son and daughter) and two granddaughters. She is an active member of the Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.
