Outspoken Flint Councilman Eric Mays dies at age 65

Third-term Flint Councilman Eric Mays, an outspoken city leader during the Flint water crisis who often clashed with fellow officials, died Saturday, according to the city. He was 65.

Mays, who was first elected in 2013, was "beloved for his bold and courageous service on behalf of Flint’s First Ward, and his strong presence will be deeply missed," the city posted on Facebook.

The flag at Flint City Hall will be lowered to half-staff in his honor starting Monday.

“This is a tremendous loss for our community and a shock to all friends and family,” said Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley in a statement. “As our community grieves during this difficult time, on behalf of Councilman Mays’ family, we ask that community members respect their privacy and allow them time and space to mourn. We continue to lift the family in prayer.”

U.S. Rep Dan Kildee said on Facebook that he graduated from Flint Northern High School with Mays in 1976 and had fond memories of him.

"Councilman Mays loved serving Flint on the City Council, and his constituents continuously re-elected him because of his bold and unwavering voice," Kildee said. "Our lifelong friendship always sustained through the politics of the day."

Fourth Ward Council Member Judy Priestly said the city and First Ward constituents will miss Mays.

“I never doubted that he cared about the city and his constituents," Priestly said. "… He was an advocate, he was there for his constituents and I know the First Ward will miss his leadership and his support.”

Mays could be confrontational at City Council meetings, Priestly said, and was adamant that his opinion about what business should be conducted was right. He was steadfast about his opinions, she said.

“I always said he could’ve been great but he got in his own way,” she said. “He was smart and he had a love for the city.”

Flint City Council President Ladel Lewis said Mays’ contributions to Flint will be remembered with gratitude and respect.

"Councilman Mays was not only a dedicated public servant but also a tireless champion for the people of Flint,” Lewis said in a statement. “His unwavering commitment to the betterment of our community has left an indelible mark, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Lento Law Group, which represented Mays in some of his legal battles, said they will continue to fight for Mays' constituents and for the city in Mays' name.

"Mays was a man devoted to public service. His unrelenting advocacy on behalf of his constituents gave them a voice in a government body that often seemed interested in silencing voices that did not agree with the majority," the law firm said in a statement. "We will continue to fight for those constituents and the City of Flint in Councilman Mays' name and memory, including against those individuals whose gracious statements concerning his passing stand in stark contrast to the actions they took against him while he was a public servant."

In the past, Mays had clashed with other members of the City Council and had a history of outbursts at council meetings.

He was removed in 2020 as vice president and Finance Committee chair after accusing President Monica Galloway of being rude and acting like Hitler before giving her the Nazi salute. He was removed from the meeting after that when the council stripped him of his roles.

In 2016, Flint residents told The Detroit News that Mays was one of the first elected officials to raise questions about the quality of the water in Flint and he often was the lone political voice talking about it. After one outburst at a council meeting, he was convicted of disorderly conduct.

“I get in council meetings, they want me to shut up,” he said during a water protest in 2015. “I get here, they want me to shut up. Everywhere I go, they want me to shut up.”

He began attending council meetings in 1981 as a political action representative for the Flint branch of the NAACP, he told The News. He was kicked out of several meetings for talking too long, he said, and was convicted in 2012 of disturbing the peace for refusing to be quiet at a public hearing.

He also was convicted of disorderly conduct when he was removed from a council meeting by police in July 2015.