The first Latina ever elected to the Detroit City Council will not seek a third term in office.
Council Member Raquel Castaneda-Lopez fought for inclusion – having city signs and documents translated into Spanish and Arabic, regulating materials that could hurt both residents and the city’s riverfront and pushing to ensure companies made good on promises to give Detroit-ers priority when new jobs were created.
She says she never planned to be a professional politician.
“I really want to go back to my roots as a community organizer and a social worker and do more coalition building and co-governance with residents…using the experience and knowledge that I’ve gained as a council member over the past eight years,” said Castaneda-Lopez.
She also alleged that she and her staff had been victims of discrimination and a hostile workplace at Council. A City department later ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to take any further action regarding her complaints.