Two attorneys are headed to Wayne State University's governing board after the Associated Press declared Democrats Richard Mack and Shereef Akeel winners of the school's two open Board of Governors seats. The pair beat Republican candidates Christa Murphy and Andy Anuzis in a race that stayed close through the counting of statewide votes.
A Razor-Thin Statewide Margin
Statewide results were still unofficial as of Wednesday, with an estimated 94% of votes counted, according to mlive.com. That outlet reported Mack with 2,262,417 votes, or 26.3%, and Akeel with 2,209,893 votes, or 25.7%. The Detroit News, by contrast, described Michigan Secretary of State results as showing votes tightly grouped around 24% for each candidate.
In Wayne County itself, the margin between the two winning Democrats was almost nonexistent. With 757 of 770 precincts reporting, unofficial county results showed Akeel ahead of Mack by just 29 votes — 466,064 to 466,035, per the same mlive.com report.
Eight-Year Terms on a Board That Picks the President
Mack and Akeel will each serve eight-year terms on Wayne State's eight-member Board of Governors, mlive.com reported. The board handles the university's general governance and finances and elects the university president, according to an earlier mlive.com report on the race.
The two seats opened up because Anil Kumar and board chair Bryan Barnhill did not seek reelection, mlive.com reported, identifying him as Bryan Barnhill II; Bridge Michigan, in its own coverage of the statewide results, referred to him as Bryan Barnhill III. The Detroit News reported that Mack said he was grateful to be chosen to serve on the board and that he was excited about the new president and the opportunity to go higher. Mack also said he felt the Democratic wave signaled voters were rejecting hate, according to the same report. Akeel was not immediately available for comment, the Detroit News reported.
Who Are the Winners
Mack is a labor and civil rights attorney who earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Wayne State University, according to the Detroit News. He serves on the Detroit Charter Revision Commission, lectures for the Wayne State University Labor Studies Center, and is a director on the executive board of the Detroit branch NAACP, the outlet reported. He also serves as an executive board member of the 13th District Democratic Party Committee. Michigan Public separately described Mack as a union-side labor attorney and a member of the Detroit NAACP's Board of Directors.
Akeel is a civil rights attorney at his own law firm and a certified public accountant, Michigan Public reported. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Detroit College of Law, and he has received an American Civil Liberties Union Defender of Freedom Award, according to the Detroit News.
A Board Still Finding Its Footing After Turmoil
The vacancies Mack and Akeel are filling followed a turbulent stretch for Wayne State's leadership. Kimberly Andrews Espy resigned as university president more than a year before the election, the Detroit News reported, with some board members unhappy about her leadership. Board members were also troubled by her decision to place the medical school dean on leave without what they considered a sufficient explanation, per the same report. Richard Bierschbach served as the university's interim and then permanent president for more than a year afterward, the Detroit News reported.
The Detroit News also noted the university's standing beyond the boardroom: Wayne State ranks as Michigan's top university for social mobility, with graduates often becoming more well-off than the families they came from, and the school is distinctive for its racial and socioeconomic diversity and its location in central Detroit. Michigan Public reported that the university's six-year graduation rate climbed from 26% in 2011 to around 60% today.
Part of a Broader Democratic Sweep
The Wayne State results were not an isolated outcome. Bridge Michigan reported that Democrats swept the races for the Michigan State Board of Education and open seats on the state's three largest university boards. Despite the new additions, Bridge Michigan reported that Wayne State's board will continue to have five Democrats and three Republicans overall.
Under the board's own governance rules, as outlined by the Wayne State University Board of Governors, any vacancy that opens during an eight-year term is filled by gubernatorial appointment rather than a special election. The board's core responsibilities include electing the university president, exercising general supervision of the university, and controlling and directing expenditures from university funds.
