In this
July 16, 2011 photo, John Conyers,
III poses with his father Rep. John
Conyers, D-Mich., in Detroit. John
Conyers' resignation from the U.S.
House amid sexual harassment
allegations unlocks the seat he's
held for more than a half-century.
The 88-year-old endorsed his son,
political neophyte John Conyers III.
(Ricardo Thomas /Detroit News via
AP)
In this
Nov. 7,
2017
photo,
Coleman
Young II
campaigns
while
running
for
mayor in
Detroit.
Rep.
John
Conyers',
D-Mich.,
resignation
from the
U.S.
House
amid
sexual
harassment
allegations
unlocks
the seat
he's
held for
more
than a
half-century.
Young
II, son
of
Detroit's
first
black
mayor,
is among
several
pondering
a run.
(Anthony
Lanzilote
/Detroit
News via
AP)
Conyers'
Exit
After
Decades
Could
Open
Political
Floodgates
John
Conyers'
resignation
from the
U.S.
House
amid
sexual
harassment
allegations
unlocks
the seat
he has
held for
more
than a
half-century.
By
JEFF
KAROUB
and
DAVID
EGGERT
Associated
Press
DETROIT
- John
Conyers'
resignation
from the
U.S.
House
amid
sexual
harassment
allegations
unlocks
the seat
he has
held for
more
than a
half-century
— and
sets off
a
free-for-all
race to
replace
him with
at least
three
potential
legacy
candidates,
including
two
relatives
of
Conyers
and a
son of a
prominent
former
mayor.
Conyers,
had
faced
growing
calls to
resign
from
Democratic
leaders
and
colleagues
as he
has been
accused
by one
woman
after
another,
vehemently
denies
he
groped
or
harassed
women
who
worked
for him.
As the
88-year-old
civil
rights
leader
walks
away, he
is also
seeking
to
preserve
his
legacy,
having
endorsed
his son,
political
neophyte
John
Conyers
III, to
succeed
him.
A
grand-nephew
of
Conyers,
Michigan
state
Sen. Ian
Conyers,
also
plans to
run.
Other
names in
the mix
of
possible
candidates
include
Coleman
Young
II, son
of
Detroit's
first
black
mayor,
Coleman
Young;
Wayne
County
Sheriff
Benny
Napoleon;
and
former
state
Reps.
Rashida
Tlaib
and
Shanelle
Jackson.
Given
that
Conyers'
heavily
Democratic
district
has
changed
over the
years to
incorporate
suburbs,
the race
also
could
draw
Westland
Mayor
William
Wild and
state
Sen.
David
Knezek,
who
represents
Dearborn
Heights,
part of
Detroit,
and
surrounding
communities.
Lansing-area
Democratic
political
consultant
Joe
DiSano
said
Conyers'
"retirement"
— as the
longtime
lawmaker
termed
it —
happened
so
abruptly,
it has
freed up
"20-30
years of
pent-up
ambition."
It also
could
bring an
end to
the
political
stability
in the
district
that
came
with
Conyers'
long
years of
service
and
influence
as the
ranking
member
of the
House
Judiciary
Committee.
"The bar
is set
high,"
DiSano
said.
"Whoever
wins is
going to
have to
deal
with
that."
The
seat
will sit
unfilled
until
special
primary
and
general
elections
are
held.
Republican
Gov.
Rick
Snyder
has yet
to
schedule
them.
The
special
elections
are
likely
to be
held in
conjunction
with
regular
election
dates in
May and
August,
or
August
and
November.
One
factor
is the
potential
$1
million
extra
cost for
a
special
election
in May
instead
of
August,
when
candidates
already
will be
running
in
primary
races.
Asked if
he sees
the
coming
election
as a
once-in-a-generation
or
once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity,
Young —
who said
he is
"definitely
looking
at a
run"—
said:
"Every
election's
a
once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
It's a
blessing
regardless.
This
opens up
the door
a lot
wider."
NBC
first
reported
Wednesday
that
John
Conyers
III was
arrested
in
February
on
suspicion
of
domestic
violence
against
a former
girlfriend
in Los
Angeles,
but
prosecutors
declined
to bring
charges.
Both
say in
documents
obtained
by The
Associated
Press
that
they
were
involved
in an
argument
that
turned
physical
but
differ
on the
details.
John
Conyers
III's
girlfriend
had a
small
cut to
her arm
from a
knife.
Prosecutors
said
they did
not have
independent
witnesses
and did
not
believe
they
could
prove
the
victim's
injuries
were not
accidental.
The
younger
Conyers,
a
partner
with a
Detroit-based,
minority-run
hedge
fund,
posted
on
Twitter
that he
has not
decided
whether
he wants
to run
for his
father's
old
seat.
The
elder
Conyers
was
first
elected
to the
House in
1964.
His
resignation
left
Republican
Rep. Don
Young of
Alaska
as the
longest-serving
current
House
member.
Around a
half
dozen
women
have
accused
Conyers
of
sexual
harassment.
The
latest
came
forward
Tuesday
— the
day
Conyers
resigned.
Lisa
Bloom,
an
attorney
representing
several
women
who have
accused
Conyers
of
sexual
misconduct,
posted
an
affidavit
from
Delores
Lyons on
Twitter.
Lyons
told
WXYZ-TV
that on
one
occasion
Conyers
put her
hand in
his lap
while
she was
driving.
She says
he
touched
her
inappropriately
two
other
times
while
she was
a
Conyers
volunteer
between
2010 and
2014.
Young
said it
is tough
for him
to
square
the
accusations
with
Conyers'
legacy.
Conyers
established
the Rev.
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.'s
birthday
as a
federal
holiday
in 1986
after a
15-year
struggle
and
employed
civil
rights
legend
Rosa
Parks at
his
Detroit
district
office
for more
than two
decades.
Still,
the
state
legislator
who
recently
lost a
challenge
to
become
Detroit
mayor
said his
"heart
breaks"
for the
women.
"You
talk
about
civil
liberties,
you talk
about
civil
rights
and you
talk
about
freedom
as a
black
person
and
equality,
you talk
about
John
Conyers.
Those
are
synonymous
with
John
Conyers,"
Young
said.
"That
being
said, it
doesn't
excuse
what
happened."
___
Associated
Press
writer
Corey
Williams
contributed
to this
story.
Karoub
is a
member
of AP's
Race and
Ethnicity
Team.