Why Raylon Leaks May Wants To Be Mayor

By Lisa Howard

A Place For Everyone

DURING THE TEN-PLUS YEARS SHE’S CUMULATIVELY SPENT SERVING ON CITY COUNCIL AND THE FERNDALE SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION, RAYLON LEAKS-MAY HAS STUCK TO THE SAME PRINCIPLES: PROMOTING EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY.

“I want people to know that they’re welcome here, that they belong here,” she says. Having also served on the Ferndale Accessibility & Inclusion Advisory Commission (FAIAC) and being an aunt and mother of children with learning challenges, she’s well aware that people need to know that City officials are vested in their safety and making sure that Ferndale is a safe and comfortable place for them to live.

Raylon is also a fervent supporter of seniors — she ran on a multigenerational community platform the first time she ran for Council, and she’s running on same platform again. Residents of all ages should have ample opportunities to get involved with the community across their life span, she says. She chalks up her ideals in part to the experiences she’s had at the Area Agency on Aging, where she’s worked for five years. “I’m even more passionate about this now after seeing how much people need help,” she says, “especially during the pandemic.”

Her multigenerational mindset includes the schools, too, where she loves to go into classrooms and talk to students about what’s happening in the city. “I really want young leaders to know that they can be involved in their communities,” she says. “They don’t have to hold their tongue — they can speak about what they believe in. Every single cause started with someone speaking up and saying, ‘This isn’t right! Let’s do something about it.’

And, of course, one day today’s young people will eventually take over Council positions and run the city. I want them to know that they have our support.” She also says this as a proud parent — her own five children have all attended Ferndale schools.

BEING THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN EVER ELECTED TO CITY COUNCIL means that Raylon has already been an inspiration to many. (She didn’t know her groundbreaking status until election night when she found out she’d won.) If she’s elected as mayor, she would also be the first black person to serve as the mayor of Ferndale. That isn’t her reason for running, but she’s proud to already have been a historical first for the city. “I’ve served this community for over a decade and have been able to help with equity issues, policy making and policy support,” she says when asked why she’s running. “I learned from three fabulous mayors and watched how they led over the years. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that I’m ready to run now because of my experience and what I bring to the table.”

Since first becoming involved in city government, Raylon has been involved in bringing many new happenings to Ferndale, including inaugurating a Juneteenth celebration and raising the Pan-African flag during Black History Month. She’s thrilled about the various new housing initiatives in Ferndale, too, like the Raymond E. Shepherd House on E. Nine Mile and The Edge Ferndale on Woodward Heights. The former will be a multi-family affordable housing development catering to LGBTQ+ seniors; the latter will be a yet-to-be-determined blend of housing, retail businesses and space for arts and entertainment.

“Ferndale is a vibrant community, and I want to see it grow and thrive,” says Raylon. “I call what’s here and what’s coming ‘Ferndale normal.’ Our initiatives and businesses are different, but it makes sense that they’re here. Because different is what we do.”