Early Life and Education

Coleman Alexander Young II (born 1982) is the only son of Detroit’s first African-American Mayor, Coleman A. Young, and Annivory Calvert, a former Detroit public works official. He was born Joel Loving in Royal Oak, Michigan, and spent much of his childhood in California. In 1989 a paternity lawsuit confirmed that Mayor Young was his biological father. Young’s early years were shaped by this legacy – he legally adopted his father’s name as a youth, with his father later urging him to “carry on the name and the legacy”. He returned to Detroit in 2005 to finish his education and begin public service.

Young attended P.A.L. Charter Academy High School in San Bernardino, California. After high school he studied at Azusa Pacific University (a private Christian college in California) before transferring to Wayne State University in Detroit, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. He remains actively enrolled at Wayne State and, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber, is completing his degree as of the early 2020s. In addition to his college studies, Young earned three executive education certificates from Harvard University in urban studies, public policy, and constitutional law, signaling his focus on policy and urban issues.

Between elected positions, Young remained engaged in Detroit community life. He founded the Coleman A. Young II Educational Foundation, serving as its CEO, which provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) training and resources (including free laptops and scholarship opportunities) to high school students in Detroit. Young is also a member of St. Paul Church of God in Christ in Detroit, reflecting his long-standing community ties. These experiences – from his family heritage to his education and civic work – frame Young’s “all family” philosophy and commitment to Detroit’s future.

Legislative Career and Accomplishments

Young’s political career spans 12 years in the Michigan Legislature before joining Detroit City Council. He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives (4th District, covering Detroit’s lower east side) in 2006 and served from 2007–2010. In the House he rose to Vice-Chair of the Insurance Committee and also served on the Transportation, Intergovernmental, and Labor committees. In 2010 he won election to the Michigan Senate (1st District, including parts of Detroit and several Downriver suburbs) and served two terms from 2011–2018. There he held leadership roles as Assistant Minority Floor Leader and Assistant Minority Caucus Chair. He also served on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and chaired or vice-chaired numerous subcommittees (Licensing & Regulatory Affairs; Local Government & Elections; Education; Energy & Technology; Transportation; Outdoor Recreation & Tourism).

During his tenure Young sponsored and helped enact significant legislation. In total he passed 13 laws in the Republican-led legislature that benefitted his constituents and working families. Notable examples include:

• Paid maternity leave protections (PA 190, 2009): He co-sponsored the Tisha Prater Act (HB 4327, 2009), guaranteeing anti-discrimination protections and job security for pregnant women in both public and private sectors. This landmark law is often cited as a key achievement of his state legislative service.
• Economic development and jobs: Young co-authored the 2008 film & digital media tax incentive (PA 78, 2008), credited with creating over 10,000 Michigan jobs in the movie and entertainment industry. He also supported a $800 million state appropriations package for his district, including funds for workforce and economic programs.
• Property tax relief: He backed laws to reduce property taxes and help homeowners stay in their homes (e.g. PA 126, 2008; PA 17, 2014). These measures have been noted for helping Detroiters and suburban families cope with rising taxes.

Current Platform Priorities

As a City Council candidate and now Council Member At-Large, Young emphasizes a “family-centered” approach to Detroit’s challenges. He frames Detroit itself as one big family, and stresses that city policy must reflect unity, equity and shared opportunity. His formal platform materials and interviews cite the following core priorities:

• Economic Opportunity and Jobs: Young pledges to create good-paying jobs for Detroiters. He advocates for small business development (especially minority-owned enterprises), workforce training, and modern incentives to attract industries. For example, he highlights how his Senate work created 10,000 jobs via movie-industry tax credits. On Council, he supports initiatives like local hiring requirements in city contracts, startup support for Detroit entrepreneurs, and continued pursuit of creative economy and STEM opportunities (building on his educational foundation’s mission).
• Public Safety and Community Well-being: A safe city is a top concern. Young supports a comprehensive public safety strategy that combines fully trained and accountable police with community-driven interventions. He has proposed pilot “police peace” programs to place social workers or counselors alongside officers, aiming to reduce conflict and rebuild trust. He also backs violence prevention initiatives, mental health resources, and neighborhood clean-up programs. In speech and campaign writing, he underscores that Detroiters should feel secure in their homes and on their streets, while also encouraging residents to “Keep our families safe” through vaccination and mutual care.
• Medical and recreational marijuana: Young helped enact Michigan’s 2016 Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (PA 547, 2016) and led efforts to change sentencing guidelines for low-level possession. He even introduced a 2016 Senate resolution and bill (SJR O, SB 813) to legalize and tax cannabis similar to alcohol, arguing that legalization would curb racial disparities in incarceration.
• Public health and energy: His bills modernized public health code language (e.g. updating “venereal disease” to “sexually transmitted infection” for clarity, PA 70, 2016) and supported energy cost recovery programs that benefited small businesses. He also championed an expansion of Michigan’s Heat and Eat energy assistance program, bringing an additional $300 million federal food and heating assistance to low-income families in his district.
• Community tributes: Young sponsored resolutions to honor public servants, such as renaming a stretch of M-10 freeway the “Sergeant Collin Rose Memorial Highway” for a slain Wayne State University officer, and renaming Detroit’s I-375 “102nd United States Colored Troops Memorial Highway” to honor the city’s first Black Civil War regiment.

Through these initiatives, Young established a record of bipartisan accomplishments. As a Michigan Senate Democrat in a Republican majority, he took pride in passing civil-rights and social welfare laws.

The Detroit City Council biography highlights that he “brought over $800 million back to his district” during his legislative career. It also credits him with personally resolving over 12,000 constituent complaints (landlord-tenant disputes, foreclosure aid, utility bills, etc.) while in the Legislature, underscoring his emphasis on constituent service.

Beyond sponsored laws, Young’s leadership on committees allowed him to influence budgets and policies. He served as Vice-Chair on multiple Senate Appropriations subcommittees (Local Government, Licensing & Regulatory Affairs) and on the General Government, Judiciary, and Transportation appropriations panels. In the House he was Vice-Chair of the Insurance and Transportation committees. This broad committee experience gave him expertise in budgeting and policy across health, energy, roads, and local government – experience he now brings to the City Council.

Throughout this period he also remained visible in civic life, founding and running a weekly Detroit-area radio/TV call-in show (“The Young Effect”) to discuss urban issues, and helping to host educational reading programs for youth. His career thus blends legislative substance with community engagement, a combination he intends to leverage as a Detroit City Council Member At-Large (for which he was elected in 2021).

• Affordable Housing and Neighborhoods: Young advocates increasing Detroit’s affordable housing stock and helping homeowners. He supports expanding programs to repair and modernize existing homes (noting that many Detroit families were a step away from foreclosure), and reforms to make housing affordable without displacement. His legislative record includes state tax relief laws for property owners, and on the Council he proposes grants or loan programs for home rehabilitation. Young also emphasizes revitalizing neighborhoods through beautification, blight removal, and “15-minute neighborhoods” where residents can walk to essential services. This means investing in local parks, groceries, libraries and transit stops so that all Detroiters can live in safe, vibrant communities close to their work and schools.
• Mobility and Public Transit: Ensuring reliable, accessible transportation is another pillar. Young points to his experience on state transportation committees as a basis for advocating improvements to Detroit’s transit network. He supports fully funding and modernizing the city’s bus (DDOT) and light-rail systems to better connect neighborhoods and job centers. He also endorses pedestrian and biking infrastructure to make streets safer and more transit-friendly. In his platform language, he stresses “bringing services closer to people” – a concept tied to the 15-minute neighborhood vision that also implies shorter commutes and more transit options.

These platform points reflect Young’s theme that “we are all family” in Detroit – meaning policy should lift everyone equally. He has said Detroit’s basic needs are “togetherness, unity, safety, security” and that everyone “wants to succeed; we are all family”. Young emphasizes that his legislative background (e.g. resolving 12,000 constituents’ issues) gives him the experience to address these local priorities on the Council, and he frequently surveys neighborhoods personally (he notes knocking on tens of thousands of doors) to keep constituent voices front and center.

Vision for Detroit’s Future

Councilmember Young’s vision for Detroit is bold and inclusive. He speaks of a city reborn through equity, opportunity, and empowerment – one where economic growth is shared and no neighborhood is left behind. Drawing on his father’s legacy, he often says “always let the people find you working,” meaning elected leaders must be hands-on and collaborative. Young casts Detroit as an extended family, emphasizing that long-term recovery requires mutual support and trust across communities.

Key elements of his vision include:

• Inclusive Growth: Young envisions a Detroit economy that lifts up all residents. He calls for expanding workforce training and job pipelines so that Detroiters – especially young people and those in struggling neighborhoods – can access careers in technology, healthcare, manufacturing and other growing sectors. He also supports entrepreneurship programs and incubation spaces for local startups. Importantly, he champions equity in growth: for example, ensuring that city contracts and development funds are directed to minority-owned businesses and that new developments include affordable units. As he states, Detroit’s resurgence should not favor only outsiders or the already well-off, but should empower “working families” throughout the city.
• Community Empowerment and Unity: Under Young’s leadership vision, residents themselves become part of the solution. He has pledged to create more community-based advisory boards and participatory budgeting processes, giving neighborhoods a direct voice in how projects and funds are allocated. He emphasizes grass-roots involvement, recalling how Detroiters banded together during the pandemic. His campaign rhetoric frames every Detroit resident as part of the city’s “family,” insisting that policy must restore pride in Detroit by improving daily life in every area. Young also highlights youth empowerment (drawing on his STEM foundation work) – he dreams of local high schools that prepare students for Detroit’s future industries, and he wants to build on mentorship programs so that young people feel connected to civic leadership.
• Sustainable, Smart Infrastructure: Looking forward, Young supports investments in infrastructure that secure Detroit’s long-term future. This means modernizing aging water and sewer systems to prevent the kind of basement flooding that has impacted families, improving street lighting and green spaces, and expanding transit to reduce congestion and pollution. He is an advocate for the “15-minute neighborhood” model, where city planning ensures that residents can reach schools, jobs, shops and clinics within a short walk or transit ride. In this vision, Detroit becomes a network of well-serviced, walkable communities rather than a city of isolated zones. Young also emphasizes environmental justice – for example, planting trees and cleaning up vacant lots in underserved areas to improve public health and climate resilience.
• A Legacy of Service: Perhaps most of all, Young’s vision invokes the legacy of his father’s era (“we’re stewards of this city’s future”) while applying it to today’s challenges. He envisions Detroit as a national model of urban renaissance led by Black leadership and working-class values. By advocating policies like paid parental leave, economic equity measures, and civil rights protections (extending his state-level legislative record into city government), he seeks to enshrine fairness in the city’s growth. Young often quotes his own motto – that every Detroitan, from the mayor to the street corner volunteer, should be found diligently working for the common good – indicating that servant leadership and accountability will guide his approach.