KALAMAZOO, MI -- Stephanie Moore strove to embody the needs of urban core neighborhoods while in a seat of power in Kalamazoo County government.

Moore’s one-year term as the first African-American chair of the Board of Commissioners ends in January. The lifelong Northside neighborhood resident celebrates general success in bringing equity closer to the forefront of the county’s decision-making process but considers herself ostracized from a Democratic Party that holds more power in the new year.

Democrats gained tighter control over the agenda after winning two more seats in the November election. They hold an 8-3 majority over Republicans who helped elect Moore, a Democrat, to chair.

It’s yet to be seen if the board can overcome political and personality clashes, often with Moore at the center, that consumed several meetings in 2018.

During an interview with MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette, Moore associated conflicts during the last year with her decade-long struggle to secure a voice for vulnerable communities in Kalamazoo, specifically the black community.

Representation matters, Moore said. It may be a familiar talking point among progressives in Kalamazoo now, but despite gains experienced during her political career, Moore said the county still has a long way to go.

“It’s bigger than me, it’s about the neighborhood,” Moore said. “It’s not just the first African-American (chair), but the first time the core neighborhood had a seat at the table to help guide the agenda.

"When you look at historically in Kalamazoo County the folks that have been left behind and the areas that have been hard to serve, for us to have significance in county leadership was absolutely amazing. I pray that it happens again.”

The chair is responsible for preparing the agenda and running business meetings. They also have the coveted power of appointing and removing members of committees.

Moore, the self-styled "People’s Commish,” will start a third term in the new year after cruising to re-election in November by the highest margin of victory since being elected in 2014.

Reflecting on the last year, Moore harbors a few regrets but, overall, said she is satisfied with her time as chair. Though she would do some things differently, Moore said she benefited from personal growth that would not have been otherwise possible.

“I was pushed in a lot of ways that helped me to work on my temperament, my passion and love for people,” Moore said. “I also am super excited about some of the things that happened.”

Taking a seat at the table

A teen mother while in high school, Moore knows the value of access to public services. She also credits several mentors, including Northside Association for Community Development Executive Director Mattie Jordan-Woods and former Commissioner Eva Ozier, for supporting her in her younger years.

Moore worked as community organizer focused on quality-of-life issues on Kalamazoo’s north side. She remains a consultant for Mothers of Hope, a nonprofit founded by her mother, Gwen Lanier.

It wasn’t until 2006, when Moore was 34, that she considered seeking public office. That year, her 17-year-old nephew was pulled over by police in Kalamazoo for playing his car stereo too loudly. He was arrested and had his vehicle searched.

A study done years later found black motorists were more than twice as likely as whites to be pulled over in the city of Kalamazoo and more likely than whites to be asked to exit their vehicles and to be searched, handcuffed and arrested.

Moore’s nephew was acquitted of violating a noise ordinance. He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city while his aunt joined organizers who, ultimately, sent her sent to City Hall.

“We knew we wanted two things: We wanted to make sure this never happened to another young person and we also wanted to change policy,” Moore said. “As we began being active and organizing we realized we were never going to get what we wanted unless we had a seat at the table.”

Moore was elected to Kalamazoo’s 47th City Commission in 2007. It was the same year Bobby Hopewell, an African-American man, began his first term as mayor. The city later settled the lawsuit with Moore’s nephew for $110,000.

Moore served on the Kalamazoo City Commission from 2007-2014.

“I can tell you, my first day at City Hall I immediately realized why we have been left out of the conversation for so long … because there was no one there advocating for us," Moore said. “It was a struggle. I was always the only African-American female. Most times I was the youngest person in the room.”

Having first-hand knowledge of how government decisions impact communities is vital, Moore said.

That motivation is a driving factor in her push to open Kalamazoo County government to more Northside residents.

Her main goal is to address the disparity between black and white infant deaths in Kalamazoo County.

More babies died before reaching their first birthday in Kalamazoo County in 2017 than all but one other Michigan county. African-American infants are three time more likely to die than white babies, according to state data.

In 2016, county commissioners passed a resolution to reduce the infant mortality rate within four years. Moore and other commissioners said it should go further, advocating for cultural awareness training to combat systemic problems preventing African-American mothers from accessing education and quality care.

At the time, Moore pushed to make equity a strategic priority of the county. A year later, an equity task force was created to add more diversity to the organizational culture of Kalamazoo County administrators.

Moore said a Minnesota consultant was retained to provide recommendations in 2019.

“If you look at our current administration, it’s not reflective of the community as a whole,” Moore said. “I think that’s really important. It’s not always about race or gender. Being multi-culturally competent when talking about dealing with all of these various issues from economic development to housing to building our budget to addressing things through law enforcement -- you gotta have people at the table who truly understand and have a pulse on the community.”

Moore said she is proud to have brought more people into the fold.

The chair created a weekly show, “Keeping It Real with Commissioner Moore," that airs on Amazon Fire Stick and Roku streaming television services. She also started a biweekly video address explaining the highlights of upcoming board meetings.

Noticeably more people from her district — who, Moore said, can generally feel unwelcome in the board chambers — attended meetings more often; sometimes to defend or praise Moore.

“We have never seen people of color come to local government, especially at the county, the way that they have in the last two years,” Moore said.

Moore is proud that the board passed a contract with Kalamazoo County Defender Inc. to create a nonprofit public defender’s office by May 2019. An independent indigent criminal defense office is expected to provide more equitable representation for county residents who can’t afford legal counsel.

The chair said Kalamazoo County had a good handle on responding to a water crisis that left 3,100 homes without water in Parchment last summer. Moore said the county did the right thing by notifying residents hours after finding toxic compounds contaminated Parchment’s municipal water system.

Moore hopes a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers will bring “healing and relief” to the community.

Along party lines, the board voted to join a class-action lawsuit seeking damages for opioid-related deaths and law enforcement costs. The board will consider a contract with Southfield-based firm Sommer Schwartz P.C. to sue pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors.

Moore said many of these accomplishments faded into the background while personal vendettas consumed the board in public.

The chair was the subject of several accusations of unethical behavior and questions of temperament from her colleagues and residents. Moore said she faced a different set of standards and expectations than previous board chairs.

At times, this created heated exchanges between Moore and other Democratic commissioners. Colleagues were critical of public comments deemed unprofessional, scrutinized her interstate travel to conferences and bemoaned a list of vacant committee seats.

A shouting match between Moore and fellow Democrat Michael Seals over board appointments prompted calls for civility among commissioners. Moore helped campaign against Seals, backing a primary challenger who she felt was more committed to tackling issues of inequity, and the two butted heads several times during meetings.

Schism with Democrats

The board chair is selected in January by a vote of the commissioners. The Democratic caucus agreed to make Commissioner Julie Rogers chair and Commissioner Tracy Hall vice chair in 2019.

Moore became chair in January 2018 without any votes from her party.

Despite having the majority, Democrats could not agree on a nominee in 2017. Frustrated, Moore cut a deal with Republicans to support Dale Shugars for chair, in return for their support for her the following year.

It was an unorthodox rise to the top, and other Democrats reacted with a strongly-worded statement condemning “insiders who make backroom deals to benefit themselves” to the detriment of Kalamazoo’s “most vulnerable” residents.

The relationship remains strained.

“I am definitely a progressive with Democratic principles that I will never sway from,” Moore said. “I do not see myself as one of them. I have a hard time giving to a party or any organization that cannot embrace me or respect my community or my culture. "

After Moore became chair, Kalamazoo County Democratic Party leader Jake Andrews said progressives should do a better job of raising up black leaders. In December, the KDP committed to addressing “issues of systemic racism” within the party in the new year.

Moore isn’t holding her breath. She said Democrats take black votes are for granted.

Ozier, Kalamazoo County’s longest-serving commissioner, also became the board’s first African-American vice chair by working with Republicans. Moore’s mentor was overlooked for the chairperson’s seat despite a 22-year career in office.

Democrat Mike Seals is the longest-serving commissioner currently on the board. Moore said he was also overlooked for the board’s leadership.

What’s next?

Moore said the county punted on addressing issues raised by homeless protesters who occupied Bronson Park for a month last summer.

The board left Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema “hanging” to deal with the protesters on his own, Moore said. She expects the county to put together a plan to fund subsidies for more affordable housing units in 2019.

Moore will also be keeping a close eye on a replacement for Kalamazoo County’s community action agency.

In September, the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners returned administration of the agency to the state after determining it failed to spend grants meant to help low-income citizens become independent. The state chose Community Action Agency South Central Michigan as a one-year replacement starting in 2019.

The community action agency is a pillar of the community, Moore said. Funds had gone unused several times since 2011 while under county control, but she feels handing it over to another group is irresponsible.

Dissolving the community action agency is one of Moore’s greatest regrets. A surprise vote was introduced after she left a September meeting to be with her pregnant daughter while in labor.

What could come after 2020?

Moore said she’s interested in pursuing state Rep. Jon Hoadley’s seat. She is putting together a committee to build a strategy to replace the term-limited House Democrat, who was re-elected to a third and final two-year term in November.

“I am definitely interested and I’m going to go for it,” Moore said.