Image credit: City of Detroit
The first Latina elected to the Detroit City Council will not seek a third term in office. Castañeda-López advocated for inclusion across the city. She also alleges she faced discrimination from some council colleagues.
Bre’Anna Tinsley/ WDET
Raquel Castañeda-López defeated Tyrone Carter to represent Southwest Detroit for a second term in 2017, in an election that was highly contested and contentious.
Raquel Castañeda-López took office in 2014, part of a wave of new council members who swept into City Hall when Detroit’s governing charter changed to require that the council represent individual districts, rather than the century-old process of being elected “at large” from voters across the entire city. She faced personal attacks during what she called a “brutal,” but ultimately successful, second campaign.