Tonya Myers Phillips

Tonya Myers Phillips

Democratic Party

Michigan House of Representatives District 7

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Predecessor

Helena Scott

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1999

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 2003

Personal

Birthplace

Detroit, Mich.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney, public policy advisor

Contact

Official Facebook

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Tonya Myers Phillips (Democratic Party) is a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 7. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Phillips (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 7. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Tonya Myers Phillips was born in Detroit, Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1999 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2003. Myers Phillips' career experience includes working as an attorney and public policy advisor. She is the director of community partnerships and development with the Sugar Law Center for Social and Economic Justice, and she serves as a public policy advisor for Michigan Legal Services.

Elections

2024

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 7

Tonya Myers Phillips defeated Barry Altman and Linda Rayburn in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tonya Myers Phillips (D)	78.9	22,713
	Submit photo	Barry Altman (R)	15.0	4,331
		Linda Rayburn (Working Class Party)	6.0	1,740

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,784
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7

Tonya Myers Phillips defeated Abraham Shaw and Ernest Little in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tonya Myers Phillips	67.9	4,986
		Abraham Shaw	16.3	1,195
		Ernest Little	15.8	1,161
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	6

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,348
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Abraham Aiyash (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7

Barry Altman defeated Shelby Wininger in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Barry Altman	58.3	176
	Submit photo	Shelby Wininger	41.7	126

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 7

Linda Rayburn advanced from the Working Class Party convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on June 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Linda Rayburn (Working Class Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Phillips received the following endorsements.

• Michigan League of Conservation Voters

2020

Regular election

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

Abraham Aiyash defeated Howard Weathington, Linda Rayburn, and MD Rabbi Alam in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Aiyash (D)	89.7	27,263
	Submit photo	Howard Weathington (R)	5.7	1,736
		Linda Rayburn (Working Class Party)	3.4	1,023
		MD Rabbi Alam (Independent)	1.2	355

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,377
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Aiyash	38.4	5,355
		Michele Oberholtzer	13.9	1,945
		Tawanna Simpson	10.9	1,518
		Tonya Myers Phillips	10.2	1,417
		Delorean Holmes	7.2	1,002
	Submit photo	Shahab Ahmed	6.0	834
	Submit photo	Christopher Collins	4.7	655
	Submit photo	Frazier Kimpson	3.7	515
		Abraham Shaw	1.8	254
	Submit photo	Anthony Ali	1.1	150
	Submit photo	Sigmunt Szczepkowski Jr.	1.1	148
	Submit photo	Gregory Reyner	0.7	97
	Submit photo	Darwood Navarro	0.5	63

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,953
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Corletta Vaughn (D)
• Saad Almasmari (D)
• Christopher Wojtowicz (D)
• MD Rabbi Alam (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

Howard Weathington advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Howard Weathington	100.0	329

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 329
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

Linda Rayburn advanced from the Working Class Party convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on July 26, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Linda Rayburn (Working Class Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Special election

See also: Michigan state legislative special elections, 2020

General election

Special general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

Abraham Aiyash won election in the special general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Aiyash (D)	100.0	28,379

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,379
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4

The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abraham Aiyash	37.9	5,208
		Michele Oberholtzer	14.7	2,021
		Tawanna Simpson	12.6	1,728
		Tonya Myers Phillips	10.5	1,444
		Delorean Holmes	7.8	1,070
	Submit photo	Shahab Ahmed	6.2	852
	Submit photo	Christopher Collins	5.4	739
		Abraham Shaw	1.9	266
	Submit photo	Sigmunt Szczepkowski Jr.	1.2	164
	Submit photo	Anthony Ali	1.1	152
	Submit photo	Gregory Reyner	0.7	103

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,747
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christopher Wojtowicz (D)
• Corletta Vaughn (D)
• MD Rabbi Alam (D)

2012

Phillips was defeated in the primary election on August 7, receiving 9.62% of the vote.

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2012 - District Courts

Bar association ratings

The Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association rated candidates running for judicial office in 2012. Candidates were given one of five ratings: Outstanding, Well Qualified, Qualified, Not Qualified or No Rating.

Phillips was rated as Qualified.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tonya Myers Phillips did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released July 1, 2020

Tonya Myers Phillips completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Phillips' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an attorney, mother, wife, and leader who has been serving, fighting, and winning for our community for over 27 years. I was born and raised in Detroit by a mother who was a Detroit Public School teacher and union member. I graduated from the University of Michigan and University of Michigan Law School. I've fought against large banks. I've represented and won for families facing eviction and foreclosure. I negotiate community benefits agreements on behalf of community coalitions to provide fair economic development for our neighborhoods. I designed and led criminal justice jail diversion initiatives. I am a leader in the Right to Counsel movement where I helped secure funding to provide legal representation for low-income Detroiters facing eviction. During this COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote policy recommendations and successfully advocated with allies for the statewide moratorium on evictions and utility shut-offs. I served on the City of Detroit Charter Commission from 2010-2102. I am a compassionate problem solver. I am an experienced public servant. I am committed to fighting for systemic changes that improve the quality of life for all in our community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We must strengthen our social safety net. This includes fighting for expanded paid sick leave laws, reducing the costs of medical care, expanding child care assistance, repairing our slow and broken unemployment system, increasing college and trade school assistance, increasing protections from unjust foreclosures and evictions, and providing true affordability plans for water and utilities.
• Every person deserves access to justice. Accordingly, I will advocate for a right to legal representation for low-income people facing eviction, unemployment appeals, and loss of public benefits. I will also advocate for criminal justice reforms including investing in jail diversion and restorative justice initiatives, mental health treatment, expanded expungement eligibility, anti-human trafficking initiatives, and helping returning citizens become gainfully employed.
• Michiganders deserve to get a return on our public investment. Therefore, I will work to implement measures that require corporations to provide common-sense community benefits in exchange for receiving public money in the form of grants, tax cuts, below-market land sales, and other publicly-funded incentives. We need incentives that are practical and fair to support growth and prosperity in our urban areas.

   Featured local question

In a time of strained resources, what should be the state’s spending priorities?

The state's spending priorities should focus first on human needs. We must repair Michigan's broken unemployment insurance system. We must ensure food security for distressed communities. We must make sure our medical professionals can rise to the occasion safely and effectively, having all of the personal protection equipment and life-saving medical equipment they need. We must prudently prepare ourselves for the possibility of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must make sure that our families and school systems have the support they need in the event of either a remote learning or significantly modified in-person education model in the fall.

There area many spending priorities that must be addressed. However, human needs for health, safety, and security must take precedent.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Social Safety Net- Providing Basic Economic & Health Needs for MI Residents

2. Access to Justice- Civil and Criminal Justice Reform
3. Economic Development- Pursuing Equitable Development and Fair Economic Development Models
4. Racial Justice- Eliminating Institutional and Systemic Racism
5. Environmental Justice- Preserving and Protecting our Neighborhoods

6. Access to Government- Increasing Public Accountability and Transparency in Government

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to and revere the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I look up to him because he stood firm on his principles and fought for racial and economic justice when it was not popular, and in fact, was quite dangerous and ultimately cost him his life. I admire his integrity and selflessness. I admire his ability to envision and fight for a better society than the one in which he lived.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Three Little Birds"

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Coming of age as a black woman, being raised by a single mother, attending public schools, and living in a city burdened with systemic disinvestment has been a challenge. However, my lived experiences have made me strong, resilient, and proud. I graduated from an excellent university, have a fulfilling career, and a great family. I've learned from my struggles and use that wisdom and experience to help and serve others.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

The ideal relationship between the governor and the legislature should be as teammates. The governor and the legislature are on the same team in the sense that the ultimate objective for both should be to provide for the safety and welfare of the State and all residents. Good teammates push and challenge each other to improve their performance. Good teammates communicate in a healthy manner. Good teammates understand and play their respective roles. There are times when good teammates will make sacrifices for the well-being of the team. Mature players and good teammates play for the team to win, and not only to make themselves look good at the expense of the team.

Similarly, the governor and the legislature have different governing roles as our constitution has established a system of checks and balances. Partisanship should not take precedence over making decisions that are in the best interests of the citizens. If the legislature and governor belong to different parties, one should not seek to undermine the other in a quest for partisan power. If the governor and legislature are of the same party, neither should abrogate their public stewardship for partisanship.

Unfortunately, the ideal is not the reality of our current political climate. The composition of the "team" is skewed by powerful corporate actors and special interests that do not represent the average citizen. The question of who is the average citizen is viewed through the lens of race, sex, gender, age, class, and geographic regions. All of these things make the ideal difficult to achieve. However, I do believe mature and principled individuals, working together, over time, can bring us closer to the ideal.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Tonya Myers Phillips campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Michigan House of Representatives District 7	Won general	$45,494	$0
2020	Michigan House of Representatives District 4	Lost primary	$18,157	N/A**
Grand total			$63,651	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Michigan

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Helena Scott (D)	Michigan House of Representatives District 7 2025-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Michigan House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Matt Hall

Minority Leader:Ranjeev Puri

Representatives

District 1

Tyrone Carter (D)

District 2

Tullio Liberati (D)

District 3

Alabas Farhat (D)

District 4

Karen Whitsett (D)

District 5

Regina Weiss (D)

District 6

Natalie Price (D)

District 7

Tonya Myers Phillips (D)

District 8

Helena Scott (D)

District 9

Joseph Tate (D)

District 10

Veronica Paiz (D)

District 11

Donavan McKinney (D)

District 12

Kimberly Edwards (D)

District 13

Mai Xiong (D)

District 14

Mike McFall (D)

District 15

Erin Byrnes (D)

District 16

Stephanie Young (D)

District 17

Laurie Pohutsky (D)

District 18

Jason Hoskins (D)

District 19

Samantha Steckloff (D)

District 20

Noah Arbit (D)

District 21

Kelly Breen (D)

District 22

Matt Koleszar (D)

District 23

Jason Morgan (D)

District 24

Ranjeev Puri (D)

District 25

Peter Herzberg (D)

District 26

Dylan Wegela (D)

District 27

Rylee Linting (R)

District 28

Jamie Thompson (R)

District 29

James DeSana (R)

District 30

William Bruck (R)

District 31

Reggie Miller (D)

District 32

Jimmie Wilson (D)

District 33

Morgan Foreman (D)

District 34

Nancy Jenkins-Arno (R)

District 35

Jennifer Wortz (R)

District 36

Steve Carra (R)

District 37

Brad Paquette (R)

District 38

Joey Andrews (D)

District 39

Pauline Wendzel (R)

District 40

Matt Longjohn (D)

District 41

Julie Rogers (D)

District 42

Matt Hall (R)

District 43

Rachelle Smit (R)

District 44

Steve Frisbie (R)

District 45

Sarah Lightner (R)

District 46

Kathy Schmaltz (R)

District 47

Carrie Rheingans (D)

District 48

Jennifer Conlin (D)

District 49

Ann Bollin (R)

District 50

Jason Woolford (R)

District 51

Matt Maddock (R)

District 52

Mike Harris (R)

District 53

Brenda Carter (D)

District 54

Donni Steele (R)

District 55

Mark Tisdel (R)

District 56

Sharon MacDonell (D)

District 57

Thomas Kuhn (R)

District 58

Ron Robinson (R)

District 59

Douglas Wozniak (R)

District 60

Joseph Aragona (R)

District 61

Denise Mentzer (D)

District 62

Alicia St. Germaine (R)

District 63

Jay DeBoyer (R)

District 64

Joseph Pavlov (R)

District 65

Jaime Greene (R)

District 66

Josh Schriver (R)

District 67

Phil Green (R)

District 68

David Martin (R)

District 69

Jasper Martus (D)

District 70

Cynthia Neeley (D)

District 71

Brian BeGole (R)

District 72

Mike Mueller (R)

District 73

Julie Brixie (D)

District 74

Kara Hope (D)

District 75

Penelope Tsernoglou (D)

District 76

Angela Witwer (D)

District 77

Emily Dievendorf (D)

District 78

Gina Johnsen (R)

District 79

Angela Rigas (R)

District 80

Phil Skaggs (D)

District 81

Stephen Wooden (D)

District 82

Kristian Grant (D)

District 83

John Fitzgerald (D)

District 84

Carol Glanville (D)

District 85

Bradley Slagh (R)

District 86

Nancy De Boer (R)

District 87

William Snyder (D)

District 88

Greg VanWoerkom (R)

District 89

Luke Meerman (R)

District 90

Bryan Posthumus (R)

District 91

Pat Outman (R)

District 92

Jerry Neyer (R)

District 93

Tim Kelly (R)

District 94

Amos O'Neal (D)

District 95

Bill Schuette (R)

District 96

Timothy Beson (R)

District 97

Matthew Bierlein (R)

District 98

Gregory Alexander (R)

District 99

Mike Hoadley (R)

District 100

Tom Kunse (R)

District 101

Joseph Fox (R)

District 102

Curt VanderWall (R)

District 103

Betsy Coffia (D)

District 104

John Roth (R)

District 105

Ken Borton (R)

District 106

Cameron Cavitt (R)

District 107

Parker Fairbairn (R)

District 108

David Prestin (R)

District 109

Karl Bohnak (R)

District 110

Gregory Markkanen (R)

Republican Party (58)

Democratic Party (52)