In which year was this former Detroit City Council member, with whom Sheila Cockrel had a fractious relationship with, first elected to the council?
Sheila Cockrel Sheila M. Cockrel née Sheila Murphy(born November 3, 1947) is a former member of the Detroit City Council. She was a member of the Council from 1994 to 2009. The widow of Kenneth Cockrel, Sr., she's the stepmother of Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. Sheila Cockrel "had [a] fractious relationship with" Monica Conyers, so when the latter resigned, the former called the action "an appropriate decision". When Dave Bing proposed a water rate hike, Sheila Cockrel was among those who voted in favor.
Samuel C. Watson Samuel C. Watson (1832 – March 13, 1892) was a druggist, doctor, and civic leader in Detroit, Michigan and Chatham, Ontario. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Watson was a part of the Detroit-Chatham Underground Railroad and closely connected with William Whipper and George DeBaptiste. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Watson settled in Detroit, where he would eventually become a city councilman. He was politically independent, and found himself on opposite sides of debates with DeBaptiste and other Michigan blacks, and he switched from the Republican to the Democratic party in the mid-1880s.