Defeated Detroit candidate stakes out opponent in residency dispute

Rumors of carpetbagging are nothing new in Michigan's 10th House District, which covers portions of the west side of Detroit and Redford Township.

Detroit city councilman Gabe Leland was dogged by accusations that he lived elsewhere when he ran for the seat in 2004. Neighbors of the address he listed on candidate forms said he only rented a room there and showed up just a couple times a week to collect mail.

Candidates for state representative are required to live in the districts where they run.

The latest subject of carpetbagging accusations in the 10th is Representative-elect Mary Cavanagh, the 29-year-old daughter of a Democratic dynasty. Her late grandfather, Jerome Cavanagh, was mayor of Detroit in the 1960s; her father, Phil Cavanagh, is deputy treasurer of Wayne County and a former state rep and county commissioner; and her cousin is Michigan Supreme Court Justice Megan Cavanagh.

Read more: https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/26796/defeated_detroit_candidate_stakes_out_opponent_in_residency_dispute