Craig Covey

Who is Craig Covey?

Craig Covey is an American politician who served as mayor of Ferndale, Michigan. He was the first openly-gay mayor of any municipality in the state of Michigan. A Democrat, he resigned the office in 2010 to take a seat on the Oakland County Commission, where he served one term.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Covey has lived in Michigan since moving to the state to become executive director of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights 1985 and has lived in Ferndale since 1989.

Covey was a member of the Ferndale City Council from 1999 to 2008. He was elected mayor of Ferndale on November 6, 2007 for a two-year term, succeeding three-term mayor Robert Porter, by defeating Tom Gagne 54% - 46%. He was re-elected unopposed in November 2009. In 2010, he ran for the Oakland County Commission, winning a three-way Democratic primary on August 3, 2010 and besting a Republican in the November general election in a reliably Democratic district. He was defeated for re-election on August 7, 2012 by Helaine Zack 54% to 46%. Covey ran again for mayor of Ferndale, Michigan on November 5, 2013, but was defeated.

Covey was also CEO of the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project and Chief Operating Officer of the Michigan AIDS Coalition, the organization resulting from the merging of MAPP and the Michigan AIDS Fund in 2009. In 2011, he created Ferndale Pride, a gay pride street festival that grew out of Motor City Pride's move from Ferndale to Detroit that same year.