Sharon McPhail

Sharon McPhail was the general counsel for the City of Detroit. McPhail served on the Detroit City Council from 2002 until 2006. McPhail was a candidate for mayor in the 1993 and 2005 Detroit elections. She was formerly a lawyer in private practice, a division chief in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, and an Assistant United States Attorney.
She placed third in the primary election on August 2, coming in behind Freman Hendrix and incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and eliminating her from the general election on November 8.
McPhail holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and a bachelor's degree in sociology and English from Northeastern University. She was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1976.
She served as staff counsel for Ford Motor Company and later as a partner with the law firm Feikens, Stevens, Hurley & P.C., before going into private practice. She has served as President of the local Wolverine Bar Association, President of the National Bar Association, on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, and Vice President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP.
She was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1993, McPhail finished second in a primary election for Mayor of the City of Detroit, in field of 23 candidates. She lost the general election to Dennis Archer by 56 percent to 43 percent. She is the first female attorney to be elected to Detroit's City Council.
McPhail was general counsel for a coalition dedicated to recapturing the right to vote for School Board in the City of Detroit.

McPhail was named one of Ebony Magazine's 100 Most Influential Black Americans and has received the March of Dimes Humanitarian of the Year award, and the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.

• 2005 Race for Mayor (Detroit) (Primary Election)
  • Freman Hendrix (D), 45%
  • Kwame Kilpatrick (D) (inc.), 34%
  • Sharon McPhail (D), 12%
  • Hansen Clarke (D), 8%