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Cynthia Thornton
Cynthia Thornton (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 7. She lost in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020.
Thornton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2020
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 7
Helena Scott defeated Kimberly Givens, Ronald Cole, and Anita Belle in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Helena Scott (D)  | 93.0 | 32,483 |
 | Kimberly Givens (Working Class Party) | 3.5 | 1,224 | |
| Ronald Cole (R) | 2.3 | 791 | ||
 | Anita Belle (G) | 1.2 | 420 | |
| Total votes: 34,918 | |||
| = 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 7
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Helena Scott | 36.6 | 5,504 |
 | Cynthia Thornton | 18.4 | 2,770 | |
 | Bernard Thompson | 15.4 | 2,311 | |
| Lee Yancy | 10.5 | 1,585 | ||
 | Anistia Thomas | 10.5 | 1,580 | |
| Elene Robinson | 4.8 | 716 | ||
 | Nyia Bentley | 3.8 | 577 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 15,044 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7
Ronald Cole advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Ronald Cole | 100.0 | 128 | |
| Total votes: 128 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Green convention
Green convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 7
Anita Belle advanced from the Green convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on June 20, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Anita Belle (G) |
| ||||
| = 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
Kimberly Givens advanced from the Working Class Party convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 7 on July 26, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Kimberly Givens (Working Class Party) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Cynthia Thornton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thornton's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was born and raised in Detroit, the daughter of a career soldier and a bank teller. Church was a regular part of my growing up, and my faith grounds me. I attended school K-12 in Detroit, and am a paralegal by education. My career has been as a public employee serving at the local, county, and state levels. I am a union steward, an LGBTQ rights advocate, and a community activist.
Perhaps because my mother was carrying me when she marched down Woodward in 1963 with Martin Luther King Jr., I am a staunch civil rights activist who believes ALL PEOPLE should be treated with dignity and respect, and have equal rights under law. At my core, this is who I am.- Civil Rights impact every aspect of our lives. Economic growth means nothing when you can be denied a job despite your qualifications, denied a mortgage despite your income and credit score, denied equal access and opportunity because of who you are. These practices are contrary to the promise of this country and this state. I will work to end them.
- Workers' rights are civil rights. Most people earn their living by the sweat of their brow or the toil of their back. One job should be enough! Parents should be able to be home to raise their children, rather than forced to seek a second or third job in order to pay the bills. No matter the profession, ALL human beings are entitled to work with dignity, to have foreseeable hazards eliminated (or mitigated when elimination is not possible), to earn a fair wage that increases with the cost of living. As I do now, I will continue to fight for workers' rights and to ensure that small business owners get their fair share.
- When considerations for the wealth of a few override concerns for the lives and livelihoods of the many, government betrays its mission to act in the interests of THE PEOPLE. As an advocate, activist, and union steward, I work to elevate the voices of everyday people. As a state representative, I will do no less.
Related is dismantling systemic racism in the criminal justice system, generally-police and sheriff's departments, prosecutor's offices, jails and prisons-and specifically as regards the waiving of residency requirements which has resulted in racial and ethnic majorities policing racial and ethnic minorities without regard to the origins of policing and the vestiges of slavery. Systemic denial of these related circumstances has perpetuated the hyper-scrutiny and disproportionate violence inflicted on Black people across the nation, most typically by White officers who often do not live in the jurisdictions where they work. Included here would be banning facial recognition software because it has a high error rate re identifying Black people, and the decriminalization of poverty since poverty in minority communities is exacerbated by systemic racism.
Later in 1972, Jordan became the first woman and first African-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives from Texas, the first Black woman from the South to serve in the US Congress. In 1974, she gave the opening statement for the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of Richard Nixon, and won national acclaim for her rhetoric, intellect, and integrity. In 1976, she was the first African-American and the first woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She served as special counsel on ethics for Texas Governor Ann Richards in 1991. In 1992, the NAACP awarded her the Spingarn Medal; and in 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.
Upon her death, Barbara Jordan became the first African-American to be buried among governors, senators and congressmen in the Texas State Cemetery. Typical of the times, she never explicitly acknowledged her sexual orientation in public, but reportedly was open about her life partner of nearly 30 years, Nancy Earl.
I also have a strong sense of honor and duty. So I do not make commitments lightly, and I work hard to keep the ones I make. To me, running for elected office is not a thoughtless or frivolous pursuit. I take seriously the responsibilities with which I am asking to be entrusted. I am aware my decisions could impact other peoples' lives and I am prepared to do my best in service to that duty.
I see the relationship of an elected official with her constituents as a partnership in which we work together to achieve the desired outcomes. It is not the equivalent of a restaurant in which you place your order and wait to be served. Nor is it like a retail business in which the customer is always right. It is a collaboration in which everyone has a role, some more direct and active than others; but nonetheless a part to play, when one chooses to participate.
Experience tells me it is typically easier to work with colleagues once you get to know them and understand where they are coming from. If we seek first to understand, to build bridges rather than walls, we can find common ground and move our state forward. If all we do is stake out a partisan position, we doom ourselves to failure. Notwithstanding my views, I understand there are some who have other ideas and embrace hostile partisanship, rather than collegial difference. As water seeks its level, I will seek my kind on both sides of the aisle to advance THE PEOPLE's interests, and I will fight for them when the cause is just.
Similarly, given the state of police relations with the public in various parts of the state, the prevalence of a command-and-control environment rather than a protect-and-serve disposition, I believe the Law and Justice Committee should be reestablished; and I would want to serve there.
Military, Veterans and Homeland Security: As the daughter of a career soldier and veteran, I am aware that those who put their lives and family relationships on the line to keep our nation safe do not always get what they have earned and were promised. Similarly, having a custody and security background from a maximum security prison, as well as investigative experience from my time working in corrections; I believe that knowledge and experience would inform my service on this committee.
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.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
