Politics
Gary Peters
born 1958 · politician, former naval officer
Pontiac-born Democrat who represented eastern Detroit in the U.S. House and has been Michigan's U.S. senator since 2015.
- Born
Pontiac, Michigan
age 67- Birth name
- Gary Charles Peters
- Detroit years
- 1958–
- Field
- Politics
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Gary Peters was born in Pontiac in 1958 into a family that has lived in Michigan since the 1840s, and grew up in Oakland County. He earned an MBA at the University of Detroit Mercy and a law degree at Wayne State University, served in the Navy Reserve, and worked as a financial adviser while teaching at Wayne State and Oakland University. He began on the Rochester Hills City Council, then represented Pontiac, Southfield and nearby suburbs in the Michigan Senate from 1995 to 2002, and later served as state lottery commissioner. Elected to Congress in 2008, he represented a district that from 2013 took in the eastern half of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and Hamtramck, and he fought against letting Detroit's automakers fail in the 2008–09 crisis. He won his U.S. Senate seat in 2014.
Highlights
- U.S. senator from Michigan since 2015
- U.S. representative 2009–2015, including eastern Detroit from 2013
- Michigan state senator for Pontiac and Southfield, 1995–2002
- MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy; J.D. from Wayne State
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1984
University of Detroit Mercy
Jesuit and Mercy university where he earned his MBA in 1984.
Studied here
Wayne State University
He earned his law degree and a political science M.A. here, and later taught finance.