Daisy Elliott

Daisy L. Elliott was an American politician and realtor from the state of Michigan.

Early life

Elliott was born Daisy Elizabeth Lenoir in Filbert, West Virginia, and resided in Detroit, Michigan. She was a delegate to the 1961–1962 Michigan Constitutional Convention from Wayne County's 4th district, which resulted in Michigan's Constitution of 1963.

A Democrat, she represented Wayne County's 4th district in the Michigan [House of Representatives] from 1963 to 1964, Michigan's 22nd [House of Representatives district|Michigan's 22nd district], which replaced Wayne County's 4th district, from 1965 to 1972, and Michigan's 8th district from 1973 to 1978. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the primary for the Michigan Senate 5th district in 1978. then regained her old seat in the Michigan House in 1980. In politics, Elliott was nothing if not persistent: she was defeated five times in the primaries for State Representative before finally winning in 1962.
While serving in the Michigan State House of Representatives, she co-authored the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which passed in 1976, with Melvin L. Larsen.
In April 1982, Elliott was arrested for possessing a stolen 1977 Cadillac. She was defeated by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in the Democratic primary that year, and, after numerous appeals, had her conviction upheld in 1984. She served sixty days in jail before being released in June 1985.

She died on December 22, 2015, aged 98, at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit. She is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery near the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel.
In 2016, she was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. On June 30, 2020, the Lewis Cass Building in Lansing was renamed the Elliott-Larsen Building in honor of Larsen and Elliot.