During his tenure, Mays was known to be highly controversial due to several incidents where he was suspended and escorted out of city council meetings.

Mays graduated from Flint Northern High School in 1976, received a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and retired from General Motors, serving in several positions for local unions under the United Auto Workers.

[4][5] Mays was convicted of felony assault in 1987 for brandishing a .357 magnum revolver at a man who he claimed had previously broken into his home, then later threatened his life.

[6] On July 2, 2012, Mays was taking part in a public hearing on proposed tax abatements for downtown Flint buildings.

[4][9] After three attempts,[4] Mays was elected to the Flint City Council in November, 2013,[10] winning 710–702 against his opponent, Anita Brown.

[4][11] On November 30, 2013, Mays was arrested on Interstate 475 for driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, refusal to be fingerprinted,[4][12] no proof of insurance[12][13] and failing to report an accident.

[4][13] According to Special Prosecutor Michael Gildner, Mays crashed his car near Leith Street and Industrial Avenue in Flint.

The impaired driving charge was later overturned when a higher court found that the judge had failed to warn Mays about the risks of representing himself.

[4][12][13][14] During the selection of the jury in this trial, Mays asked the potential jurors whether they believed in God, which immediately brought an objection from Gildner.

Mays initially declined to concede that the results be admitted since he would be unable to question the officer about how the test was conducted.

However, he eventually yielded and the case moved forward after the judge told him he could later ask for a previous transcript of the officer being questioned about the results.

Mays later yielded after the judge said that he could ask for a transcript made during the previous trial about how the test was conducted.

"[15] That month, Mays invited the then director of the DWSD, Sue McCormick, to speak to the Flint city council about switching the water supply back to DWSD; the council failed to put the issue on the agenda, forcing McCormick to speak during the public portion of the meeting.

[4] Two months later the council voted 7–1 to purchase 16 million gallons of water a day from the KWA while still using Lake Huron.

When Mays was allowed to comment on the issue, he complained that city workers hadn't cut the grass in his ward while doing so for members including Jackie Poplar, who had supported then-Mayor Dayne Walling's re-election.

Mays was initially removed from the meeting without an arrest being made, however officials later sought a charge of disorderly conduct after reviewing footage of the incident.

[24] In an email sent by Beth Clement, then-Governor Rick Snyder's deputy chief of staff, on April 30, Clement said "Eric Mays, the Flint city councilman who...has been very problematic to both our EM [sic] and secure cities efforts, is the only candidate who filed by the April 21st deadline."

Snyder suggested that the issue should be passed to then-Flint Democrat Senate minority leader Jim Ananich.

[23][20] Mays lost in the primaries, with Karen Weaver later beating the incumbent Dayne Walling in the elections to become the first female Mayor of Flint.

When Mays was allowed to comment on the issue, he went off topic, which included mentioning the city's prosecution of him during his first trial for the incident on Interstate 475.

Mays was initially removed from the meeting without an arrest being made, however officials later sought a charge of disorderly conduct after reviewing footage of the incident.

[18][20] On February 1, 2016, Mays was found guilty of disorderly conduct and was initially facing 90 days in jail,[6][18][26] however on March 17 it was announced that prosecutors had come to an agreement on a $200 fine due to the ongoing water crisis.

[29] The sentencing was delayed until after the November 7 city council election, in which Mays was again running against Anita Brown.

On January 27, Councilman Maurice Davis motioned to have Mays removed from his leadership roles as Vice President of the city council and finance chair.

[38][40] During Mays' trial, all of the city council members who testified stated that, when they had previously requested to leave for various reasons, all of them returned to their seats without issue.

[7] On July 10, 2023, during a council meeting Mays "shouted profanities at the chair and other councilmembers [and] failed to conduct himself with appropriate decorum."

The lawsuit claimed that the council were in violation of the OMA by not allowing Mays to "address a meeting of a public in his official capacity".

[46] On December 20, 2023, Mays was escorted from a council meeting by three police officers after making "constant frivolous motions" and using "racist rhetoric.” He was suspended for 90 days after his removal.

Mays denied the allegations and his attorneys filed for a temporary restraining order regarding the suspension in federal court.

[11][43][51][52] Following his death, the City of Flint released a statement that praised Mays' "bold and courageous service" and "beloved among his constituents in the First Ward."