DETROIT (AP) — Detroit voters will choose a new mayor Tuesday in the city’s first open-seat mayoral race in a dozen years.
City Council President Mary Sheffield and Triumph Church pastor Solomon Kinloch, both Democrats, will face off for the city’s top job after placing first and second in the Aug. 5 nonpartisan primary. The winner will replace outgoing three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for governor of Michigan as an independent.
The city faces a vastly different situation than it did when Duggan was first elected in 2013. In July of that year, it became the largest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy. The city now has a budget surplus, 12 years of balanced budgets and projected economic growth for the next five years. Homicides and violent crimes are down, while the city’s population has increased for the second consecutive year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Still, the next mayor will face numerous challenges, including a shortage of affordable housing and vast economic disparities along racial lines.
Sheffield has led the field in fundraising throughout the campaign. As of the August primary, her campaign fund more than doubled that of her eight competitors combined.
In the general election, she has far outraised and outspent Kinloch. As of Oct. 19, her campaign had spent more than $1.8 million on her campaign and had roughly $772,000 in the bank. By that same point, Kinloch had spent about $160,000 on the race and had less than $11,000 remaining in the bank.
Since receiving more than 50% of the vote in the August primary, Sheffield has picked up key endorsements from Duggan, as well as from two of her former primary opponents, former city council president Saunteel Jenkins and city council member Fred Durhal. Jenkins received 16% of the primary vote, narrowly losing a spot on the general election ballot to Kinloch, who received about 17%. Durhal received about 3% of the vote.
Soloman Kinloch (left) and Mary Sheffield (right) face off in the race for Detroit’s next mayor this November
The Detroit electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic. In the 2024 presidential election, voters in the city supported Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump by about a 9-1 ratio.
At a September rally in Howell, Michigan, Vice President JD Vance sent a public message to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that the administration is “happy” to send the National Guard to Detroit. “All you gotta do is ask,” he said.
The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Michigan’s mandatory recount law does not apply to Detroit’s mayoral race. Instead, candidates may request and pay for a recount, with the payment refunded if the recount changes the outcome. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What to expect on Tuesday:
How late are polls open?
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The AP will provide vote results and declare the winner in Detroit’s mayoral race.
Who gets to vote?
Any voter registered in Detroit may participate in the mayoral general election.
What do turnout and advance vote look like?
There were more than 518,000 registered voters in Detroit as of the August mayoral primary.
Turnout in that primary was about 17% of registered voters. About 32% of mayoral primary voters cast their ballots in person, while the remaining 68% voted early in person or by absentee ballot.
Turnout in the 2021 mayoral general election was about 19% of registered voters, with about 67% of voters casting early or absentee ballots.
As of Monday, nearly 45,000 ballots had been cast in Detroit before Election Day.
How long does vote counting usually take?
In the August primary, the AP first reported results at 8:32 p.m. ET, or 32 minutes after polls closed. The vote tabulation ended for the night at 4:30 a.m. ET, with 100% of votes counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.
As Detroiters prepare to cast their votes in the 2025 Detroit municipal election, one City Council candidate’s record raises serious questions about her ability to represent the people of Detroit. State Representative Karen Whitsett currently holds public office, and her actions during her time in Lansing demonstrate a disregard for the needs and values of […]
Detroiters who believe the city is moving in the right direction are far more likely to vote in next week’s mayoral election than those who say it’s on the wrong track, according to a new University of Michigan survey. The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS), conducted from Aug. 6 to Oct. 1, found that […]
Hamtramck City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, 52, is running for mayor in Hamtramck.
If elected, Mahmood would become the first Bangladeshi American Muslim mayor in the city.
Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib is not running for re-election. President Trump has nominated him for ambassador to Kuwait. He awaits a U.S. Senate vote.
Mahmood’s platform
Mahmood says voters are concerned about property taxes, high water bills, and deteriorating infrastructure.
“Everything is high in Hamtramck due to the fact of one of the oldest city in Michigan is over 100 years old, and last few years, the city was being neglected,” he says.
Mahmood says he will work hard to bring the city back to good shape, “Where people can come and invest their money. We get different sources to earn the money so we don’t have to raise the taxes every year.”
Mahmood has previously served as the sergeant-at-arms for the Unite Here! Local 24 union, representing hospitality workers; the Democratic Party’s 13th district Vice Chair, and president of the Michigan Bangladeshi-American Democratic Caucus (MI-BADC). He’s the founder and president of Golapganj Helping Hand USA, a charity organization that serves people in Bangladesh and in the U.S.
Investigations for election fraud in Hamtramck
Hamtramck voters have expressed concern about pending investigations of alleged election fraud by several councilmembers.
Mahmood says people are taking advantage of voters, some whom are newer immigrants, and may not know some of the laws of elections.
“Some of the people are taking advantage out of it, picking up their ballot or picking from mailbox, frauding their signature. Of course I’m against it. That’s not what democracy is,” he says.
He says people have the right to choose their leaders, and community leaders play a role in educating voters.
Mahmood, who is part of a residency fraud investigation by the Michigan State Police, says he has been living in Hamtramck since 2021, when he ran for a seat on the city council.
“And that time they investigated everything. I don’t know why it became an issue after a few years, even though not when I was running… after I get elected, few years later, it became an issue,” he says.
Mahmood says he owns other homes, including one in Troy, where his family lives.
He says he is running for mayor in Hamtramck because he loves the city, and he hopes to bring people together.
“Everybody needs to have a step forward to a one inclusive city… We all need to respect each other, respect their values, respect their religious freedom,” he says.
Mahmood’s opponent, Adam Alharbi, is an engineer for the Department of Commerce.
Lynn Blasey, Community Arts Partnerships co-director for the College for Creative Studies, is running as a write-in candidate.
Detroit voters will choose a new mayor Tuesday in the city’s first open-seat mayoral race in a dozen years. City Council President Mary Sheffield and Triumph Church pastor Solomon Kinloch compete for the city’s top job after placing first and second in the Aug. 5 primary.
“I will show that I’m for everyone. I’m not a Yemeni candidate or a Muslim candidate, I’m an Hamtramckan candidate that I will serve everyone equally, regardless of race, religion,” he says.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
A Republican is the only city clerk candidate on the ballot in Democratic-dominated Southfield, a prospect that worries Democrats and has GOP leaders arguing that the Democrats are in disarray.
Republican Gavriel “Gabi” Grossbard is running for the Southfield clerk’s seat after losing his 2023 bid to current city Clerk Janet Jackson, a Democrat who was disqualified from running for reelection. Democrats are hoping either City Council member Coretta Hogue or city clerk’s office worker Wynett Guy can prevail as write-in candidates, but political experts said write-in campaigns are often uphill battles.
The clerk oversees local elections and public records in the predominantly Black city of more than 75,000 residents. This would include overseeing the local results of the 2026 midterm election, when Republicans are seeking to win an open U.S. Senate seat as well as take back the governor’s office and state Senate.
The Michigan Democratic Party has highlighted this race in part due to a November 2020 federal lawsuit that Grossbard filed with three other voters that sought to decertify the presidential ballot counts in the Democratic strongholds of Wayne, Washtenaw and Ingham counties. Grossbard and his co-plaintiffs accused election officials of clerical errors, fraud and counting illegal votes.
The lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan sought to invalidate more than 1.2 million votes — more than 848,500 votes for Democrat Joe Biden and more than 368,400 votes for President Donald Trump, a Republican — after Biden defeated Trump by 154,000 votes. But Grossbard and his co-defendants withdrew the lawsuit five days later.
“There’s good reason that, in a majority-Democratic city, we wouldn’t want somebody like that to be clerk,” said Michigan Democratic Party President Curtis Hertel, adding that “it’s incredibly important that those people’s votes are counted in a free and fair election in 2026 and beyond.”
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said he’s known Grossbard to be “a reasonable, nice guy” and would be ethical in the clerk’s office if elected. Siver also said he doesn’t believe Grossbard is “MAGA” or a Make America Great Again diehard, although the mayor is not supporting his bid for clerk.
Grossbard didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, and campaign manager Pea Gee did not arrange an interview with the candidate despite multiple requests.
Jackson, a former Oakland County commissioner who beat Grossbard 75%-25% for the clerk’s office in 2023, was taken off this year’s ballot due to an unresolved campaign finance fee.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad called Jackson a “Keystone cop” for getting disqualified from an election she’s charged with overseeing.
“How catastrophic for the city, one of the biggest in Oakland County, to have this level of incompetence,” Runestad said. “So then, they’re now stuck with trying to plug in whoever they can as opposed to a gentleman who went about it the right way, filed in time, filed his paperwork correctly and is on the ballot.”
State Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy at the request of local Democratic chapters, Hertel said.
“She doesn’t come in with a learning curve,” said Southfield / Lathrup Village Democratic Club President Joseph Person, referencing Guy’s position in the clerk’s office. “(Grossbard and Hogue) come in with a learning curve.”
Expert: Write-in efforts ‘extremely difficult’
But the Democrats have unique challenges to win the Southfield clerk’s race, a political analyst said.
Write-in candidacies usually are “extremely difficult” because of the huge educational effort required by campaigns to ensure voters remember a candidate’s name and write it on the ballot, said Southfield-based consultant Mario Morrow Sr.
The Southfield situation complicates the situation further because of the dueling write-in candidacies, he said.
“Just off the bat, the write-in candidates might end up splitting votes if they get people to support them, which leaves the person who, love him or hate him, is a legitimate candidate, on the ballot, and very well could end up in this spot,” Morrow said.
Guy originally sought to be placed on the election ballot, but said her name was removed because Grossbard pointed out disqualifying aspects in her campaign. Grossbard’s campaign manager, Gee, rejected the claim, arguing that Guy failed on her own to ensure she complied with state election law.
As a result, Guy mounted a write-in campaign.
Guy said she would make sure the clerk’s office flows more efficiently if elected. She also said she would better educate its employees about the office’s functions.
Hogue said she put her name down before she knew Guy was going to launch a write-in campaign.
The City Council member said she is concerned about the prospect of split votes, but said she was the only write-in candidate before Guy threw her hat in the ring. Hogue also said she has experience running a voting precinct.
Asked about the possibility of a weakened write-in vote due to the two candidates, Person said he’s not concerned about “hypotheticals” and is instead focused on helping Guy win the election.
2020 lawsuit becomes focal point
Grossbard’s supporters said he was within his rights to try to decertify a portion of Michigan’s votes in the 2020 presidential election if he believed there were irregularities.
Grossbard and three other plaintiffs said in the lawsuit they were worried their votes were “unconstitutionally diluted” by fraudulent ballots, including some of the absentee ballots counted at what was then the TCF Center in Detroit.
“There exists sufficient evidence to place in doubt the November 3 presidential-election results in identified key counties, including issues with transparency, fraudulent changing of dates, a software glitch, clerical errors, illegal votes, and many other issues and irregularities,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit cited other lawsuits and conservative blogs in its reasoning and claimed the plaintiffs would analyze poll books and other records to create “expert reports” to provide proof of fraud. None of the other lawsuits seeking to overturn Michigan’s election results succeeded. Grossbard and his allies withdrew the lawsuit without explanation on Nov. 16, 2020.
The lawsuit would have invalidated more than 20% of Michigan’s 5.5 million votes if successful.
“This case was clearly designed to spread misinformation about the security and integrity of Michigan elections,” state Attorney General Dana Nessel said of the lawsuit.
Gee said Grossbard “had some concerns, didn’t break the law, put their name on a lawsuit.” Runestad agreed.
“It’s perfectly legal to be able to do this. It happens all the time that people feel that there were things that were not kosher in the election process,” Runestad said.
Gee said Grossbard would be “more cognizant” of election integrity than other candidates since he’s sued over them before.
Guy said she wouldn’t care about Grossbard’s politics if he hadn’t challenged the 2020 election.
“I was concerned about the city, so they needed to be told, and not just blindly vote for someone who’s the only person on the ballot without knowing their track record,” Guy said.
Noting prior clerk’s misconduct
Gee accused the Democratic Party of hypocrisy because it supported former Southfield Clerk Sherikia Hawkins in 2019. Hawkins was convicted in 2022 of misconduct in office for ending the city’s 2018 election without counting nearly 200 absentee ballots. She was forced to resign from office, leading eventually to the Jackson-Grossbard race in 2023. She was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Gee also accused the Democrats of making the campaign “about a Jewish man running against one African American write-in candidate,” and pointed out that both Guy and Hogue are Black.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Hertel called Gee’s claim “ridiculous.”
“The only thing that we have talked about in this campaign is his lack of credibility in county elections when he himself has been part of denying them,” Hertel said.
Grossbard said he will “defend and preserve the individual right to vote, secure the voting process, and will fight voter suppression,” according to his campaign literature. The campaign materials also said Grossbard will expand services to include passport applications and process birth and death certificates in a timely manner.
Grossbard would bring council minutes up to date if he were elected, Gee said. She claimed these records have fallen out of compliance with Michigan’s Open Meeting Act under Jackson.
“I’m surprised that the Democratic Party is worried about the candidate as opposed to the people getting their accurate information,” Gee said.
Jackson did not respond to a request for comment regarding Gee’s claim.
Democrats mount ‘huge undertaking’
While the Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy in their efforts to keep Grossbard from office, the dynamic of dueling write-in candidates persists.
Volunteers have knocked on more than 7,000 doors in support of Guy, Southfield Democratic Club’s Person said. The Michigan Democratic Party has also invested in mailers and digital campaign materials for her election, Hertel said.
Mayor Siver claimed the local Democratic Club initially said it would support Hogue, but then switched to Guy a few days later.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry. I’m not going to go back on my word to Coretta Hogue. I wish Wynett Guy every success, but I am backing Coretta,'” Siver said.
Person said Hogue “didn’t have any money” and wanted the club to “do the heavy lifting for her,” which contributed to the club’s decision.
Hogue said she believes “people have personal gains that they’re seeking” in their decision to support Guy but did not elaborate when asked what those were. She also pointed out that she was the only person running against Grossbard who wasn’t kicked off the ballot.
“It’s been a dirty campaign,” Hogue said. “I think that it’s really shown in how people are choosing to support and endorse and are overlooking qualifications.”
Like Grossbard, Hogue said she would get the City Council meeting minutes up to date. She also claimed integrity needs to be brought back to the office.
Grossbard’s Gee called Hogue a “valid and viable candidate.”
The result is that defeating Grossbard is “a huge undertaking” for the Democrats, Morrow said.
“It would have probably been beneficial if everybody was on the same page and wanted to go after Gabi, that one of the two write-in candidates would have pulled out,” Morrow said. “That would have been an easier task to take on.”
Gabi Grossbard of Southfield, right, and Sheldon Freilich of Bloomfield Hills, center, pose together as Aaron Tobin of Oak Park, left, snaps a photo before a panel discussion hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition on Oct. 28, 2024 in Bloomfield Township. Grossbard is the only candidate on the NOv. 4 ballot running for Southfield clerk. (Katy Kildee/MediaNews Group)
A lot of these problems are big. To solve them, Detroit relies on money from the federal and state government.
So, how much can one city with limited resources do to halt the rate of homelessness—and even reverse it?
With the mayoral election next month, Anthony Eid joined The Metro to discuss these things. He’s the senior director of public policy for the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, and the policy and advocacy coordinator for COTS, a housing agency in the city.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit’s candidates for mayor are in their final weeks of campaigning. And a new poll shows voters are making up their minds.
A Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll shows City Council President Mary Sheffield with a commanding lead in the race over Pastor Solomon Kinloch. The survey…conducted from October 16-18 shows Sheffield supported by about 65% of those surveyed, Kinloch with 14%, and about 20% undecided.
The Glengariff Group conducted the poll of 500 respondents. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Just a reminder: a poll is a snapshot in time of the people surveyed. Polls don’t vote – people do. Early voting starts on Saturday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4.
Additional headlines for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
GM Earns
General Motors reports that it earned $1.3 billion in the third quarter of this year. The Detroit automaker says its adjusted earnings hit $2.80 per share, surpassing Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Third quarter revenue passed $48.5 billion.
The automaker says Cadillac’s North American sales were the best for the first three quarters of the year since 2013 and GMC posted the best year to date sales ever. GM’s stock price jumped 15% after news of the earnings was released.
Diwali celebration
Detroiters will have a chance to learn more about South Asian culture through this week’s Diwali in the D festival. Diwali is the Hindu celebration of lights, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.
Diwali in the D offers free events throughout this week and runs through Saturday.
First Responders BBQ
A local veterans’ group is holding a special barbecue in Detroit on Friday.
Chapter 9 of the Vietnam Veterans of America will hold the event to show its appreciation for the city’s first responders. Police officers and firefighters are invited to come to the barbecue from noon-5 p.m. on Friday.
It’s being held at the Chapter 9 headquarters – 2951 Woodward at Temple in Detroit. That’s just north of Little Caesars’ Arena.
Smokeless Ban
Detroit City Council has approved an ordinance banning the use of smokeless tobacco in the city’s sports stadiums.
Smoking of cigarettes and e-cigarettes has been prohibited in the facilities for years. City Councilman Fred Durhal says the new measure will help provide a healthier example to Detroit’s young people.
The new ban applies to Comerica Park, Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena.
Pistons Opener
The Detroit Pistons open their new season on the road tonight against the Chicago Bulls.
Detroit finished last season with 44 wins and 38 losses. Pistons guard Jaden Ivey had knee surgery recently and is expected to miss the next four weeks.
Tip off at the United Center tonight is at 8 p.m. ET.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit’s candidates for mayor are in the final weeks of their respective campaigns. City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Reverend Solomon Kinloch are working to get out their visions for the future of the city.
Jeremy Allen is the executive editor for the Michigan Chronicle. WDET’s Jerome Vaughn spoke with him about the upcoming mayoral election.
Allen says this year is unusual because Detroit voters seem to have largely made up their minds already.
“It’s pretty clear that people are either for Mary Sheffield or for Solomon Kinloch. And there are—there’s really no in-between. And so, what I’m seeing from the community is folks who are invested in this race are fully invested on one side or the other, and there’s no in-between.”
Allen says residents aren’t saying they want to read more and learn more about a candidate before making a decision about who they’ll vote for.
Key issues
As far as key issues in the race, Allen says he’s found Detroiters have a wide range of concerns about the city moving forward. Overarching issues that need solving are crime—or the perception of crime—and the tension between downtown development and development in city neighborhoods remain near the top of the list.
The future of Detroit’s school system is also something residents are keeping an eye on. While education isn’t under the purview of the city’s mayor, Allen says the next mayor should set up some sort of task force should be set up to work more closely with Detroit Public Schools Community District.
“…to ensure that the city of Detroit can educate its children to be better citizens down the road, because all research points to the fact that a better educated community has impacts down the road and all measurables for quality of life.”
Black leadership
No matter which candidate wins on November 4, Detroit will have its first Black mayor in more than a decade. Allen says that will make a difference when dealing with Detroit residents—and when dealing with the federal government.
“I think once a Black mayor assumes leadership of the city of Detroit, I think the gloves are going to come off for how the federal government looks at and talks about the city of Detroit. There will be more room for scrutiny. I think there will be much more room for just this negative tone towards the city that we haven’t seen in the last few months.”
The Michigan Chronicle has endorsed Mary Sheffield for mayor. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have also given their endorsements to Sheffield. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4. Early voting begins Saturday, October 25.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. used their televised debate on Channel 7 to address issues and criticize each other with increasingly personal attacks.
Only a few weeks remain until Detroit’s city elections. The results will impact the entire metro region.
Candidates want to reach undecided voters like Uber driver Deaujejuan Braxton.
He says he’s seen some positive changes in his eastside Detroit neighborhood.
But Braxton says there are still issues that Detroit’s next mayor needs to address.
Listen: Detroit voter Deaujejuan Braxton seeks candidates ‘grounded in morality’
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Deaujejuan Braxton: A lot of gentrification, first and foremost, is going on. Even rent prices have almost doubled, in some cases, just over the past few years. And of course, if the people can’t afford it, they’re forced to move. Even looking at a lot of the high-rises downtown, it was elderly people living there and they are getting moved out. New business is coming in. And you can see the switch.
As far as the good happening, there are some small programs you hear about that certain organizations are coming up with to help the people that still live here. Affordable housing programs, a little stipend in order to maybe pay your first month’s rent, even help with paying the water bill or a light bill, things like that.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Some people I talk to about stuff going on in the neighborhoods say crime is still an issue. What’s your view about that?
DB: I see crime as going down, actually. I spoke to a law enforcement officer who got into the Uber, he was a 911 dispatcher. And he told me that people have a false perception of there being a high crime rate. He said it’s actually relatively low in comparison to other places. But he said they do have a high theft issue, specifically downtown, as far as stealing cars. He said not really violent crimes as much.
My thing is, we need more programs for children in the city to get them off the streets and out of this poverty that they’re facing. Because there’s a lack of good paying jobs. We’re not even making a living wage here. And if you’re not making a living wage, we know that there’s going to be more crime due to that alone. Because you have to survive, you have to live, you have to eat, have a roof over your head.
QK: We do have the city elections underway right now in Detroit. Have you been following any of the candidates or any of the issues that they bring up?
DB: In regards to voting for anybody to have some type of high office, I feel as though they should have some high level of morality, just in general. You have to believe in God, first and foremost, to me. If you don’t, I feel like you are subject to do anything at any given moment based upon the current circumstances in your life, whether it be embezzling money or anything else, if you fall on hard times. You have to have something outside of yourself to keep you grounded.
I came across some people at grocery stores who try to get you to sign a petition to have people show identification in order to vote. I definitely don’t agree with that. They probably are putting me in a database to try to figure out who I voted for. They’re going to look at the demographics of your race, your age, and they’ll put all that into play as soon as you show your identification. That’s a worry, because when you give up your freedoms in any capacity, you’re subject to give up all of them later on.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. used their televised debate on Channel 7 to address issues and criticize each other with increasingly personal attacks.
Detroit’s mayoral candidates have their only scheduled debate this week.
The Reverand Solomon Kinloch faces City Council President Mary Sheffield in the general election. Kinloch, a political newcomer, says city leaders haven’t done enough to increase affordable housing in Detroit. He votes to do that and continue pastoring his church if voters elect him.
“All of us got a responsibility, not to just do something from a spiritual perspective, but to do something social and political. That’s my rearing and my raising. I believe that this is a great opportunity to inspire an entire city that ordinary people can do some extraordinary things.”
Sheffield argues dealing with Detroit’s housing and financial issues demands someone with the kind of experience she’s gained over a dozen years on Council.
The debate will be on Channel 7 starting at 7 p.m this Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Dearborn Heights City Council Chairman Mo Baydoun is now the Acting Mayor due to Mayor Bill Bazzi’s resignation. The U.S. Senate confirmed Bazzi’s nomination to serve as the Ambassador to Tunisia.
Acting Mayor Baydoun says he will work closely with city council, public servants and local unions to bring fresh perspectives and solutions. He also says he will focus on public safety, city services, infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization.
Residents of Dearborn Heights will vote for a new mayor in November between Baydoun, the highest vote getter during the primaries, and Councilwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell.
People can bring their clothes, electronics, bikes, toys and other things to fix for free. There is also free parking available.
The repair popup takes place every 3rd Sunday in October, November and December from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Moondog Cafe 8045 Linwood Street in Detroit.
The next repair clinic takes place Sunday, October 19.
The program will begin with a walking tour of Asian Americans and allies buried in the cemetery, followed by a panel discussion about AAPI history in America and healing.
The event takes place next Friday Oct. 24th at the Elmwood Cemetery 1200 Elmwood Ave. in Detroit.
It is free and open to the public.
Samaritan Operation Christmas Child
The international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is looking for gifts and donations for Operation Christmas Child starting next month. Volunteers are collecting and delivering gifts for kids who have faced war, poverty or disaster.
This year the initiative will have 5,000 drop off locations across the nation, hoping to serve 12 million children. People can also donate $10 for a box of goodies to fill a shoebox full of gifts for a child. Collection week is November 17-24.
If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org.
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Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
There are about 2,200 urban gardens across Detroit. In a place with a lot of empty tracts, that can be a great use of land.
And, over the past few years, the city has done things to assist the people who tend to it. There’s now an entire department dedicated to the inner workings of urban farmers.
Recently, the city alongside the Eastern Market Partnership are collaborating to offer $225,000 in grant funding to Detroit-based farmers.
But even with the new dollars being made available, preserving and expanding farms can be challenging because upkeep can be costly and labor-intensive. With Mayor Mike Duggan leaving office, there will likely be turnover and questions about the priorities of the new administration.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
A new lawsuit alleges that Triumph Church and its pastor, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., who is a candidate for Detroit mayor, violated state and federal laws after the church purchased the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield. The church later conveyed that property to a private limited liability company “controlled exclusively” by […]
Mayor Mike Duggan is scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in Detroit on Wednesday night hosted by a wealthy businessman who donated $100,000 to a Donald Trump political action committee and has been linked to multiple corruption scandals involving city contracts. The invitation-only event, billed as a “Special Friends and Family” gathering for Duggan’s gubernatorial […]
Reverend Solomon Kinloch, a political newcomer, is taking on career politician and City Council President Mary Sheffield.
Leading into the primary, the common refrain on the campaign trail was affordable housing and lowering crime.
Kinloch, the leader of Triumph Church, is no different.
In an interview with Detroit Public Radio, Kinloch spoke about filling up the city’s limited housing stock.
Listen: Affordable housing, lowering crime key to Detroit says candidate Kinloch
“We got to begin with, neighborhood revitalization. My plan would commit to putting a family in every house,” Kinloch said. “We do that by creating a greater pathway to home ownership, by increasing and intensifying the down payment assistance program… and prioritizing affordable housing development.”
The City of Detroit says there’s been over one billion dollars of affordable housing investment in the city since 2019. Many of those developments come with more expensive apartments, with units set aside for people with median income.
This, Kinloch says, is where he and Sheffield disagree. He thinks Sheffield, and the city, aren’t being aggressive enough.
“They’re bragging about affordable housing. Affordable for who?” Kinloch said. “You got rent 17,18, $1,900 a month. That’s not affordable for the average family in the city of Detroit.”
No victory laps when it comes to crime
Another key difference is that Kinloch sees city leaders, Sheffield included, already celebrating a drop in crime.
“I don’t think nobody should be taking a victory lap,” Kinloch says. “When you talk to residents in the city of Detroit, and when you leave a funeral, as I have left so many, where I’m burying too many young people in this city to go into saying, ‘you ain’t gonna change nothing’.”
Kinloch maintains that many in the city still feel unsafe, despite recent improvements.
“We got to be honest about how bad the problem is, so that we can take some comprehensive and some realistic and practical steps in order to deal with that,” Kinloch said. “People still don’t feel safe…they still got bars on their windows.”
That willingness to try new things when it comes to law enforcement and lowering crime does not extend to the using the National Guard in Detroit.
“I believe that the wonderful police officers in the City of Detroit should be responsible for caring for the people in the City of Detroit, and that people who live in the city should be responsible for being a part of that police department in order to patrol and protect their citizens,” Kinloch said.
Referencing the uprising in the summer of 1967, Kinloch says the National Guard being sent to Detroit is still an open wound for many.
“I believe that when you start talking about martial law, it regurgitates some traumatic experience for the community,” Kinloch said. “They long have tried, mentally and socially to and psychologically to distance themselves from (that).”
The organization that operates the Detroit People Mover has launched a study to look for ways to improve services.
Kinloch says he lives downtown, and he wants Detroiters to feel like it’s their downtown too. Expanding and improving the People Mover would help that.
“When I did my launch, people were saying, ‘Why are you going to the Fox (Theater)? That’s that’s not where we go. We don’t go downtown.’ We have to make sure that everyone in this city feels a part of what’s going on in this city, because if we bring them downtown, we want them to use the mode of transportation to get around downtown,” Kinloch said.
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In just a few weeks, Detroit residents will take to the polls and pick the city’s next mayor. The candidates are City Council President Mary Sheffield and Reverend Solomon Kinloch.
WDET is speaking with residents as part of our Citizen Vox project to gauge what the community is looking for.
Ronald Ferguson is a 69 year old born-and-raised Detroiter who plans to vote for Kinloch. He spoke with WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley about his decision.
Listen: District 6 resident says he’s voting for Kinloch, he hasn’t seen enough from Sheffield
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ronald Ferguson: Well, I feel he’s for the people, and to me, I think he’ll do a better job than what we’ve seen over the past six to 10 years from his opponent, you know? I mean, she’s been their council president for so long, but yet, where’s all the results from her efforts? So, I’m ready to try something different to see if I can get a different result, because I’m not happy with the results we’re getting.
Bre’Anna Tinsley, WDET News: What results are you looking for?
RF: The common things: safer neighborhoods, all of the things that make a community thrive, and not just being concentrated on downtown, but the other parts of the cities.
BT: Can you talk about your neighborhood specifically? If there’s anything in there that you’re looking for.
RF: In my neighborhood, there’s few houses, and all the abandoned houses have been demolished. So I’m pleased with that. So the neighborhood is actually clean, and that is a good thing, but I just want to make sure that we have a little more security, because in the summertime, for whatever reason, our young people tend to want to use the public streets as a drag strip. And if there were more police out there or being placed in certain areas, I think we could minimize or eliminate that. That’s a concern.
It’s to the point where you don’t want to go out when it’s dark out, and you shouldn’t have to feel that way in your neighborhood. But I know when you have limited funding with fewer taxpayers, that’s what you get. So, I’m hoping a new mayor can get more people to reside in the city, to increase the tax base, so therefore you can get better schools, better stores, better policing, all the things that we all want when you live somewhere. Detroit is no different than any other city. The only difference is we don’t have the tax base because of the lack of residents. And then when you look at the percentage that’s unemployed, let’s find a way to get these people employed if they’re going to reside in the city, or find people that can move in the city that’s already employed, that’ll resolve your problems, most of them anyways.
BT: You mentioned not seeing any results from City Council President Mary Sheffield. Duggan has been the mayor for the last over a decade. Now, were you not satisfied with him as mayor either?
RF: Well, now you’re on a different target. I would say I’m pleased with a lot of the things he’s done. I remember vaguely when the city was dark because of the thieves stealing all copper wires for the streetlights. Well, they revamped that and put them above so they could relight the city. He also campaigned on tearing down a lot of the condemned homes, and he did a great job at that, because it happened right on my block, and I witnessed it. So, a lot of things he did, I approve of, but I don’t know. I just didn’t see or give credit to Sheffield being the president of city council.
I just didn’t see a lot coming from her and her efforts. But maybe if you combine her with Duggan, well, kudos to them, because they got some things done that help my community. Policing can help a little more. That tax base has to grow, and I don’t see where all the jobs are coming to make people employed that’s residing here. That’s not something to cheer about, what are we going to do about that?
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Candidates in the upcoming election want to reach undecided voters like Uber driver Deaujejuan Braxton. He says he’s seen some positive changes in his eastside Detroit neighborhood, but there are still issues that Detroit’s next mayor needs to address.
Health care leaders and Democrats say Duggan is ignoring the reality of Trump’s legislation, which slashes $840 billion from Medicaid over the next decade
It’s the home stretch for Detroit City Council candidates with election day only about a month away.
On the city’s northeast side incumbent Scott Benson faces a challenge from a life-long resident of Council District 3, Cranstana Anderson.
She’s a former UAW local official and administrator who works from home preparing taxes.
Anderson says she wants to change how city government operates on the eastside.
Listen: Detroit Council candidate Cranstana Anderson says she can represent struggling residents—she’s one too
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Cranstana Anderson: For instance, the rainfall sewage fee. They call it a fee but it’s actually a tax. If people want to build around their homes and they put more cement down, there is nowhere to absorb the rainwater. So your drainage fees are higher. A lot of churches experienced it because they made parking lots or created more sidewalks. Anything that is not grass or trees to absorb, that rainfall becomes an additional charge.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: If you were elected to council, how would you address those kind of problems?
CA: I would first have to see how we get out of something that we got into. I really believe Detroit not having control over the water has led to these types of actions by leadership. The water bill used to be less than what it is every month now, even every three months. So, it seems like that’s a long-term consequence of them giving control of it to the Great Lakes Water Authority.
QK: There’s been a lot of talk about a “financial cliff” that Detroit could be facing because federal funding and some other money is running out. Some of the mayoral candidates have talked about increasing revenue by perhaps raising certain taxes on things like events downtown. Do you think that that’s a way to go?
CA: I do believe that we’ve given out enough tax abatements and incentives for those businesses downtown to be a contributor into paying a higher tax, if that’s what’s going to help the neighborhoods. Because originally, that’s what downtown was getting built up for. It was to change the dynamics of the way downtown looked, to change the dynamics of economic growth in Detroit and build-up downtown. But it was also supposed to contribute to building up the residential communities, making sure those who have retired, bought their home, worked their 30 years, are not left out. And that’s what we want to focus on, not leaving those who have already paved the way for us to stabilize the community be forced out by business or investors. I believe in gentrification versus nullification. So if it’s nothing, then gentrification sounds pretty good when it’s nothing.
QK: I still hear lots of concerns about crime, not just on the northeast side, but throughout the city. If you were on council, how would you try and help address that?
CA: I would try to create some different policies about how we retain our public safety officers. I believe when they were given the option to live outside of Detroit, that’s when we had more crime created. The crime rate is just at a flat line right now. I don’t see the quality of policing in Detroit, in my area and in many other areas, the way it used to be. When I grew up, relying on police was the route to go to keep the community safe. But now, to engage with them, to build a certain amount of trust with them, and have none of our officers that want to live in Detroit, that says a lot about their policing.
There’s a lot that needs to be done. But I want to make sure we look right.
QK: You’ve mentioned that you’d like to see more political accountability. Do you think that’s lacking at the moment with some of the Detroit officials?
CA: Yes, especially mine, in my district. I think we’ve compromised our office.
QK: You’re talking about Detroit City Council member Scott Benson. There had been some allegations made about bribery charges. But federal authorities said that they had closed that case. And Benson said he and his staff came up completely clean. So, in your view, wouldn’t that kind of clean his slate in terms of that?
CA: No, not with me. Because I’m analytical. I’m from Detroit. And I know everybody who is in prison is not guilty and some of those who are guilty are still walking around.
QK: In any political campaign it is often hard to beat an incumbent. And you’re the challenger in this one. What do you say to people in District 3 if they ask why they should vote for you for council?
CA: Because I understand exactly the hardships that they’re going through. I am a person that’s just like them. And I will fight harder for them. The people who live there, who built there, who are maintaining their property and shopping in that area, doing business in that area, should be entitled to good service. There needs to be some type of resources made available that help these residents qualify for the investors that we want to come into our community.
As far as jobs go, you have the Work First program. But the jobs pay minimum wages, $15-$16 an hour. That’s just not a fair wage. We’re supposed to live off 30% of our income. How do we manage that? Affordable housing is $1,200 and your wages are $1,500. What does that calculate up to? That calculates up to a struggle.
One of the things that hasn’t been invested in is the blighted buildings in my community. A lot of schools shut down. And no one’s talking about doing anything with them except maybe utilizing them as training spots for the police or other public safety departments. These are buildings in the community that used to educate. And we believe, not just myself but a lot of residents, that we can turn these buildings into community hubs where they teach about things like drones, auto mechanics. We don’t want those buildings torn down. We want to utilize those buildings to put back into the education system what they took away. Creative arts. Let the residents, the children, tap into their natural talents or introduce them to the skills that they don’t know they have. Those are places that we can renovate and make into state-of-the art facilities. To make sure that we have the resources not 50 miles from us, not across town, but right here in our own community, where our children can actually walk to school. There’s a lot that needs to be done.
But I want to make sure we look right, so that we don’t invite the wrong type of activity into the community. Get rid of what we do have that’s not a positive influence in our community. Our children are becoming a product of their environment. We say we want to help them, but we have an overpopulation of alcohol stores. We have a population of marijuana dispensaries. It’s legal and a lot of people voted for it because they were tired of people going to jail for marijuana, which is understandable. But it’s something we need to go back to the drawing board about to make sure that it’s regulated properly, that our children don’t have such easy access to it. It’s really hurting us. And in order to build a community up, you have to eliminate the things that take them down.
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Ayers joined the council in 2015. She was appointed to replace Saunteel Jenkins, who vacated her seat to become the CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund. Ayers won a special election in 2016 and secured a full four-year term in the 2017 general election. She ran for re-election in 2021 but lost.
At the time, the federal government was investigating corruption in city government. FBI agents searched her home for evidence but found none. The Justice Department closed the case in 2025 without charging her.
Ayers says if not for that ordeal, voters would have re-elected her.
“It was horrible, but I’ve come through it,” she says.
Ayers says she couldn’t talk about the investigation until now but welcomes voters’ questions about it. She also says it helped her understand many of the problems Detroit faces.
“I’ve lived it in a way that makes me so much more keen on the issues that people are dealing with,” she says.
Vice President JD Vance repeated those claims while visiting Howell, Michigan, and said Trump would send the National Guard to Detroit if Governor Gretchen Whitmer requests it.
Ayers doubts she would.
“She and I know each other well,” Ayers says. “If she did, she’d have some serious questions to answer.”
Ayers says the federal government doesn’t need to police the streets of Detroit. But she does see a problem on the horizon—replacing Detroit Police officers who are retiring.
“We’ll be losing a lot of the institutional knowledge in those folks that have been on the job,” she says.
Ayers chaired the Public Health and Safety committee throughout her years on the council. She says the city needs to encourage young people to join the Detroit Police Department as older officers leave.
“We definitely need to strengthen that pipeline for Detroiters to start taking those positions,” she says. “So that we just have people that are from our community policing our community.”
On housing and jobs
Besides public safety, Ayers says she’s concerned about affordable housing in Detroit. One reason why it hasn’t been affordable for many, she says, is the formula the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to calculate the city’s median income.
“For us, it is Detroit, Warren, and Livonia, and they take the median income from those three cities,” she says. “We can’t get a median income that makes sense for Detroiters as long as we’re compared to those two cities.”
Ayers says more Detroiters could afford to buy a home if they had better jobs and better access to transportation. She would also like to pick up where she left off with a task force to help people returning to the city after being incarcerated.
Don’t call it a comeback
While Ayers hasn’t been on the council for almost four years, she has been busy running her own consulting company and returning to work for the city’s recreation department where she started.
“I’ve been right here doing all the things I would have done with or without the title,” she says.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she shared her concerns with President Trump about his new H1B visa policy which makes the price of applying for a visa $100,000.
H1B visas allow companies to bring in international workers for specialized jobs requiring higher education. Whitmer says she told President Trump that raising the application cost of those visas by around 10,000% could hurt Michigan’s economy.
Whitmer adds the state’s medical and automotive industries could be directly impacted by visa policy changes, saying large numbers of Canadian workers in fields like nursing and engineering rely on the visas.
Additional headlines from Tuesday September 30, 2025
Southwest Detroit hosts forum for candidates in upcoming election
Candidates for mayor, City Council District 6 and at-large seats have been invited to hear personal testimonies and concerns from residents of Southwest Detroit before sharing their plans to address the problems.
Organizers include 482Forward, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Michigan United, Raices Detroit, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives and We the People MI.
The forum is Saturday October 11 from noon to 3 p.m. in the El Nacimiento warehouse at 7000 W Vernor Hwy.
Resource guide for Native Americans returns
The state is relaunching a resource guide for Michigan tribal communities.
The Office of Civil Rights began publishing the Michigan Indian Quarterly more than 30 years ago. Now the Native American Resource Guide will be produced by the Department of Lifelong Education Advancement and Potential in partnership with Michigan State University’s Native American Institute.
The guide will include a list of tribal, state and federal contacts, education, legal and health resources, scholarship opportunities, genealogical research tools and artwork from Native artists from Michigan.
The Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival is this weekend.
The city’s creative community invites visitors to their home studios and front porches as well as to coffee shops, galleries and parks throughout the city. Organizers say the festival is meant to show that art is for everyone and that all are welcome.
The Hamtramck Night Bazaar will offer food and goods from a variety of vendors, and stores and restaurants will also be open. For more information visit hnaf.org.
DNR on the lookout for Belle Isle alligator
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed sightings of a small alligator roaming on Belle Isle.
The Detroit Free Press reports someone took a picture of the gator and shared it on social media. The DNR reviewed the photograph and used geolocation data to determine its authenticity.
The agency says it doesn’t know how the reptile got there, but it reminds people that releasing pets or wild animals on Belle Isle or other state parks is illegal and harmful to native creatures.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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