Mary Sheffield Makes History as Detroit's First Woman Mayor: A New Chapter in Urban Leadership

Mary Sheffield, first elected to the City Council in 2013 at age 26, has made history in Detroit.

Detroit:

City Council President Mary Sheffield has been elected as Detroit's new mayor, becoming the first woman to lead the city in its history.

Sheffield successfully defeated popular megachurch pastor Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday's general election.

She will assume office in January, succeeding three-term Mayor Mike Duggan who announced last year he would not seek reelection. Duggan is now running as an independent candidate for Michigan governor to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

Sheffield inherits a city that continues its positive trajectory following Detroit's emergence from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2014. Under Duggan's leadership, which began in January 2014, Detroit has significantly improved city services, including faster police response times, enhanced public lighting, and effective blight elimination.

The city has achieved 12 consecutive years of balanced budgets and is experiencing historically low violent crime numbers.

Detroit's population has also reversed decades of decline with recent growth. Earlier this year, U.S. Census estimates placed Detroit's population at 645,705 - reflecting an increase of 12,487 residents since May 2024, according to city data.

This figure includes nearly 6,800 new residents in 2024 and approximately 5,700 residents previously undercounted by the census from 2021-2023, according to Mayor Duggan's office.

This marks a positive change for a city whose population once reached 1.8 million in the 1950s.

Both Sheffield and Kinloch, both Democrats, advanced to Tuesday's election after securing the most votes in the city's non-partisan August primary. Sheffield received nearly 51% of the primary vote, while Kinloch garnered just over 17%.

Sheffield, who has served as council president since 2022, comes from a family with deep community ties - her father, Horace Sheffield III, is an activist and pastor of New Destiny Christian Fellowship church.

Duggan endorsed Sheffield's candidacy, describing her as "the most qualified person, the best prepared to be the next mayor."

Sheffield has outlined her priorities as focusing on education for Detroit's children, continuing improvements in public safety, and enhancing life in the city's neighborhoods.

"My commitment, Detroit, is to build on the foundation that has been laid working with Mayor Duggan and our council... by expanding opportunities, strengthening our neighborhoods and making sure that Detroit's progress reaches every block and every family of this city," Sheffield stated during a September campaign event alongside Duggan.

Kinloch conceded the election Tuesday night in a brief speech to supporters. Throughout his campaign, he emphasized the importance of ensuring Detroit's revival benefits all areas of the city.

"You can't make all of the investments downtown," Kinloch remarked. "It has to reach the whole town."

He encouraged his supporters to remain engaged with city government and reiterated his campaign themes of pushing for more action on affordable housing, crime reduction, and support for neighborhoods throughout Detroit.

"This city's in trouble and we need you to stand up and step up more now than ever before," he urged his supporters.