Mary Sheffield, the current city council president, will replace outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan. She will be the city’s first female mayor.
This isn’t the first time Sheffield has made history in the city. When she was elected to lead the city council, she was Detroit’s youngest city council president ever.
She defeated Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., who is the pastor of Triumph Church. Sheffield received 77% of the votes, while Kinloch received 22%.
Sheffield was considered a front-runner from the beginning. In the August primary, she received about 50% of the votes, advancing her to Tuesday’s face-off.
She said she wants to make sure neighborhoods in her city are not neglected. She also wants to tackle poverty and crime.
“To every Detroiter that is watching tonight, whether you voted for me or not, I am here to listen to you, to fight for you, and to serve you,” Sheffield said during her victory speech. “At the end of the day, we all want the same thing – a Detroit that works for everyone.”
What’s next:
Sheffield said she will begin working on a transition team as she prepares for Duggan to leave office. That will include coming up with a list of priorities for her first 100 days.
The other side:
Kinloch said that despite the loss, he continues to look forward to the future.
“I’m going to still yell it from the rooftop, that you cannot make all of the investments downtown. It has to reach the whole town of Detroit,” he said Tuesday night.
He said he entered the race over several concerns, including homelessness and crime.
