DETROIT — As Detroit voters prepared to shift their attention to November's general election, they said mayoral hopefuls Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. should focus their plans on spreading the city's momentum to neglected neighborhoods, fighting crime and increasing affordable housing.
Based on early ballot requests, less than one out of five registered voters had been expected to cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election, which narrowed the field for picking the city's first new mayor in more than a decade. Nine candidates ran for mayor, and Kinloch and Sheffield, the city council president, now face off in the fall.
Many voters had clear ideas about what they expect the potential successor of Mayor Mike Duggan to concentrate on. The overarching theme for many voters was that they want to see the last decade of progress spread deeper and wider, both in terms of geographic boundaries as well as the people benefiting from the improvements.
“It isn’t all about downtown,†said Zachary Fulton, 64. “ItÃÛèÖÊÓƵ about these neighborhoods, and the taxpayers in the city of Detroit who have been here forever.â€
After Duggan took office in 2014, he helped to lead the city out of bankruptcy, cut unemployment, gain population, as well as developed the downtown, Corktown and Midtown areas. But critics have contended he often sided with developers at the expense of helping the city's other neighborhoods or aiding lower-income residents.
Detroit has experienced reductions in crime, including murders, in the past 12 years but remains among the nation's most violent. Fighting crime remains a high priority for Ernest Johnson, 77, and Shannon Durant, 62, who have been victims of crimes in the past and said they continue to see the devastating toll crime, violence and drugs have on their communities.
"Too many shootings, too many people stealing cars, too many young Black men caught up in a terrible cycle of doing harm to themselves and others," said Johnson, as he attended a live radio event in Eastern Market on Sunday, where all nine mayoral candidates were interviewed.
"Some people in office now, they look good cutting ribbons to open some new downtown building, but I'm supporting the person who I've seen in my community, reaching out to people in need," he said.
For Johnson, that candidate has been Kinloch, the 52-year-old political novice attempting to parlay his years of community work as pastor of Triumph Church into becoming Detroit's next mayor.
"He's a strong Black man; he's the kind of role model many young men need to see," said Johnson, as he wore a yellow "Kinloch for Mayor" T-shirt on Sunday.
There were 203 homicides reported by Detroit Police in 2024, the lowest since 1965. But Detroit's homicide rate per 100,000 population last year was 32.1, fifth highest in the United States.
Non-fatal shootings and overall violent crime in Detroit in 2024 also dropped to the lowest levels in decades. But the numbers were blemished by high-profile incidents that included a July block party shootout that resulted in Michigan's largest mass shooting in terms of victims and a double homicide in September during a Detroit Lions tailgate party near downtown.
Durant, an east side resident, knows too many seniors who are too afraid to go out at night, and she is one of them. Several years ago, she called her City Council representative about the problems she and other residents were having at an East Jefferson Avenue apartment complex. She was taken aback by the quick response she got from that councilwoman: Mary Sheffield.
"She and her whole team came, brought food for the seniors. She gave us resources, and things started ... getting fixed that were problems," said Durant last week, just after she cast her ballot at an early vote center. Sheffield has impressed her often, she said.
"I have seen her working in the community for seniors and for the children" by getting the children backpacks, bicycles and shoes, said Durant, who is now working for Sheffield's campaign. "She brings the rappers that the children like. She brings the local community together."
Themes echo earlier priorities
What Detroit voters told The Detroit ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ echoed the themes from a May 27-29 survey of 500 likely primary voters, commissioned by The ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ and WDIV-TV (Channel 4). Crime, drugs and guns were listed as the top issue in the Glengariff Group-conducted poll at 18.5%. The survey had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points and is considered a snapshot in time. Voter sentiment may have shifted since then.
Neighborhood and community improvement was considered the third-highest priority in the May poll at 8.5%, and it was a theme repeated by voters.
Even as Duggan has dismissed the downtown-versus-neighborhoods narrative, many Detroiters have said the theme rings true. The poll showed nearly 70% of respondents agreed with the statement that the city government focuses too much attention on downtown and more resources need to go toward the neighborhoods.
Among those is Isabel Torres, 34, a resident of southwest Detroit, which has long been the center of the Latino community. She worries that gentrification — when the character of a poor neighborhood is changed by wealthier people moving in — and the immigration crackdown by the Trump administration could mean the neighborhood will result in far fewer Latino residents.
Torres said she considered herself lucky because seven years ago, she and her boyfriend bought a "solid" southwest home for less than $120,000.
"Those days are gone. A lot of my younger friends in their 20s who want to stay in the neighborhood; they're finding it hard to find something affordable. I want to see our next mayor and council fight that," said Torres, who voted Sunday at the Clark Park early vote center.
Torres is among 79% likely primary voters who resoundingly oppose the city using its resources or employees to help the federal government and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents remove undocumented immigrants from Detroit, according to the late May poll.
For Christine Stevens, 51, the contrast between life in DetroitÃÛèÖÊÓƵ business district and in the neighborhoods couldn’t be more stark. Lifelong Detroiters are driven from their homes by high taxes and high water rates and then can’t find a way to maintain their Detroit residence among soaring rental costs, she said.
“We need common sense, logical solutions so we can live here,†Stevens said. “It just seems like the city is allowing people to push us, to push us out.â€
Still, a large majority of 72% told pollsters the city is a better place to live than 10 years ago. About 70% said blighted homes have gotten better, while 50% said crime has improved.
Allison Harris, 45, echoed the common refrain of many longtime residents, who contended their communities need to improve while allowing them to stay and feel comfortable.
“There are people who have lived here 40, 50 years, and we keep hearing in the news that ‘DetroitÃÛèÖÊÓƵ coming back,’ and they’re like ‘But my neighborhood looks the same,’†Harris said. “So how do we invest in those neighborhoods without gentrifying, without pushing out people who are long-standing veterans, who’ve given their lives to this city?â€
Too much emphasis on revitalization
The second biggest priority for likely primary voters was affordable housing and homelessness at 13%, a sentiment shared by Andrea Gary, who lives in the Cass Corridor and hopes the final two candidates focus on mental health, homelessness and housing affordability.
“I live in this area; I knew some of the homeless people,†Gary said.
Those individuals need real, long-term help, she argued. Instead of finding real help for them or those struggling with mental health issues, officials are quick to blame Republican former Gov. John Engler, who shuttered in-patient mental health institutions across the state.
“I’m sorry, but that was decades ago,†Gary said.
The 48-year-old also expressed concerns about the police department's response time, arguing that they are too slow to address citizen concerns in any meaningful way.
“I don’t feel safe,†Gary said. “I’m glad I’m on the Wayne State campus. They’re kind of slow, too, but I know they’re coming.â€
Walter Glinka also expressed concerns about affordable housing and the impact the Trump administrationÃÛèÖÊÓƵ immigration policies are having on the Hispanic community in southwest Detroit.
“They’re scaring the heck out of these people in southwest Detroit,†said Glinka, 71.
The next mayor needs to create more of a sanctuary for the cityÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Hispanic population while finding a way to work with the Trump administration, he said.
“I know that Donald Trump has a mind of his own,†Glinka added. “But having a working relationship with the White House is definitely key to keeping this city alive and well. In this case, Trump has to realize what is happening within the city.â€
Angelo Matthews, a 65-year-old Detroit resident and owner of the motorcycle shop Inner City Cycles, said the next leader of the city should focus on blight, affordable housing and ordinances that foster native Detroit businesses.
He expressed frustration with city regulations, including one that required him to pay for a city permit before painting the name of his business on the side of the building heÃÛèÖÊÓƵ owned since 1986. His frustrations with the city didn’t stop there.
“They come through and give me a ticket for somebody dumping stuff behind my building,†Matthews said. “But you look around at property the city owns in the inner city, and it looks like crap. But nobody can give them a ticket.â€
-------------
—Staff Writer Apurva Mahajan contributed to this story.
-------------
©2025 . Visit at . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
