Mary Sheffield makes history: Detroit elects first woman mayor

Mary Sheffield’s 12-year Detroit City Council career reached a new plateau on Tuesday after the city elected her as the first woman mayor in the city’s history.

Unofficial election results showed that Sheffield won in Tuesday’s contest against fellow Democrat and pastor Solomon Kinloch. The race was called by the Associated Press at 9:20 p.m.

Sheffield was projected to win with just 11% of the vote in, garnering 77% percent of the vote compared to Kinloch’s 21%. That lead held steady as returns continued to trail in throughout the night.

By the time she addressed supporters at a watch party in downtown Detroit’s MGM Grand Casino, the number of ballots reported stood at just 17% of total votes cast, and she was still holding on to a commanding lead.

Sheffield was ebullient when she reached the stage, basking in both a historic moment and a resounding mandate to lead the city on a new path.

“Over the past 330 days, we built more than a campaign,” Sheffield said. “We built a movement; a movement that has proven that we are stronger when we all stand together as one Detroit. I’ve seen it on the east side, the west side, and on every block in between.  … This is the story of our city, the spirit that carried us here to this moment.”

Sheffield will replace outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running as an independent candidate for governor in the 2026 race.

The mayor-elect not only reflected on the task ahead, but on the city’s place in Michigan and national history, and on how she plans to lead in the years ahead.

“Let’s not forget who we are,” she said. “We are a city of innovators, of champions, of change makers. We put the world on wheels. We created Motown. We built the nation’s first public highway. We powered the arsenal of democracy, and from these streets came freedom. From the underground railroad, to the fight for civil rights.”

Of note, the new mayor is the granddaughter of Horace Sheffield Jr., the famed union leader and civil rights crusader, who helped organize voter registration campaigns in the South between the most pivotal times of the civil rights movement. He marched in Detroit’s “Walk to Freedom” that featured the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, and in the Selma to Montgomery, Ala. voting rights march in 1965.

“Now, almost six decades later, his granddaughter stands right here,” Sheffield said.

Speaking to reporters before her election night speech, Sheffield said she was happy to see voters turn out for her considering her substantial focus on civic engagement during the campaign, and reaching young people. Still, she said she wants to broaden that engagement now that the hard work of campaigning is over, adding that Detroit needs to increase its turnout.

Sheffield said her next order of business is to begin the mayoral transition process, which will be community driven.

“We are going to have people from various sectors of our city sitting on that transition, with various committees, from gun violence to housing to infrastructure,” Sheffield said. “That committee will drive what the first 100 days of my administration will look like.”

When asked how her victory fits into the national conversation of what new Democratic leadership looks like, especially in big cities, Sheffield said that it all comes down to her belief in the city of Detroit.

“[In me] you have a leader who brought experience, who has a record of delivering for this city, who’s been consistent in their leadership,” she said. “That is what Detroiters want, and I’m so very honored that they saw me for me, and that they’re trusting me to move our city forward.”

Sheffield also said she welcomes the national attention.

“Part of what I’ll do as mayor is ensure that we continue to get the recognition and attention that we deserve,” she said. “And the funding, as well. I do think it’s great, good to have national attention on Detroit. In my leadership, we want to continue to do that … with positive attention.”

Michigan, Detroit-area Dems look forward to Sheffield administration

The history made Tuesday with Sheffield ascending to the office of mayor was not lost on the Democrats around the state.

“With her win, thousands of children in Detroit can now see themselves reflected in the city’s leadership in a way they never might have imagined before,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a statement. “With Mayor Sheffield, Detroiters have a passionate public servant fighting for them and their families, especially in the face of Republicans from Lansing to D.C. attacking them at every turn. Mary Sheffield is a fighter, and I know she will stand up for working families and their children every single day as mayor; the city is lucky to have her.”

Sandy Baruah, president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said Sheffield has been a pillar of Detroit’s progress over the past 12 years.

“She’s played an essential role in the positive working relationship between the city council and the mayor’s office, and is uniquely positioned to carry that momentum forward,” Baruah said in a statement. “Michigan and the Detroit Region cannot be successful without a successful Detroit, and the Chamber looks forward to partnering with Mayor-elect Sheffield as she shepherds the city into a new era.”

Various other officials were seen at Sheffield’s election night party, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, state Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak).

Santana told the Michigan Advance that Sheffield’s victory continues the momentum of new milestones being reached by Democrats in Michigan.

“Having the first woman there for the city of Detroit is monumental. I think it’s time,” Santana said. “We’ve been waiting for a very long time. … As a woman who represents the organization Black Women in Michigan Politics, I thought that we needed to support this woman candidate, who is elevating herself to the next level.”

McMorrow, who is also running for U.S. Senate, told the Advance that she was so excited for the city’s future.

“I’ve watched Mary grow through the city council to the city council president,” McMorrow said. “She’s got all the smarts. She knows how to do it. … Experience does matter. Mary is savvy. She understands that to succeed, we need to attract businesses, we need to attract investment, and she’s able to bring that all together in a way that centers the residents of this city.”

Both McMorrow and Santana also reflected on the shift her leadership might bring as opposed to the Duggan years.

“I think she’s already doing that,” McMorrow said. “She’s showing up everywhere. She’s listening to the communities I represent in northwest Detroit. They see the investment. They understand it. They’re also looking at their own neighborhoods and saying, ‘why aren’t we developing our corridors?’ Livernois is succeeding very much on its own, in a way that’s been incredible to watch. But I can anticipate Mary coming in and really build that out into a second downtown.”

Santana said it will certainly be a balancing act to support both the city’s neighborhoods and its thriving downtown area.

“I think that some of the things the prior mayor has done has helped us pave the way to the beginning of that progress,” Santana said. “But it’s more important that we also continue to support our communities and make sure that those communities have the support they need; in order to build out an infrastructure for neighborhoods.”