In Detroit’s wealthiest city council district, a former council member is self funding his campaign to defeat a popular incumbent.
Former council member Roy McCalister Jr. (29%) defeated State Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit, (25%) but came up 15 percentage points behind council member Angela Whitfield Calloway (44%).
In total, 16,723 people showed up to vote in the race.That’s the highest number of votes of any council district during the primary election, with District 5 reporting the second amount of voters, with 13,430 total.
McCalister, a retired police officer, did receive more votes than Whitfield Calloway at a number of precincts. He earned 10 more votes at Precinct 228, 229 and 230, located at W. Seven Mile and Schaefer at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ.
Scott received more votes at one precinct, 222, located at Pasteur School, west of Livernois and north of W. Seven Mile. Scott also received more votes than McCalister at precinct 210 and 211, located on Oak Drive between Six Mile and Livernois.
District 2 is known as the city’s highest taxpaying district. Its boundary stretches from part of the city’s northwest side to the Highland Park city limit.
The district includes Gateway Marketplace, the 350,000-square-foot shopping center home to the Meijer on 8 Mile, the new transit center at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds at Woodward and 8 Mile, the Avenue of Fashion on Livernois and 7 Mile, Palmer Park, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest and University District.
City planners estimated redistricting changes will decrease District 2 by about 7,000 residents. Whitfield Calloway was the only council member last year who voted for a different redistricting map option to minimize the impact on her district.
Whitfield Calloway, a retired public school teacher, often stands alone on council, whether it’s opposing contracts with out of town businesses or Bedrock’s plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center. She often stands in the way of the mayor’s agenda on large projects and small contracts council members are tasked with approving or denying.
She’s also championed her ordinance banning cashless businesses, which she says will protect the most vulnerable.
“The poor, the low-income, the senior citizens, the youth, the homeless, and people like me who still like to use cash,” Whitfield-Calloway said.
Read more: Detroit’s New Ban on Cashless Businesses: Effective September 11
In 2021, she defeated MCalister, the incumbent at the time, taking 55% of the vote.
Roy McCalister Jr. said what separates him is his experience and dedication to finding solutions to the complex issues.
“I was there before, people know what I’m about and that’s why people are calling me to run again,” McCalister said earlier this year.
McCalister is a retired police officer who left the Detroit Police Department in 2006. Before joining city council in 2017, he was an investigator for the Federal Defenders Office of the Eastern District of Michigan.
He said he wants to continue his work addressing root causes of crime on city council.
“We have a lot of people that have mental health challenges since COVID, I used to have mental health seminars and workshops as council member, that is not happening now,” McCalister said.
McCalister defeated the incumbent and late former state Sen. Virgil Smith in 2017 to win the seat.
McCalister also pushed back on some of Duggan’s proposals, like a housing program attempting to compensate over-taxed homeowners, and an early version of Duggan’s demolition bond.
The Detroit Free Press endorsed McCalister ahead of the primary, while the News endorsed Scott.
State Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detrot, said she ran because her constituents she shares with the city council district representing the area in the state House are asking for change.
“This seat was my first choice in 2017 before I ran for state House — this is my passion,” Scott said.
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