Detroit voters have seen this movie before.
A crowded ballot can look like a good thing with plenty of choices, plenty of voices, plenty of people asking for a chance to represent the city. Democracy is supposed to give voters options, after all.
But the catch is that somebody still has to make sense of all those choices.
Detroit got a lesson in that during the 13th Congressional District race in 2022. Nine Democrats competed in the primary, including Shri Thanedar, Adam Hollier, Portia Roberson, John Conyers III, Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, Sharon McPhail, Michael Griffie, Sam Riddle and Lorrie Rutledge. Thanedar won with 28.3% of the vote, while Hollier finished second with 23.5%
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It took a third election cycle to change the occupant of the seat. In August 2026, state Rep. Donavan McKinney defeated Thanedar in the Democratic primary, ending Thanedar’s time in Congress after two terms.
The point isn’t that a crowded ballot automatically produces the wrong result. It doesn’t. Voters make their own decisions, and candidates win elections because enough voters choose them.
The point is that a lot of choices require a lot of sorting, and Detroit voters are about to get another exercise in sorting. This time, the decision is about who will help govern Detroit Public Schools Community District.
There are 34 candidates running for five open seats on the school board, according to the field provided by the Detroit clerk’s office. Two current board members — Steve Bland Jr. and Bessie Lee Harris — are seeking another term, while 32 other candidates are asking voters for a seat at the table. Board member Iris Taylor died in July, and her name was removed from the ballot.
That’s 34 names for five spots.
The race is the largest field for the school board since 2016, when more than 60 candidates sought seats on the newly created DPSCD board.
Having 34 candidates doesn’t mean voters have to know 34 life stories. They don’t need to become political junkies between now and Election Day, either. But they do need to pay attention.
That’s because school board elections are easy to overlook. There are no television commercials dominating the evening news, and there aren’t likely to be campaign events drawing the kind of crowds that follow a presidential or congressional race. In some neighborhoods, a voter may learn more about a school board candidate from a yard sign than from anything else.
That makes a race with 34 candidates especially interesting.
A familiar name isn’t necessarily a candidate who understands school governance, and a polished campaign isn’t necessarily evidence of a clear governing philosophy. And frequently, people confuse a social media following with a clear indicator that a lot of people think a candidate is qualified to approach a district budget, academic performance, special education, transportation, school safety, or the relationship between the board and the superintendent.
But the job of the board is specific. It’s not there to run individual schools or to manage the district’s daily operations. Its responsibility is governance — setting direction, establishing policy and holding the superintendent accountable for carrying out the district’s work.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has called the 2026 election a watershed moment for DPSCD.
That makes the five seats on the ballot more than five names to circle. They are five positions on a governing body responsible for decisions that reach into classrooms, homes, and neighborhoods throughout Detroit.
Voters should be asking “Who understands the job?” instead of “Whose name do I recognize?”
A voter might know a candidate personally, or they might recognize a name from years of community involvement. Someone else might be drawn to a candidate because of a particular position or because that candidate has been especially visible during the campaign.
Those things can matter. But they don’t answer the basic questions every voter should ask. What does this candidate think the school board should be doing? What does the candidate believe DPSCD needs to accomplish? What authority does a board member actually have? How would the candidate approach disagreements with the superintendent? What does the candidate know about the district’s finances? What does the candidate think should happen when academic outcomes aren’t where they need to be? And perhaps the biggest question: What evidence does the candidate offer that he or she understands the responsibility that comes with the position?
Those questions take some work to answer.
That’s the uncomfortable part of having so many choices. More choices don’t automatically mean more informed choices. Sometimes, they mean more homework.
But once the votes are counted, the choice has consequences, and that’s particularly true with a school board.
Parents have to live with the consequences of school board decisions, and students, teachers, and taxpayers don’t get to opt out. The people sitting around that board table will make decisions that can affect the direction of the district for years.
So yes, 34 candidates means Detroit voters have options.
It also means voters have to distinguish among those options.
Here is the full list of candidates:
- Natalie La’Vonne Bien-Aime
- Steve Bland, Jr.
- Michelle Rene’ Broughton
- Katrina Lanise Brown
- Cidney Julia-Angela Calloway
- Bobby Lee Christian
- Nicole Marie Conaway
- Vilma Valeria Escamilla-Durán
- Daniel Franklin Ferguson, III
- Duane Larry Grisby, Jr.
- Bessie Lee Harris
- David Dwayne Harris, II
- Henrietta Ivey
- Christopher Allen Hubbard
- Ijazz Johnnay Jackson
- Tabrian Chas Joe
- Shinese DeCarol Johnson
- Theodore Rhett Jones
- Georgia Mae Lemmons
- LaMar Demetri Lemmons
- Clement Ogden Lett
- Phillip E. Lloyd, II
- Aliya Rebekah Moore
- Darious Lamar Morris
- Liana Stern Mulholland
- Tyshea Elaine Pope
- Danetta Lynese Simpson
- Tawanna Simpson
- Jameel Montgomery Smith
- Calesther J. Smith-Arnold
- Shawn Vaughn
- Terry Eugene Whitfield
- Elizabeth Ann Williams
- Theresa Arleen Williams
Honestly, though, there’s something almost comical about seeing 34 names lined up for five seats. But the number also underscores the responsibility voters have when they walk into the voting booth. There’s a temptation in a race like this to simplify it by picking the name you know, the person your neighbor mentioned, the person who appeared on your social media feed, or the candidate whose name you’ve seen on a yard sign.
That’s the easy way to do it, but It’s also a very poor way to choose a school board.
Detroiters have plenty of opportunities to get more information before they vote. Candidates will have forums, campaign materials, interviews, and public appearances. Voters can look at their backgrounds, listen to what they say, and pay attention to whether they understand the difference between running a campaign and governing a school district.
And they can ask a simple question whenever a candidate makes a promise: Does the school board actually have the authority to do that?
That question alone could eliminate a lot of confusion because, again, school board candidates aren’t running to become principals or superintendents. They’re running for a governing position with specific responsibilities and limitations, and ensuring that candidates know those responsibilities could make the choice easier for voters.
So does knowing what candidates would do with the authority they actually have.
As a voter, you don’t need the 2026 DPSCD election to become an exercise in becoming an expert on 34 people. Just be engaged enough to make five intentional choices.
Choice and competition are good things. And a wide field gives voters the opportunity to hear from people with different experiences, ideas, and priorities.
But choice only works when people use it thoughtfully. Thirty-four candidates are asking Detroit voters for five votes. Five of them will get seats on the board. The hard part for voters is figuring out why those five deserve your vote.
