Detroit’s next chapter is being written now.
As the April 22 deadline passed, nine candidates officially filed petitions with City Clerk Janice Winfrey’s office, each staking their claim to lead a city built on resilience, revolution, and relentless hope.
For the first time in 12 years, the mayor’s seat is wide open—and for the first time since Coleman A. Young redefined Detroit’s future in 1974, the city is poised to once again elect a Black mayor. In a city where over 80% of residents are Black, this moment is more than expected—it’s necessary.
The field is as dynamic as the city itself: two current city councilmembers, a former council president, a former police chief, two entrepreneurs, the pastor of Detroit’s largest church, a leading attorney, and a community advocate stepping into the political arena. Their presence affirms a simple truth: Detroit’s leadership must reflect the people who have fought, stayed, and built here generation after generation.
Candidates officially on the ballot are City Council President Mary Sheffield, City Councilman Fred Durhal III, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, former Detroit City Council President Saunteel Jenkins, Triumph Church Pastor Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., entrepreneur Joel Haashiim, attorney Todd Perkins, entrepreneur Jonathan Barlow, and criminal justice advocate Dean Evans. Political activist Rogelio Landin, who missed the formal filing deadline, has pledged to continue his campaign as a write-in.
To meet this moment, the Michigan Chronicle went beyond campaign flyers and press releases. We conducted exclusive one-on-one interviews with each candidate, asking them each the same set of 18 questions that touched on some of the city’s most pressing issues: public safety, the economy, schools, more affordable housing, development, sustainability, protecting the most vulnerable residents, upcoming financial hardships in the absence of federal funding, jobs, the future of technology in the city, and why residents should vote for them.
We gave every contender a true, equal opportunity to lay out their vision, their plans, and their goals for Detroit’s future. Just like the candidates involved in the race, their answers were wide-ranging and were tapped from their respective backgrounds as elected officials and their lived experiences as Detroiters.
Photo: Detroit City Council President, Mary Sheffield.
City Council President Sheffield, for instance, touted her experience in council and her impact on the city over the past decade-plus serving in her roles. “I’m someone who has been able to balance both community and people, which I think, is hard to do and have been someone who has proven to be a bridge builder and really bring the two together,” she said. Sheffield highlighted that for 12 years, she’s led Detroit with compassion, experience, and a commitment to service. As the youngest ever elected, she’s passed over 20 impactful pieces of legislation, balanced community needs with city operations, and helped approve 11 balanced budgets with consistent surpluses. She’s built trust by being a bridge—uniting residents and businesses, advocating for people while understanding the intricacies of government. Detroit needs leadership that prioritizes both development and community voice. She’s shown fiscal discipline, deep community trust, and the ability to navigate corporate and grassroots spaces alike. She says she is a proven uniter ready for Detroit’s next chapter.
Photo: Detroit City Councilman Fred Durhal III.
Similarly, Durhal said how he brings unmatched experience, having served at both the state and city levels. In the Michigan Legislature, he says he worked across party lines to deliver over $1 billion for Detroit, supporting public safety, youth programs like DAPCEP, and senior services like Meals on Wheels. He says he also worked at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, gaining firsthand knowledge of affordable housing needs. On City Council, he chaired the Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee and served as vice chair of Planning and Economic Development. As a parent of small children, he says that he is committed to building a safer, family-friendly Detroit where future generations can thrive.
Photo: Todd Perkins.
Perkins outlined his experience in activism, saying that his influence has resulted in changes ranging from rules on police stops to advancing the fight for reparations, and that he has always backed his efforts with personal investment, creating organizations like The People’s Voice to ensure our communities feel included and heard. These initiatives were not about politics—they were about empowerment. He believes in putting resources toward making lasting change and creating a future where younger generations and all Detroiters can take pride in the progress we achieve together.
Photo: Pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr.
Kinloch stands as a candidate with no political experience, but he says he’s built something from the ground up, having taken over a church that had fewer than 100 members when he began leading it 27 years ago. Kinloch went on to say that he has watched people return to school, rebuild after prison, earn degrees, start families, and launch careers. “Without outside resources, we built from within, teaching self-reliance, collaboration, and community strength.” He says that leading a 105-year-old church without division for 27 years taught him how to cast vision, develop people, navigate politics, and lead with fiscal discipline, fairness, and compassion. Kinloch says that these experiences uniquely prepared him to inspire, innovate, and lead with dignity and respect—qualities “that truly set me apart as a leader for Detroit.”
Photo: James Craig.
For Craig, Detroit’s former police chief, he is standing firm on his connections with the White House and his history in public safety. “I had a front seat, to how the city should run. And even more important, coming in when I came in and while it was controversial under emergency management, And the controversial part of it was that those elected to positions, didn’t have the power to execute on running the city.” Craig continued with examples of his executive leadership with eight years as Detroit’s police chief and service as deputy mayor. In that short window, he says he acted decisively—without political delays—to address urgent needs. For example, he says he reopened shuttered police precincts in high-density areas by repurposing vacant buildings, restoring critical services to neighborhoods. He says he understood from experience in other major cities how vital those resources are. He believes his track record shows he knows how to lead, make tough decisions, and deliver results that directly impact Detroiters’ daily lives.
Photo: Saunteel Jenkins.
Jenkins is the only candidate with elected experience and experience as a CEO. “I believe that is my lifetime of service. This isn’t new for me. I’m not running for mayor for a job. I had a fantastic job. I’m running for mayor because I believe at this moment in our city’s history as social worker, as the perfect person for the job,” she said. Jenkins said as a social worker, and experience in nonprofit, for-profit, education, and government, uniquely prepared her for this moment. The next mayor must build coalitions with business, philanthropy, and government, and she says that she’s done that. She says that her personal story is a Detroit story—working through school, surviving gun violence loss, and helping vulnerable families at the Heat and Warmth Fund. She was at the table during Detroit’s bankruptcy and know what it takes to keep the city moving forward.
Photo: Jonathan Barlow.
Barlow says he’s the candidate that other candidates should be concerned about and that residents should be excited for. “I’m different and I play at a different level. It’s that simple. They do not. Meaning they, other competitors or other candidates or any other leader in this city do not play at the level I play at.” Barlow went on to say that others aren’t connecting Detroit to national initiatives on mass incarceration, reentry, and decriminalization like he is. He says that he understands how macro-level policies impact our city, and he works with local leaders like Derrick Woods and Kenneth Nixon to bring that insight home. Detroit has lost too much talent to other markets because we haven’t built systems to keep them, he says. Barlow says he knows where that talent went—and how to bring it back. He believes Detroit needs leadership that understands power, influence, and resources, and knows how to use them to uplift Detroit with transparency and real solutions.
Photo: Joel Haashiim.
Haashiim, the international businessman, focused on the city’s need to attracting more international industries, which will create more jobs and more revenue to provide essential services. “I think I’m the most qualified to be mayor. Detroit needs international businesses. We need a diverse economy. We need to build it from the bottom up,” he said. Haashiim continued to say that this one of the most critical elections in Detroit’s history because the city is facing economic uncertainty, from auto plant instability to business downsizing and job loss. Detroit must diversify its economy and expand international partnerships—something he says that he’s done firsthand through 15 trade delegations. He says that his platform centers people, not just profit. He mentions that he’s not anti-corporate, but he believes tax dollars should empower residents with ownership, opportunity, and lasting equity. “Gentrification in Black cities happens when those in power prioritize corporations over community. We cannot afford more of the same. This is Detroit’s moment to build wealth, not watch it leave,” he said.
Evans, who was not immediately available for an interview with the Chronicle, is a newcomer to the political scene, bringing his background in criminal justice to his mayoral campaign. Focused on issues of public safety, Evans has garnered support from voters who are looking for leadership that understands the community’s concerns. As a first-time candidate, Evans emphasizes the importance of community engagement and being present on the ground to address the city’s most pressing issues.
While this article only highlights a portion of the lengthy conversations we had with each candidate, the entire videos can be found on May 1 on MichiganChronicle.com and on Michigan Chronicle’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/MichiganChronicle.
The Michigan Chronicle editorial board encourages people to watch each of the videos in their entirety to learn more about the candidates and their respective visions on Detroit’s most concerning issues. The interviews will paint a clearer picture about each of the candidates’ vision, give insight into their thoughts about how to solve key issues, and also tell you more about they type of person each candidate is.
Detroit stands at a crossroads. The movement forward will not be defined by who shouts the loudest, but by who listens, who leads, and who understands the soul of this city. Through these exclusive conversations, we aim to equip the people of Detroit with what they deserve: the full story—and the power to decide what comes next.