Mary Sheffield — Eric Hobson photo
The surname Sheffield has been synonymous with politics, labor, civil rights, and the faith-based community in the city of Detroit for more than seven decades. Horace Sheffield, Jr. was a legendary civil rights and labor leader; his son, Rev. Horace Sheffield III, is a powerful voice for civil rights and community empowerment while serving as pastor of New Destiny Christian Fellowship Church in Detroit and Brooklyn, New York. Now, Mary Sheffield, daughter of Sheffield III, has emerged as a new generational voice ready to serve and help empower the people of Detroit.
As the recently elected city council member in District 5, Mary Sheffield, at 26, is the youngest Detroit councilmember ever elected. She has hit the ground running, ready to make tough decisions to help advance her hometown of Detroit.
Case-in-point: Several weeks ago, Sheffield, along with five other council members, voted to approve the resolution to transfer city-owned land to the Downtown Development Authority for the purpose of building an arena and entertainment district. The arena will serve as home to the Detroit Red Wings.
For some residents of Detroit, the vote was unpopular; for others it was the right decision to make.
“It was a very tough vote,” said Sheffield. “However, for me it was about jobs. The economic impact that this development would have is $210 million. When I campaigned, job creation was one of the main things that I talked about. I’m not going to say that the deal was perfect, because it wasn’t. But in a city that needs jobs, I believe it was the right decision to make.”
Sheffield has heard some of the feedback from citizens, some of whom said city council basically gave away the land, versus selling it at fair market value.
“The city-owned land where the development will take place is largely blighted and desolate, and has been sitting for more than 20 years while generating no property taxes,” Sheffield explained. “The value of jobs, tax revenue and other economic impact that this project brings will far exceed the value of the land that was transferred.”
Sheffield added that the project will create approximately 8,300 construction jobs and 1,100 post-construction jobs in Detroit. Additionally, according to Sheffield, 51 prcent of the jobs will go Detroit residents, while 30 percent of the total dollar value of city contracts will go to certified Detroit-headquartered companies.
While exact boundaries have not been completely defined, it is believed that the new arena and its ancillary development will be on Woodward Avenue, just north of the Fox, Hockeytown Café and I-75 (Fisher Fwy.), and will extend to such streets as Temple (to the north) and Clifford (to the west). Some of the ancillary development is slated for areas behind the Fox.
In addition to serving as home ice for the Wings, the arena will also accommodate approximately 150 other events each year.
On another hot-button issue, council recently approved a privatization deal of the city’s trash collection, bulk pickup, and recycling services. Sheffield voted “no,” believing that if privatization didn’t work, it would be extremely difficult for the city to reclaim such services again.
“We’re going down the road where we would no longer have the equipment or manpower to perform these services ever again,” Sheffield said. “It’s irreversible, and that was a huge concern for me.”
Sheffield realizes that making tough decisions on council is a major part of the job, and any decision will never be 100 percent popular, especially as the city begins to move forward from its present economic conditions However, she relishes the opportunity to make such decisions on behalf of the people of Detroit. She is also happy to be in a position to better help citizens connect with city government.
“I’m pleased to take a lead role in creating community advisory councils,” she said. “The city charter mandates that community advisory councils are created which will improve residents’ access to and voice in city government.”
When asked about the influence of her grandfather and father on her style of leadership, the councilwoman, who is also an ordained minister, quickly responded, “My grandfather fought for the betterment of people in this city, especially the working class. I grew up watching my father being politically active to help people and their communities. So I have a true passion to help people from both my father and grandfather, but I want to create my own voice and develop my own way and style of doing things for the empowerment of people and the city of Detroit.”
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