Michigan Chronicle Endorsement: Detroit Deserves a Real Race. Let It Be Between Saunteel Jenkins and Mary Sheffield

Detroit is entering a pivotal moment in its political future. Our communities are still recovering from decades of disinvestment, population decline, and institutional neglect, even as new opportunities for growth begin to emerge. At this critical juncture, Detroiters need real choices, real leadership, and a real debate about the city’s direction. That’s why the Michigan Chronicle is taking the rare step of endorsing two candidates in the August 2025 mayoral primary: Saunteel Jenkins and Mary Sheffield.

This is a primary election, and two candidates will advance to the general election in November. We believe Detroit’s future is best served by ensuring that the fall race is between these two formidable women: one a nonprofit executive and former City Council President with a pragmatic, operations-based vision; the other a progressive policy leader and current Council President with a bold agenda rooted in housing justice and youth empowerment.

Let this election be what Detroit deserves: a contest between the two most capable and qualified candidates on the ballot.

Few candidates bring the resume that Saunteel Jenkins does. A former Detroit City Council President and current CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), Jenkins is deeply familiar with the operational and human challenges facing Detroit. At THAW, she has helped thousands of Detroiters maintain access to basic utilities, bringing compassion and management skill to one of the city’s most urgent needs.

Over her decade of service leading THAW, she routed more than $100 million in resources to some of the area’s most in-need residents.

Her campaign for mayor is centered on practical, people-first policies:

• Creating a “Detroit Jobs Pipeline” that links residents to careers in technology, green energy, and advanced manufacturing—with training programs tailored to Detroit’s underemployed workforce.

• Rebuilding neighborhood economies by incentivizing small and Black-owned businesses to locate outside the central business district.

• A public safety strategy rooted in community policing, youth violence prevention, and expanded mental health crisis teams to reduce overreliance on police.

• Innovative budgeting, including a proposed “Detroit Development Fund” to attract private investment in infrastructure and city services without further taxing residents.

Jenkins’ nonprofit leadership has given her a deep understanding of how to deliver services at scale—something that Detroit sorely needs in its next mayor. And her platform reflects a focus on economic equity, opportunity creation, and fiscal innovation that’s grounded in results, not just rhetoric.

But her political record isn’t spotless—and Jenkins doesn’t pretend otherwise.

In 2014, Jenkins stepped down from Detroit City Council at a difficult and sensitive time. The city was just emerging from bankruptcy – the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history – and Detroiters were just beginning to heal. Her decision to leave public office for a role in the nonprofit sector left many constituents frustrated and, at times, feeling abandoned. It raised concerns about political continuity and commitment at a moment when trust in local government was already fragile.

But hindsight also offers clarity: Jenkins made a personal and professional choice to continue serving Detroit through a different lens. Since that time, her work has kept her rooted in community need, resource management, and systems-level change. Her time on council, particularly as president, demonstrated her ability to build coalitions, push for improved service delivery, and bring stability to a city navigating uncharted territory. She now returns to public life with more experience, sharper skills, and a renewed sense of purpose.

For Detroiters ready to move beyond symbolism and focus on governance, Jenkins is a serious, thoughtful contender.

There’s no denying Mary Sheffield’s influence on the direction of Detroit’s policy agenda over the last decade. As current City Council President and the youngest woman ever elected to the Council, she has carved out a clear identity: progressive, people-centered, and unapologetically focused on the needs of Detroit’s most vulnerable.

Her leadership on the People’s Bills – a suite of ordinances aimed at expanding housing access, increasing community benefit agreements, and holding landlords accountable – has reshaped how Detroit’s local government engages issues of equity and inclusion.

Her mayoral campaign outlines priorities that speak directly to Detroiters’ lived experiences:

• Aggressive affordable housing policy, including expanding the Housing Trust Fund, enforcing rental code standards, and fighting displacement.

• Support for first-time homebuyers and legacy Detroiters seeking to own property in their own neighborhoods.

• Expansion of youth programming, including a “Youth Opportunity Guarantee” that would provide jobs, mentorship, and post-secondary pathways to Detroiters ages 14–24.

• Police accountability and justice reform, including restorative justice investments and mental health alternatives for public safety crises.

Sheffield’s passion for community-driven change is clear, and her willingness to challenge the status quo has earned her loyal supporters across the city.

But she is not without critics.

Some in the business community have expressed concern that Sheffield is not perceived as business-friendly, which raises questions about how she would attract investment, create new revenue for the city, and manage the complex economic ecosystem that sustains a major American city. Others argue that several of her recent “wins” have less to do with her leadership than with the broader work of Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration, particularly on issues like streetlight restoration, park upgrades, and improved city services. While she has played a visible role in Council, she has sometimes benefited from accomplishments that were shaped and funded by the executive branch.

Still, Sheffield deserves credit for pushing the conversation in City Hall. She has elevated topics (including tenant rights, community benefits, neighborhood equity, and more) that might otherwise have been sidelined. And she has grown more skilled as a coalition builder and policy architect over time.

But Sheffield should be judged not by the history she could make, but by the depth of her agenda and her readiness to govern. Her ability to effectively campaign through fundraising, gathering volunteers, and delivering consistent messaging shows that she understands how to garner support – something the next mayor will need from residents. And on that score, Michigan Chronicle believes that she has earned her spot in the final round.

While Jenkins and Sheffield represent the two most complete and ready visions for Detroit’s next chapter, another candidate in the field who deserves serious recognition is Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr.

Kinloch has brought energy and vigor to the mayoral race. As the senior pastor of Triumph Church, he has built one of the largest congregations in the country—40,000 members across eight campuses—through strategic growth, organizational discipline, and relentless optimism. That’s no small feat, and these are the kinds of transferable skills that could suit the next administration in a positive way. His campaign reflects that same entrepreneurial mindset, with ideas around education reform, workforce development, and affordable housing.

While his lack of experience in public office presents a challenge, his ability to build institutions, mobilize people, and scale results makes him a civic force whose influence will likely continue long after this campaign. Kinloch has demonstrated that he understands how to create and lead strong teams, and that he has the ability to be innovative and effective. He’s orchestrated food drives and tablet giveaways that consistently show that his love is for the people of the city. But despite that, he hasn’t outshined Sheffield or Jenkins during his campaign.

Michigan Chronicle wanted to see his clearly and strongly presented plans for how to lead the city from a public policy approach, and he didn’t do so as effectively as Jenkins and Sheffield. Also, his decision to skip so many of the mayoral forums was an understandable campaign strategy – he went directly to individuals and smaller groups instead. However, it left so many people questioning why he failed to appear at the countless debates that have taken place multiple times per week around the city.

Fred Durhal III, a current city councilmember and former state representative with a deep understanding of Michigan politics, has unmatched experience in Lansing, where many of Detroit’s most important funding and policy battles are ultimately decided. His campaign has focused on government efficiency, regionalism, and equity—ideas that may not capture headlines but are essential to governing effectively. And as the leader of Detroit City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, he understands the city’s future fiscal situation.

Despite that, his platform hasn’t truly resonated with Detroiters in the way that Jenkins’ and Sheffield’s campaigns (or Kinloch’s campaign) have. Regardless, Durhal has a bright future ahead of him in politics.

Both men represent future-focused leadership that Detroit will continue to need—whether inside government or as part of a broader coalition for progress.

Detroit is in a rare position this election cycle. The primary will send two candidates to the general election—giving voters a chance to decide what kind of leadership they want.

We believe the most meaningful choice Detroit can have in November is between Saunteel Jenkins and Mary Sheffield, and that’s why the Michigan Chronicle endorses Jenkins and Sheffield in the August primary.