Triumph Church Rev. Solomon Kinloch cast a dark shadow over the prospects of a potential Mary Sheffield administration during the first televised debate.
Sheffield didn’t hold back on the pastor’s absence in the community during candidate forums leading up to the August primary election, questions surrounding how he purchased his Oakland Township home and his lack of political experience.
The gloves were off after Sheffield suggested Kinloch doesn’t live in Detroit in response to criticism over whether city resources have reached neighborhood residents — one of the key issues since the race began earlier this year.
Sheffield and Kinloch went back and forth over their past successes and community givebacks, at one point Kinloch suggested Sheffield and her father, Rev. Horace Sheffield, have benefited from Triumph Church.
Sheffield repeatedly accused Kinloch of being absent from community work and lacking specific solutions to address the problems she said she has plans for. Kinloch argued Sheffield has been part of a leadership group that hasn’t meaningfully changed the lives of residents.
The debate was filled with personal criticisms as candidates accused the other of ethical lapses and not truly understanding or working for Detroit’s neighborhoods.
Here are the moments that caught our attention:
Kinloch criticizes Sheffield over public safety
Kinloch suggested the police department could be “fudging the numbers” in order for city politicians to champion crime reduction statistics.
“The reality is, anytime you have a department that’s grading their own tests, you’re going to have a problem with the fudging of the answers and the fudging of the numbers,” Kinloch said.
Sheffield urged voters to “resist unfortunate misinformation and false statements.”
“Public safety and leadership has been one of the most challenging things that I’ve had to uncover seeing the devastation that it causes our communities and our families,” Sheffield said. “No one should feel unsafe in their home and in their neighborhoods. Now, while we’ve had historic record lows of crime in Detroit, and just this year alone, we’ve seen a reduction in all categories of violent crime compared to last year. We know that one life lost is still far too many.
Sheffield said she would invest in prevention, saying she believes in a comprehensive and holistic approach to public safety that is rooted in strong partnerships with our law enforcement agencies in our community.
Kinloch open to federal collaboration in Detroit
Sheffield said she would not welcome National Guard troops “We know that the National troops causes some very, very unfortunate memories of 1967, and we do not want to go back.”
Kinloch says he would work with the National Guard, “Not in a martial law fashion, but in collaboration, in order to make sure that we’re protecting soft spots throughout the city of Detroit — we have a problem.”
Kinloch wants city resources to reach everyone, small businesses and residents in the community in a similar way as downtown. “We need to give our neighborhoods a chance like we’ve given downtown all the chances.”
Sheffield accuses Kinloch of being absent
“I know it takes about an hour and a half to get from Oakland Township to Detroit to know what’s happening on the ground,” Sheffield told Kinloch Wednesday. “While you’ve been building up Southfield, you could have been helping build up Detroit.”
“Where you own a home,” Kinloch interjected, referring to the Southfield condo Sheffield inherited from her mother.
The pastor has received criticism for moving to Detroit ahead of his mayoral run, though he has said his heart has always been in Detroit. Kinloch, who grew up in poverty in Detroit, told Sheffield at one point during the debate that Sheffield sounded privileged.
Sheffield also criticized Kinloch for not showing up to candidate forums.
“He’s been virtually absent this entire campaign, with a sense of entitlement, not showing up to community meetings and forums with respected leaders in our community — I think that Detroit does deserve better,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch’s main criticism of his opponent Wednesday pointed to the fact that the city’s problems have persisted despite Sheffield’s leadership on council.
“Everything she’s saying tonight that she has done — it has not gone far enough to change the experiences of the people that live in the city,” Kinloch said. “That’s why people like me are stepping up and standing up, because the people that sit in these seats have not delivered for us.
“We have a pastor who has not built one unit of housing,” Sheffield said.
Both candidates defend record
Kinloch: “It is disingenuous for you to assault me and my church for all of the work that you know we’ve done in this community, even helping you and your father, Triumph church and Solomon Kinloch have done more for this community than anybody you know. And if you talk to the citizens of this city, they’ll tell you that what you’re saying is disingenuous and it’s a flat out lie.”
Sheffield: “I also think it’s disingenuous of you, Pastor to sit here and insinuate that I’ve done nothing for this city. For 12 years, I’ve been on the front line delivering for this city over 20 pieces of legislation, a true record of people progress and prosperity. and not one time as your council member who represents your district, where your church resides had you come to our office have you come to a council meeting, have you raised concerns around housing property tax reform, infrastructure, transit, you’ve been completely silent.”
Kinloch: “The tenor and tone of my opponent tonight reminds people the danger of having individuals who are privileged to sit in these seats of power reminds people the danger of having individuals who are privileged to sit in these seats of power.”
Sheffield: “I have no need to try to tarnish his reputation or to go after him. I think voters in this city have been very clear the way they showed up in this last election. I’ve engaged with them and will continue to show up and engage with our voters. You know, the pastor indicated at the first debate that construction doesn’t happen by destruction and that you don’t have to tear someone lese down to build someone else up. But that is exactly what you’ve been doing.”
Kinloch: “You have attacked my church, you have attacked me, you’ve attacked my wife, you’ve attacked every good work that we’ve done in this community, and I have not attacked you. This is not the type of leadership this city needs. Yes, we are opponents and we’re in opposition, but we’re not enemies. We have both done great things, and we can do great things together, if you wasn’t so adversarial about it.”
