Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will become the first woman to serve as mayor of Detroit after handily defeating Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. in Tuesday’s general election.
With 49% of precincts reporting, Sheffield led with 78.2% of the vote to Kinloch’s 21.8%. The Associated Press called the election for Sheffield at 9:18 p.m.
Sheffield, 38, entered the race as the clear frontrunner after winning 50.8% of the vote in August’s primary, where she defeated eight other candidates. Kinloch, pastor of Triumph Church—which boasts more than 40,000 members across seven locations including two in Detroit—finished a distant second with 17.4%.
Sheffield’s victory marks a historic milestone for Detroit, which has never before elected a woman as mayor in its 324-year history. She will also be one of the youngest to hold the office, continuing a remarkable political rise that began when she became the youngest-ever city council member at age 26.
Having served as City Council president since 2022, Sheffield has spent 13 years advocating for affordable housing, tenants’ rights, neighborhood development, property tax reform, and environmental sustainability. As council president, she has been a vocal critic of inequitable investment strategies, pushing for a shift away from tax incentives for downtown developers toward policies that directly benefit Detroit’s most vulnerable residents.
Throughout her mayoral campaign, Sheffield emphasized the need for more affordable housing, economic equity, and greater government transparency. She pledged to prioritize neighborhoods that have been overlooked by downtown development, while also calling for strengthened police accountability and improved city services.
“When we are united, there is nothing we can’t achieve,” Sheffield told Metro Times when announcing her campaign in December 2024. “We need a Detroit where everyone has reached their potential.”
Kinloch, who grew up in poverty, campaigned on his faith-based leadership and a vision to ensure a better future for all Detroiters. However, his campaign was marred by increasing scrutiny over delinquent water bills, property tax issues, the church’s real estate dealings, his $1.3 million mansion in Royal Oak Township, residency questions, and a past conviction for assaulting his first wife with a butcher knife.
Sheffield’s landslide victory was supported by dozens of endorsements from labor unions, community groups, pastors, and key political figures, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and City Councilman Fred Durhal III.
Sheffield is expected to take office on January 1, succeeding Duggan, who chose not to seek re-election after three terms. Duggan is currently running for governor as an independent.
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