Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Mayor Mike Duggan’s final State of the City speech served as a reflection on his administration’s work to address Detroit’s problems, but was it also a stealth campaign pitch for leading Michigan as governor? 

That question was on my mind as I walked into the new Hudson’s Detroit building on Woodward Avenue.

Folks I talked with after the event had mixed views on how much of the speech applies beyond Detroit’s border, but most agreed the address has clear implications for Duggan’s quest for the governor’s mansion in 2026. He gave a case for pragmatic leadership divorced from “us versus them” politics. 

Running as an independent, Duggan on Tuesday promoted efforts to unite people around solving issues and thinking creatively. 

Duggan outlined three major areas he set out to work on when he first took office in 2014: Violent crime, neighborhood blight and job opportunities.

The mayor had plenty of evidence to show progress on all three, delivering a characteristically data heavy slide presentation a city press release called his “trademark.”

He also offered a rosy vision for Detroit’s future, arguing the best days are yet to come. Duggan said part of his legacy will be giving the public better access to riverfront parks and green spaces. 

Duggan gave his blessing to Dan Gilbert’s plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center and a developing plan by Detroit Pistons executives to build a sports complex on the former Uniroyal site. 

Gilbert had several shoutouts from the mayor, who thanked him for bringing his companies downtown, redeveloping the Book Tower and funding tax relief programs through his nonprofit foundation. Duggan said Gilbert has “changed the course of the city” and cared for the welfare of residents.

The mayor’s address was also an early opportunity to see a portion of the Hudson’s Detroit building, which broke ground in 2017 and remains under construction. 

Jeff Hyt, a union labor supervisor on the Hudson’s Site, welcomed guests from a worksite booth. Hyt said the project has created seven years of guaranteed income. He also worked on Little Caesars Arena.

“That’s steady money; I’ve been doing good for the past 10 years,” Hyt said.

I asked a few people what problems remain unsolved during Duggan’s tenure. They all said the same thing: building up the neighborhoods.

AK Bennett, a member of the Detroit City Planning Commission, said transit and population growth are major unsolved issues. Bennett said Duggan has made strides to address problems that were 60 years in the making, like rebuilding the downtown tax base, but there’s more to do. 

Building reliable public transit should come first, Bennett said, as it’s a priority for young people looking to move into large cities. 

“People won’t move here without it,” Bennett said.

Three mayoral candidates who are running to replace Duggan released statements Tuesday night. Here’s what they said.

City Council Member Fred Durhal III: “Mayor Duggan has been a terrific partner with City Council in our efforts to get Detroit back on track and grow our city’s future. For my part, I want to continue building on our city’s momentum so we can expand on more opportunities to grow the middle class and eliminate the missing middle — by supporting those working folks who earn too much for support programs and still have a hard time getting because they, too, deserve a fair shot at a good life. We can make Detroit rise to greater heights by reducing taxes for families and small businesses, making homeownership easier for residents, reducing red tape, revitalizing neighborhoods with vibrant commercial corridors, and opening the door to good-paying jobs in communities across Detroit.” 

Former nonprofit CEO and City Council member Saunteel Jenkins: “Congrats Mayor Duggan on your final State of the City address. For State of the City 2026, we need a Mayor who is ready to go on Day One to continue to grow Detroit and its neighborhoods. Detroit deserves a leader with the experience and know how across government, nonprofit and business. With my experience in all these sectors, I am the one for Day One.”

Former Police Chief James Craig: As Police Chief, I was proud to work with Mayor Duggan to turn the tide on crime, reopen closed precincts, advocate for increased officer pay, and restore morale within the Detroit Police Department. Together, we launched innovative initiatives like the Green Light program, a public-private partnership that has created hundreds of safe spaces across the city. We invested in new technology, created the Real Time Crime Center, strengthened community partnerships, and put more officers on the streets with Neighborhood Policing – because I’ve always believed you can’t have a thriving city without a safe city.

WHAT PAGE ARE WE ON? 

Today’s notebook covers the March 25 formal session.

Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.

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Feds aren’t coming to save Detroit’s unhoused 

Leaders of Detroit’s homeless support network say they’re not holding their breath for federal help to address rising housing instability.

“This is the state of homelessness now: We don’t have a lot of resources to be able to guide people,” said Tasha Gray, executive director of the Homeless Action Network of Detroit. “The federal government is not gonna fund our way out of this. If we are going to end homelessness, it’s going to take local action.” 

Council President Mary Sheffield held a Monday town hall at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries to share information and organize a local response. Sheffield, who is running for mayor, formed a Housing & Homeless Task Force that meets twice a year, though she’s trying to “revamp” it to meet more often. 

Nzingha Masani-Manuel said she’s seen the problem get worse since joining the task force in 2019. 

A census of unsheltered people in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park is conducted each January to comply with federal requirements. The 2024 count found 1,725 people living outside in 2024, a 16% increase from the previous year. The city planned to have 1,400 shelter beds available by January. 

Data from this year’s point-in-time count is not yet available. Detroit makes up roughly 6% of Michigan’s population and 18% of the statewide homeless population. Homelessness rose nationally, reaching 771,480 last year.

Speakers said the face of homelessness is changing. Last year’s data showed increases in unsheltered Detroit families. 

Gray said the expiration of several pandemic-era aid programs has left more people slipping through the cracks. Federal funding was helping to cover rent payments for low-income families and keep shelter beds open. 

People who were on the waiting list for COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) are becoming homeless now that the program is over, Gray said. 

“The folks who didn’t get a chance to be served by those of COVID dollars are now becoming homeless, and so we’re seeing an uptick in our system,” Gray said. “It just means that now that safety net that was once in place is no longer there to catch people, and so they’re ending up homeless.”

Gray said 37% of rapid rehousing beds disappeared when pandemic relief expired and she’sseen an unprecedented number of shelters close in the last few years due to resource constraints. Shelters are nearly at capacity and family shelters are “overfilled.”

Duggan outlined a seven-point plan in response to the deaths of two children who were sheltered in a car parked at Greektown Casino in February.

It includes doubling the number of drop-in shelter beds from 110 to 220, offering a 24-hour referral helpline, requiring site visits for families on the verge of losing shelter, expanding outreach to find people sleeping in cars and using police precincts to refer people to shelters.

Most of the calls to shelter referral hotlines (76%) are from people who are temporarily sheltered at the time of the call. Site visits will help those families know where to go if they find themselves displaced, according to city officials.

Masani-Manuel said Duggan’s plan is a political move, arguing that steps should have been taken to expand the hotline and street outreach before two children turned up dead. Duggan is running for governor.

The audience was well aware that Sheffield is running for mayor. One attendee said all elected officials should be voted out of office, blaming them for failing to protect unsheltered Detroiters. Auto Huddleston, a security officer with Xcutive Protection Detroit, rose to defend “Mary Sheffield 2025.”

“A lot of these people running for office is living in these big old mansions, driving these big old cars, impressing y’all with that,” he said. “When I turn to my left, I see Mary Sheffield standing with you. Sometimes you gotta stop complaining about the person that’s doing something and worrying about the people doing nothing. I observe this lady out in the trenches with the rappers, the R&B artists, the politicians, whatever it takes.” 

Sheffield stepped in to say the event isn’t about her mayoral campaign, but is “very proud of my record and my advocacy to ensure that every Detroiter in this city has access to safe, quality, affordable housing.” 

“In fact, I pushed the conversation tremendously in Detroit,” she said. 

Housing hotline, street outreach extended

Detroit is bringing more hands on deck to field calls from unhoused families seeking shelter.

Motor City Mitten Mission will refer callers to shelters and coordinate transportation from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. from Monday through Friday and 24 hours on weekends. The help line number is (313) 500-1956.

Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency is contracted with Detroit but lacks staff to maintain street outreach obligations. The City Council approved a $250,000 contract with Motor City Mission to provide support services through June 28. The city is also seeking requests for proposals from vendors to keep the program running for another year.

City officials said the service is needed immediately to provide a safety net for unsheltered households. Helpline callers should be able to speak with a live person within 2 hours of their initial call. Two vans will visit places where unsheltered people commonly gather in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck.

Extended help line hours and street outreach are part of the city’s response to the deaths of two children who were sheltering in a car parked in a downtown casino parking garage.

Terra Linzner, homelessness solutions director for the city, said Motor City Mitten typically receives 10 to 12 calls per night.

City Council, interrupted  

Tuesday’s council session was briefly interrupted when Barbrie Logan continued to speak after her time for public comment expired. Logan stood her ground, daring security officers to arrest her as she loudly complained that the council is not responsive to housing instability.

Logan, a retired Detroit police officer, is living with her daughter after leaving a subsidized Section 8 apartment at Orchestra Tower in Midtown. She left because she didn’t feel safe after two people had died on her floor in the last year.

She will have to find housing again soon as her daughter plans to sell the home because she can’t afford the mortgage payments. Logan previously lost her home in 2008 to mortgage foreclosure.

During Tuesday’s council session, Logan complained that Southwest Detroit residents who were displaced and had property damaged are receiving support from the city while overassessed residents suffer. Logan says it doesn’t make sense that the city can pay for uninsured damages, food and hotel stays but can’t repay overtaxed residents. 

After her remarks, Logan became frustrated when Sheffield attempted to respond. 

“Somebody has to get all upset for y’all to listen,” Logan said while surrounded by police officers. “If that’s what it takes, that’s what it’s going to take. Whatever I say, you contradict it as soon as I leave out of here and then do nothing else until I come back.” 

Logan briefly refused to leave the council chambers as she was escorted by police but slowly walked out after a tense standoff. The former police officer later said she knew her rights and wasn’t worried about being arrested.

“I was thinking that (the council) has not listened to me, that public comment is a waste of time,” Logan said.

Sheffield said Logan had denied help from her office when approached by staff members at a previous meeting. Logan said that’s not true, she talked to Sheffield’s staff about finding documentation to determine whether Logan was overtaxed like many other former homeowners.

“I’m writing a letter now,” Logan said over the phone Tuesday afternoon. “They’ll see me again. I’m not giving up.”

Council members had once thanked Logan for offering a dissenting perspective. Logan was a member of a neighborhood advisory council that negotiated community benefits with developers behind the District Detroit project. She was appointed by Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero and was an advocate for measures to prevent displacement and rent increases. 

Logan was the lone member of the group to vote against the community benefits agreement with Olympia Development of Michigan and Related Cos., arguing the process was rushed and that her concerns were ignored. 

Childcare startup grants

Funding from The Kresge Foundation will provide start-up grants for new or expanding childcare homes.

The city approved a $175,000 contract with Illinois Facilities Fund to distribute $146,500 in grants. Last year, the City Council approved zoning changes that opened up new land for childcare facilities. The grants will help businesses transition into group day care homes allowed under the new rules. 

The grants will be distributed before the end of April to home-based providers that will expand or help new providers obtain licenses and navigate the city’s regulatory process. 

There are roughly 37,000 children who need day care services and 21,500 are being served through licensed facilities. That leaves 15,500 children without child care, and the Office of Early Learning is working to decrease the gap. 

Council Member Scott Benson said District 3 has the opposite problem: there’s a surplus of child care openings. Benson said there’s a need to fill those seats before adding more and expressed a need to be strategic about where facilities are located.

Chicken and duck fees approved

It will cost $40 annually to obtain a license to raise chickens and ducks in Detroit.

The City Council established the licensing fee, which isn’t required to keep bees, as part of Detroit’s newly legalized animal husbandry rules. Applicants must also provide proof of ownership of the property where animals are kept, a certificate of health for all birds, and plans to manage facilities and waste. 

Residents can keep up to eight chickens and ducks per license.

Council President Pro Tem James Tate, who spent years working to develop animal-keeping regulations, said residents who had chickens or ducks before regulations were passed still need to obtain licenses. The Animal Care and Control Division of the Detroit Health Department is training officers and will hold education seminars for residents before issuing tickets.

Adult literacy data needed 

Detroit lacks important data that is needed to better inform efforts to improve adult literacy. 

The City Council’s Adult Literacy Task Force gave a short presentation outlining their work to amplify existing programs across Detroit. 

Erica Robertson, CEO of Adventures Publishing House and founder of the Education at Scale Foundation, said flawed and outdated data from 1992-1993 is commonly cited. Without understanding the current state of literacy, they said it’s difficult to set goals or measure progress.

Launched in January 2024, the task force aims to inspire Detroiters to become better readers and contribute to the city’s financial and digital growth. Detroit must create a formal blueprint and commit to a multi-year plan before seeking public-private investments.

Members pointed to cities like Houston, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City, which have secured funding from nonprofits and corporations to create literacy services.

The task force highlighted how some stakeholders are using evidence-based approaches while others don’t, making collaboration a challenge. But they ultimately expressed urgency to address the problem. 

Leah Van Bell, a senior consultant for learning and impact with the Detroit Parent Network, said adult literacy also impacts their children. 

“This is intergenerational and if we continue to not prioritize and take collective action about adult literacy, we’re going to keep seeing this with our babies,” she said. 

Lost pet scam warning 

Watch out for a scam targeting owners of lost pets. 

Detroit Animal Care and Control (DACC) reported that residents are receiving phone calls from fraudsters claiming their lost pet was found but needs emergency surgery. Owners of lost pets who post their phone numbers on their social media may be targeted by scammers.

DACC will never ask for any kind of payment over the phone and does not accept payments from gift cards or Apple Pay.

If you’ve received a call like this, officials are asking you to report it to the Detroit Police Department’s non-emergency line at (313) 267-4600.