Detroit Election Commission confirms August primary field

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify which races will have a primary election and which ones will move directly to the general election.

The Detroit Election Commission met Friday to confirm the field of Aug. 5 primary candidates for 2025 city elections. 

Several offices only had one or two candidates certified, which means a primary will not be held. Candidates will advance directly to the November general election in City Council Districts 1, 3, 4 and 6, City Clerk and for all Board of Police Commissioners positions.

No candidates were certified to run for seats on the Community Advisory Council representing City Council Districts 4, 5, or 7.

Write-in candidates can still compete in elections, as long as they file an affidavit with the Department of Elections prior to the last Friday before the Aug. 5 primary.

The Department of Elections reported 43 certified candidates and 27 that were uncertified. The department deemed 10 challenges unsuccessful but is awaiting the outcome of nine appeals filed with the Department of State. Candidates can take legal action to seek a temporary restraining order to halt printing of ballots while the appeal is resolved.

The appeals either aim to take certified candidates off the ballot or put candidates on the ballot who were deemed ineligible for a variety of reasons.

Appeals remain open regarding:

• Mayoral candidate Fred Durhal III
• Mayoral candidate James Craig
• Mayoral candidate Saunteel Jenkins
• Victoria Collier for City Council at-large
• Dequincy Hyatt for City Council District 5
• Chantel Watkins for City Council District 5 
• Whitney Clarke for City Council District 5 
• Jacqueline Sproles for City Council District 6 
• Lisa Carter for Board of Police Commissioners District 6

The Department of State denied the appeals of Dorian Ballard, who sought a seat on the Community Advisory Council District 5; Ramon Jackson, who sought an at-large seat on the City Council; and Articia Bomer, who sought to challenge Clerk Janice Winfrey.

Bomer said she was notified of having an insufficient number of petition signatures after turning in 534 signatures. She needed 500 valid signatures to make the ballot. Bomer said she submitted them the day of the April 22 filing deadline and wasn’t notified of her shortfall until April 29, leaving her no time to challenge the decision.

“You think that this job is like a Chrysler job where you can work in 30 years and retire from it, that’s wrong,” Bomer said during the meeting. “My signatures are valid.”

The commission is composed of three members as required by the City Charter: Winfrey City Council President Mary Sheffield and Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett Jr.

Winfrey is running for re-election and Sheffield is running for mayor. Some attendees raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, but Mallett said they were not required to recuse themselves from the process of placing candidates on the ballot.

“There was a challenge that was found unsuccessful, there was really just no merit,” Mallett said. “(Sheffield) has a responsibility as council president to certify the process for elections. Because there were no issues where she could have had a conflict that would have benefitted her in any way, she was in a position to do her job.”

Bomer disagreed.

“I’m totally against anybody that handles the elections being part of something else that has to do with our elections,” Bomer said. “That’s like a double-cheat, a double whammy.”

Mallett said Winfrey or Sheffield may have considered recusing themselves if there had been challenges against them. Commissioners do have oversight of the election process, but Mallett said it’s not clear that they could legally overturn the clerk’s determination of who is eligible to run and who isn’t.

Friday’s meeting occurred in a third-floor conference room at the Department of Elections headquarters in New Center. Residents who attended were escorted into the room after the meeting had started, and some missed the window to participate in public comment.