A narrow majority of Detroit City Council members appointed leaders for the body’s four-year term, suggesting the shape of potential voting blocs as members express hope for productive partnerships in the new year.
District 1 Council Member James Tate Jr. was elected president during a special session on Monday and At-Large Council Member Coleman Young II was elected president pro tempore. Council members voted 5-4 in separate elections overseen by Clerk Janice Winfrey. Tate, who previously served as pro tem behind Mayor Mary Sheffield, said he sees the role of council president as “a responsibility to protect the unity and dignity of the body at a time of uncertainty still surrounds our city as well as our nation.”
“My integrity is non-negotiable, and my dedication to this institution called Detroit City Council runs deep,” Tate said. “I care about our residents and build genuine relationships throughout this entire city, and I believe that they deserve a council that can disagree without dividing, that can make progress without losing trust.”
The council president is selected by a majority vote of all members. The president is responsible for leading council sessions as chair, appointing committee assignments and preserving order during meetings, among other duties outlined by the Detroit City Charter. The pro tempore acts as president when Tate is absent or the office is vacated.
District 3 Council Member Scott Benson ran against Tate for the presidency. Benson said the decision would define the identity of the City Council for the next four years. He pledged to synthesize diverse views and protect taxpayer dollars by vetting contracts and tax abatements.
“We have a new mayor and a new mandate,” Benson said. “The people of Detroit deserve a council that is professional, fiscally disciplined and fearless. I am not interested in maintaining the status quo or providing a rubber stamp.”
Tate and Young were elected with support from Council Members Gabriela Santiago-Romero (District 6), Denzell McCampbell (District 7) and Latisha Johnson (District 4), who nominated Tate for president.
Benson secured support from Council Members Renata Miller (District 5), Angela Whitfield-Calloway (District 2) and At-Large Council Member Mary Waters. Whitfield-Calloway nominated Benson for president and Waters for pro tem.
Tate, the longest-serving council member, said the divide is a reflection over the members’ preferences on leadership style. Tate said he’s a “fair guy” who builds relationships with colleagues and bases decisions on robust public engagement. His team will host four community meetings per month this year.
“It’s imperative that we as city elected officials work as close together as possible, because there’s a lot of distractions and noise on the outside that’s trying to take our eyes off the ultimate goal,” Tate said. “That’s to build on what we cultivated starting when I was on council, (when) we were twirling down the drain towards bankruptcy and ultimately, unfortunately, emergency management.”
Tate didn’t face a challenger for a fifth term last year. He was first elected in 2009 and has represented District 1 on Detroit’s northwest side since a City Charter change reimplemented districts in 2013.
Tate’s tenure on the council started while the city was grappling with severe financial issues. He begrudgingly voted to authorize deep budget cuts and backed a 2012 consent agreement with the State of Michigan in hopes of avoiding emergency management, though it happened regardless. He was part of a coalition on the council that proposed its own restructuring plan, and he gave up 10% of his salary in 2013 as city employees faced pay cuts.
“I remember sitting at the table and we were arguing over $1,000 in a (department’s) budget,” Tate said in a September 2025 interview. “That’s how tough it was. We were laying folks off left and right. I’m going to do everything we can to make sure we don’t get back there.”
Detroit’s finances are in much better shape today, with 12 consecutive balanced budgets and 11 consecutive year-end surpluses since exiting bankruptcy in 2014.
Tate said the council won’t placate business interests or be a “rubber stamp” on the mayor’s agenda, but he does have a “great relationship” with Sheffield, who served more than a decade on the council alongside him. Tate replaces Sheffield as council president. He said she provided him with some advice on the role.
Before the vote, Waters said community members asked her to run for president but she was unable to gather support from colleagues. Waters said Benson sought her support while Tate didn’t.
“I’m not sure what that says for partnerships and our ability to work in the future,” Waters said. “We’re off to a bad start. It takes five votes to get anything done around here. I will exercise my leadership, both here at the table and publicly.”
Tate smoothed things over with Waters after the council session, speaking with her at length before answering questions from reporters.
“Sometimes people have better, stronger relationships with other council members,” Tate said. “It is what it is.”
Tuesday will mark the council’s first business meeting of the year. Members will decide appointments to six standing committees that drive the council’s agenda. Tate said he’ll be talking with colleagues about their preferences and experience to decide who will serve on each committee.
As president, Tate is ex-officio of every committee. That allows him to attend committee sessions and make comments, though he is not a voting member.
Council members were sworn in last month by Winfrey. A public “investiture” ceremony is being held on Friday at the Detroit Opera House to recognize public officials who were elected last year. Nameplates are still needed for the two new members, Miller and McCampbell.
The council session was briefly interrupted by a technical issue that caused its Spanish language translator to be heard over the auditorium speakers instead of the online broadcast as intended. Santiago-Romero said the council is continually making efforts to ensure multilingual services are provided.
Former Council Member Fred Durhal III attended the Monday session and celebrated the vote from his vantage point in the Erma Henderson Auditorium.
Durhal, who was hired as director of government affairs for the Sheffield administration, embraced his former colleagues after the meeting.
“My integrity is non-negotiable… “ , said the Detroit City Council President.
Great… one more thing we don’t have to keep an eye on !
To clarify: will Council President Tate be hosting four meetings per month or 4 meetings per year – each quarter? The article says four per month.
Hi Amanda, it will be 4 meetings per month.