Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway could face consequences for promoting a candidate for the Board of Police Commissioners on her taxpayer-funded newsletter.

A June newsletter sent to District 2 residents included a campaign solicitation from Police Commissioner Linda Bernard, who is seeking re-election as a write-in candidate. Bernard encouraged residents to “write in my name” on the primary ballot and “check the box” and vote for Whitfield-Calloway, who faced two primary opponents.

“It’s not exactly a household name, but I’m relying on Y-O-U to write it on your ballot, like you did (Mayor) Mike Duggan to get him elected as a write-in candidate a few years ago,” Bernard wrote.

Rev. Lucious Conway, a District 2 police commission candidate running against Bernard, filed a lawsuit and multiple complaints alleging Whitfield-Calloway improperly used public resources to promote her and Bernard’s reelection campaigns.

Whitfield-Calloway declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday. Bernard could not be reached for comment.

Whitfield-Calloway finished first in the District 2 primary with 45% of the vote, followed by Roy McCalister Jr. (30%) and state Rep. Helena Scott (25%). Whitfield-Calloway will run against McCalister in the November primary.

“Calloway gets the benefit of having literally emailed all registered voters in District 2 by way of the city of Detroit’s GovDelivery platform,” Conway said. “Now, how much would that have cost McCallister or Scott to do? That’s the travesty here.”

In Michigan, it is illegal for a public official to contribute equipment, supplies, personnel, funds or other public resources to a political campaign. The Michigan Bureau of Elections determined Whitfield-Calloway used government communication platform GovDelivery to distribute a newsletter that asked residents for their vote.

A July letter provided to BridgeDetroit shows the Bureau of Elections will “endeavor to correct the violation or prevent a further violation by using informal methods.” A spokesperson said Tuesday that the investigation remains ongoing.

Whitfield-Calloway argued it was an honest mistake in a previous letter to the Michigan Bureau of Elections. Her newsletter includes a “community announcements” section Bernard has submitted updates to in the past. Whitfield-Calloway said she “did not notice” the section of her June newsletter that mentioned Bernard’s status as a write-in candidate.

“I apologize for this mistake, which was neither intentional nor should it be considered a misuse of public resources for anyone’s campaign effort,” Whitfield-Calloway wrote in the July letter.

Bernard apologized in an email sent to Conway and District 2 residents, saying, “It was an innocent mistake.”

“As a journalist and an elected official, my intent was to inform the public why I am not on the ballot,” Bernard said. “Upon review, requesting that you write in my name, although innocuous, was not intended to offend any person or government agency; or ‘politicize’ the newsletter in any way.”

Conway argues whether it was done intentionally is irrelevant, calling the situation “textbook campaign advocacy disseminated through a city-owned platform.”

“It’s like running a stop sign,” Conway said. “Whether you knew it or not, you ran a stop sign, so now you’re subject to the penalty for doing that. There’s no intent required.”

A court hearing was held days before Detroit’s August primary election. Third Circuit Court Chief Judge Patricia Fresard denied Conway’s request for the court to ban Whitfield-Calloway and Bernard from using city communication platforms.

Conway also filed a complaint with the Board of Ethics against Whitfield-Calloway and Bernard for improper use of public resources. The July meeting was canceled due to a lack of quorum, so the complaint will be heard at the Aug. 20 meeting.

What page are we on?

The City Council is on recess for the month of August.

I’m taking a brief vacation, so don’t expect to hear from me next week.

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The primary may be over, but the November general election is 84 days away. 

Our election tracker provides regular updates on campaign happenings. Keep checking this page for news. 

Detroit City FC starts community talks  

Corktown residents will have a chance to attach additional community investments to the development plan for a new soccer stadium.

Detroit City FC is privately financing construction of the $150 million AlumniFi Field at the former Southwest Detroit Hospital site. Developers are seeking reimbursement for brownfield cleanup at the site through tax breaks, which requires the project to follow Detroit’s community benefits ordinance.

Sean Mann, co-founder of Detroit City FC, said AlumniFi Field will be the only privately financed stadium in Detroit. The Ilitch family’s Olympia Development received $324 million in tax dollars for Little Caesars Arena. Several years later, Olympia Development had another $800 million in tax breaks approved for long-promised housing, hotel and office space and projects around the downtown stadium.

The community benefits ordinance creates a formal process for residents living near large developments to negotiate with developers for a benefits package. Negotiations connected to the development of Little Caesars Arena resulted in commitments for neighborhood basketball courts, local hiring, free tickets for youth and other measures.

Benefits negotiated for the “District Detroit” redevelopment initiative included a donation to a city housing fund, a commitment to support workforce development programs and promises to renovate Cass Technical High School’s football field, among other things. But the developers have since delayed construction and struck affordable housing units from their plan.

Meetings for the Detroit City FC project will be held at Mexicantown CDC Mercado and broadcast online starting Aug. 21. Sign up for email updates here.

Residents must live within a specific impact area established by the city to participate in meetings or serve on an advisory council tasked with leading negotiations. More than 5,200 residents live in the impact area, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. 

Nine residents will be selected to serve on the Neighborhood Advisory Council. Four members are selected by the Planning Department and three by City Council representatives, while two are voted on by residents.

The group is expected to attend scheduled meetings to negotiate a benefits package over the next two to three months. The package will be presented to the City Council for authorization along with the brownfield reimbursement request.

Detroit City FC revealed renderings and announced the stadium’s name on Monday. Detroit City FC CEO Sean Mann said founders of the club view the stadium “as a civic endeavor to give back to the city we love.”

Construction is expected to start by the end of this year and finish in time for the 2027 United Soccer League Championship season.

Naming rights were secured for the next decade by AlumniFi, a digital-first financial brand of MSU Federal Credit Union. The new stadium is expected to hold 15,000 fans, more than double the capacity compared to Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck. 

Sheffield would resist Trump police takeover 

Mayoral candidate Mary Sheffield said she would work with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials to block President Donald Trump from deploying federal troops in Detroit if the scenario unfolded like in Washington, D.C.

Trump took control of the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia this week after declaring a public safety emergency. Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is down 26% in the last year and property crime is down 4%, but Trump claimed action is needed to “rescue” the capital city from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.”

The president’s actions, and previous deployment of U.S. Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles, have raised concerns about federal troops being used to usurp local authority in other cities. Sheffield explained what she would do if she were mayor during a Monday appearance on Fox 2’s The Pulse.

“I’m a firm believer in home rule,” Sheffield said. “I’m a firm believer in respecting the democratic process and understanding that we have elected officials in Detroit who can make the decisions to best determine how to address the issue of public safety. I would have some very bold and firm conversations about what I believe is best for our city, but also work with other elected officials and mayors across this country to figure out our pathway forward.”

Trump invoked a section of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973. It grants the president the power to federalize control of the police department for up to 30 days before requiring Congressional approval.

This law is only applicable to Washington, D.C. However, Trump sent troops to Los Angeles through a different federal law. The White House argued it was necessary to protect federal immigration detention facilities from protesters and clamp down on demonstrations his administration characterized as “a form of rebellion” against the U.S. government.

Sheffield noted that Detroit experienced a similar deployment of armed forces to suppress the 1967 uprising. However, it was through a different legal pathway than what Trump used. Then-President Lyndon Johnson invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 at the request of the Michigan governor.

“We know that some of our darkest times in Detroit, when we go back to the ‘67 riots and the insurrection that took place when we had the national guard come to Detroit, and what that meant for our city,” Sheffield said.

When asked whether there is any appropriate time to federalize police powers in Detroit, Sheffield said that should be determined by local officials.

“If that were to happen, it should be a conversation with the state of Michigan, our governor, and our city, our mayor and local elected officials who make that decision, if that’s warranted,” Sheffield said.