The close-knit communities on the city’s west side will decide Nov. 4 whether to back a candidate with a progressive agenda or a four-term state lawmaker.
With beautiful parks, long-standing block clubs and community groups, District 7 is home to about 95,000 residents, according to 2020 data from the US Census Bureau numbers tracked by Data Driven Detroit.
The west side district borders Redford to the west, Dearborn Heights to the south, the Dexter neighborhood to the southeast and Livernois and Oakman to the northeast.
Neighborhood organizations have a notable presence in the district, with many existing for decades or longer, such as Warrendale Community Organization which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.
According to data from the Neighborhood Vitality Index survey, there are two times as many children under 18 than seniors residing in District 7. The index is produced by Data Driven Detroit, Community Development Advocates of Detroit, and others, to collect community feedback about the conditions in neighborhoods.
Around 40% of households in District 7 are low-income, earning under 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $31,000 a year for individuals and $63,000 for a family of four.
District 7 has the lowest median home value of all council districts, around $56,731, which is less than half of District 2’s home value of $131,000, NVI data shows.
Despite having the most foreclosures in 2016 (2,585) and 2019 (545), District 7 has a homeownership rate of about 54%. Additionally, 18% of parcels in the district are owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority, NVI data shows, 14% of homes are blighted and 7% are vacant.
The district has received support to help alleviate flooding that impacted households, including through the Basement Backup Protection program which was funded with federal disaster relief dollars to provide backwater valves and replace sewer lines in multiple neighborhoods in the district.
Who is running
Denzel Anton Hines-McCampbell and Karen Whitsett are competing to replace current councilmember Fred Durhal III, who opted to pursue a bid for mayor rather than a second term on the council. Durhal was knocked out of the mayoral race in the August primary.
Hines-McCampbell is the managing director of Progress Michigan, a left-leaning policy organization and served on the Charter Revision Commission in 2018. He graduated from Michigan State University and currently lives in the West Outer Drive neighborhood.
McCampbell has been compared to Zohran Mamdani, a progressive candidate whose primary win in the New York mayoral election took many by surprise.
He has said the top three issues for Detroiters are affordable housing, public transportation and well-resourced neighborhoods. McCampbell said he’ll work toward expanding downpayment assistance and senior home repair programs, build up the city’s Right to Counsel and Tenants Rights Commission and support nonprofit housing. He also uplifted a focus on skilled trades training and public transportation improvements as well as providing constituent services for public safety and public works concerns among others to ensure District 7 neighborhoods are “well-resourced.”
McCampbell’s campaign has raised over $100,000 so far this election cycle, campaign finance reports show, with many out-of-state donors. The majority of his campaign’s expenses have been mailing services, consulting fees, and printing costs, such as posters, t-shirts, and brochures.
Whitsett is serving her fourth term in the state Legislature, and currently represents District 4 as a Democrat. Whitsett graduated from Cody High School and, prior to seeking office, was a community organizer and union supporter.
Her website lists several accomplishments, such as supporting legislation that improved access to mental health, lowered pension taxes, supported senior wellness, empowered survivors of sexual abuse, removed illegal junk yards and auto lots, provided small business support, and improved local infrastructure.
Whitsett was absent from 51 of the 66 House session days this year, where attendance was taken, including Thursday’s all-night session for the passage of the annual budget, according to reporting by The Detroit News. Whitsett told The News that, on most days, the activities at the Capitol are not worth the cost of traveling to Lansing and making accommodations for her dog.
Whitsett’s campaign has been funded by PACs so far this election, campaign finance records show, including Rock Holdings Inc State PAC and Michigan Health Access Alliance, which both donated $10,000.
Most of the cash Whitsett’s campaign raised has been spent on print-related costs and consulting fees.
Resident Charles Davis IV has filed a declaration to run as a District 7 write-in candidate.
Voices from the district
William Davis, former Detroit police commissioner and vice president of the Barton McFarland Neighborhood Association, said he would like to see more recreational opportunities in District 7. Despite having the second highest number of children of all the council districts, it’s long had few options.
One of the best parts of the district, Davis said, is Rouge Park, which is one of the state’s largest urban parks. He’d like to see more activities in Rogue Park and elsewhere in the district.
“When I was a young person, by having recreation centers and being able to go there and play basketball, wrestle, boxing, what have you,” Davis said, “it kept me from being in trouble.”
The city recently invested $8.5 million in the Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center, which will be named after Helen Moore, a resident of the neighborhood who was praised for her role in the community by Mayor Mike Duggan during his 2024 State of the City address. Detroit Pistons’ owner Tom Gores’ Family Foundation committed $20 million to build a new community center near the Brennan Pool in Rouge Park. Both centers are slated to open this fall.
Davis’ neighborhood borders the Detroit-Dearborn border, which experienced basement flooding during wet weather events over the years. There’s also an “overabundance” of used car lots in the area, he said, and drag racing and drifting is a problem on Joy Road, Plymouth and West Chicago.
Nana Ofsu Bubu and his family came to the city in 2021 to help start a Detroit-area ministry, and now live in the Russell Woods neighborhood.
“We fell in love with the city and stayed,” Bubu told BridgeDetroit.
Revitalization seems to be top priority in Russell Woods, Bubu said, but more emphasis needs to be placed on maintaining improvements.
“We do the ribbon-cutting but we don’t see investment in long-term maintenance of the park and the roads are starting to get dirty again,” he said of Dexter Avenue and Davison, and Zussman Park.
The city recently repaved both streets and Zussman Park received $850,000 in much-needed upgrades in 2021.
Bubu agreed that Dexter used to be in bad shape but now has improved main streets and sidewalks, which “really goes a long way to uplift the face of the neighborhood.”
The city also cleared overgrown alleys around his home, which he said was helpful, but the overgrowth is starting to come back after not being maintained.
Additionally, vacant houses “drag down the whole block,” according to Bubu, who lives next to two abandoned houses and had problems with rodents chewing through wires in his vehicle, which he attributed to the blight.
“I really wish the city could force people who own these homes to either renovate and occupy the home, maybe rent it or sell it, because it really is a nice neighborhood,” Bubu said.
Living in a historic neighborhood like Russell Woods comes with historic preservation rules that determine what improvements can be made to a home.
Bubu said his options for home improvements, such as energy-efficient windows, are limited and he hopes to see his next councilperson “lobby” on behalf of homeowners in historic districts to roll back regulations to allow historic homeowners more options when it comes to home improvements.
Bubu lives just a few blocks from Zussman Park, but he chooses to visit a park in the Boston Edison community and other areas instead. At Zussman, he said, he’s observed young men smoking, drinking, and playing music, which feels unwelcoming, especially for families with younger children.
“As much as they’d like to go play on the swings and slides over there, I don’t go there as much,” he said. “… When there are that many young folks just idle, a lot of times nothing productive is coming out of it, and nothing is coming out of it that I can trust.”
When it comes to city services, Bubu told BridgeDetroit he’s satisfied with trash collection and snow removal services, and appreciates that Detroit recycles, but would like to see more street cleaning and an anti-littering campaign.
Bubu wants the next District 7 council person to be more present in the community and be a “lobbyist” for the neighborhood.
“I’d like that person to really genuinely represent us and not just use us as a stepping stool for their next target in their career.”