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Former Detroit mayoral candidate Saunteel Jenkins is endorsing City Council President Mary Sheffield for mayor, in a pivotal move that could help the current city council president also shore up her former opponent’s strong support base.

Jenkins had the backing of executives upon launching her mayoral run, and later secured financial support from the likes of executives at JACK Entertainment, The Platform real estate company, the Kresge Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield and JPMorgan Chase, along with former Mayor Dave Bing. Her support follows an endorsement from Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving office after his term to run for Michigan governor. Jenkins finished third in the August primary election where the top two finishers advanced, conceding the vote by a little more than 1% to the Rev. Solomon Kinloch, who will face off against Sheffield in November.

The endorsement is significant to Sheffield’s campaign because Jenkins held a prominent following while campaigning for mayor, said Mario Morrow, a political analyst.

“I would speculate to say that it was more of her advisers and supporters saying, ‘This is the route you need to go. Let’s not sit on the fence, let’s make a decision.’ In addition, this has to be very disappointing to Solomon Kinloch and his team. I think it is something they were hoping for, either that Saunteel would endorse them or stay out of the race completely,” Morrow said. “That’s politics. Sometimes you endorse folks you really don’t have that passion for, but you do it because it’s what you’re being advised to do.”

Sheffield’s campaign manager Chris Scott said Wednesday, Sept. 10 that voters should expect other mayoral primary candidates to make endorsements soon.

Jenkins is the first mayoral primary candidate to endorse in the general election. However, Detroit Council Member Fred Durhal III, who finished sixth out of the nine candidates with 3.4% of the vote, said he’ll be next.

More: Mary Sheffield outpaces Solomon Kinloch with fundraising lead in Detroit mayoral raceMore: Rogers: Mayor Duggan should call President Trump to help fight crime in Detroit

Durhal declined to say who he would put his support behind. However, he was a frequent critic of Kinloch on the campaign trail. Durhal argued Kinloch’s lack of experience was disqualifying and he has enjoyed a positive relationship with Sheffield on the council.

“I represent the council district right now, and a lot of folks from my district ask me who I will support,” Durhal said. “I’ve always stated that I want someone with experience that won’t need on the job training.”

Sheffield was endorsed Monday, Sept. 8 by the Detroit Regional Chamber PAC, which had previously supported Durhal. He said he hadn’t recommended it to the chamber, but thought it was a “good thing for her.”

“Even on the campaign trail, (Sheffield) and I share some similar ideas, whether that be commercial corridors or an education commission,” Durhal said. “I think they made a good choice. I plan on making an announcement who I would endorse in the very near future. Voters spoke overwhelmingly. Fifty-one percent is not anything to scoff at. I think she’ll continue to build that momentum and move forward.”

Jenkins is an ally now, but on the campaign trail things got contentious at times with the two publicly sparring at events across the city as she criticized Sheffield for being more concerned with looking good on Instagram than governing. Jenkins acknowledged Wednesday, Sept. 10 that she and Sheffield were “fierce competitors,” but she is now “standing with her on the issues that we believe in together.” She said it’s important to support another woman leader, particularly since Sheffield could be Detroit’s first woman mayor, if elected.

“A lot of things were said in our primary with nine candidates,” Jenkins said. “Today, we have two candidates, and I’m standing next to the candidate that I believe is best suited to be the next mayor.”

Jenkins and Sheffield’s campaign staff wore orange tones in recognition of gun violence awareness. Sheffield wore purple as a nod to Jenkins — it’s her favorite color and was featured prominently in campaign materials. The endorsement announcement was made outside Cody High School on Detroit’s west side, where a tree was planted in honor of Jenkin’s brother after he was gunned down in 1991. 

Jenkins said she’s making herself available to Sheffield to advise on policy ideas related to gun violence and education. She said it’s too early to consider what position she might have in a Sheffield administration. Sheffield said she would love to give Jenkins a role in the future, “but I think it’s really up to what she sees best for her leadership.”

“At the end of the day, her success will be Detroit’s success, so I will help her however I can,” Jenkins said.

In the meantime, Jenkins said she is enjoying some time off for the first time since she was 17. She’s been working on her golf game. Jenkins and her husband Carl Bentley both hit holes in one at the Detroit Golf Club.

Jenkins finished third with 16% of the primary vote, collecting 13,732 total votes. She finished 1,161 votes behind Kinloch. Jenkins said her supporters will have to make up their own mind, but hopes they follow her to the Sheffield camp.

“I would not presume to speak for them,” Jenkins said. “I’m sure some will follow, but my hope is that we all will vote. No matter what they do, I just hope more Detroiters come out to vote.”

Morrow said the pressure is picking up, Sheffield has picked up several endorsements lately, and that it’s common for endorsements to stem from influence by a former candidate’s advisers or supporters.   

Jenkins’ endorsement, however, could help galvanize her supporters to back Sheffield.

“It would be a great benefit to Sheffield if all of Saunteel’s people say, ‘Yup, I’m following my candidate.’ Because this endorsement is coming late, those coattails might not be as long as they might think they are. However, not to damper the endorsement, it’s still good for Mary to have Saunteel endorsing her, especially when people thought they were chief adversaries, and they just did not get along. That opens the door to (the) healing process and opens the door to people who are still undecided, who were supporting Saunteel, to support Mary,” Morrow said.

Though several of Jenkins’ supporters have chosen to support Kinloch, Morrow added.

“That goes to show how interesting this race has become as it relates to the divisiveness of the city and the number of people on one side versus the other. And for a large part, most of these folks are friends. Regardless of the outcome of this election, there’s gonna have to be a big kumbaya party afterwards, coming together for the city. You see where people are lining up,” Morrow said.

“If Mary Sheffield wins this election, you could be looking at a top administration in the city of Detroit that have women at the top of the echelon. A lot of people thought — and still think — Saunteel Jenkins could be a great deputy mayor,” Morrow said. “Politics makes strange bedfellows.”

Sheffield is stacking endorsements as she also commands a major cash advantage in the race.

Sheffield had $399,064 in cash on hand as of Aug. 25, the latest campaign finance reporting period. Kinloch had $41,154 in remaining funding after spending $486,858 during the primary.

Sheffield spent $1 million on the race, more than doubling Kinloch’s spending. A surge of donations came into Sheffield’s campaign account immediately after the primary. Sheffield raised $190,309 between Aug. 6 and 25, while Kinloch raised $21,160.

“When you have anybody step up and run for a seat, that takes a lot of courage,” Scott said. “When you’re looking at the primary, whether (their voters) supported you or not, you still want to reach out to those voters. We talked to everybody in the primary field. We’d love to have their support.”

Scott said endorsements from an unsuccessful candidate aren’t expected to automatically secure all of the people who supported them in the primary, “you still have to go out and earn that support.” He said the race will be won based on their campaign’s field operation.

“We’ve had an overwhelming amount of endorsements, both from community leaders, elected officials, laborers and national PACs, but at the end of the day, all of that is for nothing if you don’t vote,” Scott said. “Every endorsement that we get is also to help drive the full voter engagement we need to turn out the vote. It’s not simply about winning. You’re talking about continuing to try to shift the culture and how people engage in local elections.”

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.

Malachi Barrett is a city reporter for BridgeDetroit. Contact: mbarrett@bridgedetroit.com.