Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr. will face off in a televised mayoral debate Wednesday evening, Oct. 15.
Detroit’s WXYZ-TV is hosting the debate at 7 p.m. on Wednesday ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. Viewers can also stream it live online at WXYZ.com or the station’s Facebook and YouTube pages. WXYZ’s Editorial Director Chuck Stokes and 7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford will host the debate.
The debate will run for one hour with no commercial breaks. Candidates are not allowed to bring any supporters to the studio in Southfield, but members of their campaign team are present.
Follow live updates and analysis by BridgeDetroit and The Detroit Free Press on the Detroit mayoral debate below.
Each candidate will have 90 seconds for opening statements and another 90 seconds for closing statements. Candidates have 1 minute to answer questions and 30 seconds for rebuttals. A random draw determined Kinloch would speak first.
Questions were generated by Channel 7 staff and compiled from listeners. Additional rules will be outlined at the start of the broadcast.
Candidates will take questions from reporters gathered in the Channel 7 studio after the debate.
Sheffield and Kinloch made promises for their first day on the job, including how they would operate their administration.
Kinloch, who went first, said he would evaluate leadership to ensure they are “ready to do something courageous and creative” to deliver to Detroiters.
“The second thing I would do is engage Lansing and our federal elected officials in Washington to make sure that we’re coming together, collectively, to deal with a lot of the issues,” said Kinloch, adding he would also convene corporate leaders.
“This should not be a ‘Me’ administration, it should be a ‘We’ administration,” Kinloch said.
Sheffield’s immediate plans are to ensure she has the “best and brightest” and most efficient leadership team around her.
She would also “look at ways to enhance and improve city services. We understand that there are a lot of residents who are complaining about basic quality of life issues that we want to figure out how we can better enhance and address,” along with providing residents better access to city government.
–Dana Afana
Before the debate, a $40 million investment in passenger rail and intercity bus service was announced adjacent to Michigan Central in Corktown. Candidates were asked what’s needed to continue to improve transit in the city.
Sheffield said she would strive to increase frequency and reliability of the system by paying drivers “wages they deserve” and making sure the system is safe. She pledged to build regional partnerships and find innovative options like micro transit shuttles to supplement the city’s bus service. Sheffield also touted her endorsement by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26.
“My number one focus is reducing wait times,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch said he remembers using buses to traverse the city when he grew up in Detroit. He said students and families are dependent on public transportation to get to school and work. He agreed with the need to pay drivers better and train mechanics to keep buses operational.
“It’s not an option; it’s an obligation that we provide reliable transportation,” Kinloch said. “These are issues that have been negated and neglected for a long time, and it should not take us running for mayor to bring attention, weight and gravity to this.”
Sheffield said a robust transit system is needed to attract new residents and pledged to invest in the bus system every year to execute the city’s DDOT Reimagined plan.
— Malachi Barrett
Sheffield and Kinloch were asked to prove whether they could work with different political parties and ensure collaborations, and explain how their backgrounds afford them the opportunity to build those relationships.
Sheffield pointed to her 12 years on the council, lending her the “privilege to make numerous relationships and connections, whether it’s in the private sector, the corporate sector and with elected officials,” she said.
She cited the inclusionary housing ordinance to preserve affordable housing as an example of her riding up to Lansing to work across the aisle.
“What I think is most important is during these very politically challenging times is that we need someone who can find common ground, who can put aside differences,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch called himself an executive.
“I’m the only one here tonight in this race that is a CEO, has been a CEO. I’ve hired, retained, recruited and developed hundreds of staff members. I have created a budget and had to execute that budget and didn’t have the city’s piggy bank,” said Kinloch, adding he would work with various political parties.
He also took aim at Sheffield for attempting to smear his campaign. Sheffield called it a “complete distraction” and has “no need to try and tarnish his reputation.”
“Construction doesn’t happen by destruction. You don’t have to tear someone else down to build someone else up but that’s exactly what you’ve been doing,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch fired back: “You have attacked my church, you attacked me, you attacked my wife, you attacked every good work we’ve done in this community. And I have not attacked you. This is not the type of leadership this city needs,” Kinloch said.
–Dana Afana
Kinloch said Sheffield’s inner circle is “populated with individuals that have been found guilty of bribing city officials,” raising suspicions about her commitment to ethical governance. He also raised concerns about her solicitation of concert tickets, claiming she sold them.
“At the end of the day, you can’t have that kind of cloud of suspicion over the next mayor of the city of Detroit,” Kinloch said. “We have to be honest and transparent about the stuff that we are hearing. We’ve got to hold my opponent’s feet to the fire.”
Sheffield has said she gave Jeezy concert tickets to constituents who worked on community issues in her district. She pointed out that the city’s corporation counsel affirmed she did not violate any ethics rules.
Sheffield said Kinloch should “never throw stones from a glass house,” arguing Kinloch purchased his home and other property from Triumph Church.
“You have a myriad of challenges that I would not go into,” Sheffield said. “I think what’s most important here is that we continue to move the city forward in a positive way.”
— Malachi Barrett
Fighting poverty is a top concern, particularly among Detroit’s youth. Sheffield recalled her grandmother, who struggled to make ends meet, but always talked about the importance of education.
“I would be a champion for education, from cradle to career, and ensure we are attracting high-wage, livable wage jobs in our city,” Sheffield said. “We have to invest in our people,” she said, pointing to programs such as Skills for Life and Learn to Earn to pay and help people obtain certifications and find jobs.
Kinloch said he would initiate the ambitious “Kinloch Promise” trust fund for kids.
“The Kinloch promise will include a children’s trust fund, that every baby in the city of Detroit will receive a seed of $1,000 and it will be allocated on a yearly basis up until that child gets to the age of 18 and they can use that to open up a business, to go into college, to start a career, to buy a home or to invest in their community,” Kinloch said.
– Dana Afana
Sheffield continued to criticize Kinloch for being “silent” on important issues until it was time to run for mayor, prompting Kinloch to warn of “the danger of having individuals who are privileged to sit in these seats of power.”
Kinloch said Sheffield hasn’t worked with Triumph Church as it distributed laptops and groceries to Detroiters. Sheffield countered that she’s hosted “Occupy the Corner” events where residents can obtain shoes, backpacks, school supplies and coats.
Sheffield said Triumph Church’s east campus is in her district but Kinloch has never come to her office or a City Council meeting to raise concerns around housing, property tax reform, infrastructure or transit.
— Malachi Barrett
Detroit’s population has grown after years of decline. Candidates were asked to address how they will continue that growth and ensure Detroit is affordable for residents.
“Housing is a human right and every resident deserves access to safe, quality affordable housing,” said Sheffield, adding that she created the Housing Trust Fund, which provides funding for housing units for Detroit’s most vulnerable, along with funding a home repair grant program for seniors and residents with disabilities.
She also touted the downpayment assistance program.
“We have 700 new first-time homebuyers in that program. We also have to ensure that we have more inclusionary policies in place,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch said “it’s amazing” that housing has become more of a hot topic since Kinloch “started discussing it in February…it’s become hot now because the residents have gotten to the point where they said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
“She created the homelessness task force, poverty has gone up and the majority of our kids are still living in poverty… Whatever she’s said tonight that she has done, it has not gone far enough to change the experiences of the people that live in this city,” Kinloch added.
–Dana Afana
Both candidates believe the mayor has a responsibility to ensure children in Detroit have access to a quality education.
Kinloch said he would be an “educational mayor” and hire a chief education officer to partner with the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Kinloch said students should have access to healthy food and mental health resources. He also promoted the work Triumph Church has done to host child mentorship events on Sundays.
Sheffield said she will have a liaison working directly with DPSCD and charter schools. She wants to create after-school programs within a two-mile radius of every school, focused on literacy and wraparound services. She wants more residents to take advantage of the Detroit Promise, which offers free post-secondary education for qualified students.
Sheffield also jabbed Kinloch for avoiding campaign forums hosted by community groups, claiming he has been “virtually absent this entire campaign with a sense of entitlement.”
— Malachi Barrett
On maintaining Detroit’s post-bankruptcy momentum, Sheffield acknowledged progress made, but said there is still more work to do, including fostering a business-friendly environment, cutting red tape and “making Detroit the best place in America to grow and start a business.
“We will also ensure that we’re driving property tax reform…a huge barrier to both businesses and residents, and we’re going to ensure we’re investing in our workforce,” Sheffield said.
Kinloch said the city has not gone far enough.
“When you look at a budget like Detroit and see just a small portion of those resources have been allocated to people and neighborhoods, people have not been prioritized….we have not prioritized the neighborhoods. No one is trying to tear businesses down, but what we are trying to do is lift the citizens of Detroit up,” Kinloch said.
Sheffield pointed out that the city invested in various commercial corridors along Kercheval Avenue, Dexter, East Warren and Livernois, along with approving affordable housing units and investing in city parks.
Kinloch fired back, questioning for whom the affordable houses were made.
“Affordable for who? The median income in the city of Detroit is less than $40,000 a year. And you’re telling me you built $1.5 billion in affordable housing? Not for the people that live in the city,” Kinloch said.
–Dana Afana
Kinloch said he would use a combination of low-interest loans and grants and direct property owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority to residents so they can rebuild neighborhoods. Kinloch has argued Detroit is a “tale of two cities” where growth is concentrated downtown.
Sheffield said Kinloch doesn’t have a sense of what’s happening on the ground in Detroit because he owns a home in Oakland Township.
“While you’ve been building up Southfield, you could have been helping build up Detroit,” Sheffield said. “We know pastors all around the city that have contributed to economic development, who built housing, who helped transform their communities. His church is in my district, and our community wants to know where he’s been.”
Kinloch said only 5% of federal pandemic relief spending has gone toward neighborhood investments. Sheffield said that’s false, touting investments in commercial corridors along Kercheval, Dexter, East Warren and Livernois.
— Malachi Barrett
Candidates addressed whether they would allow President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops in Detroit to help fight crime and enforce immigration policies.
Sheffield said she is strongly opposed.
“What we must do is become a national model of how to drive crime down in Detroit…it’s about a coordinated strategy that is rooted in partnerships with our law enforcement agencies and our communities,” said Sheffield, suggesting seeking federal resources to address underlying social issues of gun violence in city, mental health, and launch an office of gun violence prevention to treat gun violence as public health crisis.
Kinloch said he would not launch them in a “martial law fashion, but in collaboration in order to make sure we’re protecting soft spots throughout the city of Detroit.”
He added that Detroiters are looking for “people that go on to fight and stand for them” and questioned what officials have been doing for the last 12 years.
Sheffield hit back, saying “he has the ability to convene…pulling stakeholders together. He’s been absent on every single public safety initiative in the city. We do need more than rhetoric and talk, and slow dance.”
Kinloch fired back, saying to Sheffield, “People in this city are not looking for movement, they’re looking for substance, they’re looking for change.”
– Dana Afana
The first question dealt with the disconnect residents experience between declining crime statistics and their feelings of safety in their neighborhoods.
Kinloch, who has presided over funerals of children slain by gun violence, said Sheffield believes residents want “headlines and headlights instead of headway.” He also suggested there’s “fudging of the numbers” with crime data. Kinloch said residents deserve safety and justice.
Sheffield said Kinloch has been “completely absent” on providing solutions to violence. She said she’s on the ground advocating for additional funding for community violence intervention programs.
“What we don’t need is someone who consistently calls out the problems; we’ve heard not one solution in his response to how we can address the issue of public safety,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield said she would lead a holistic approach to public safety that includes investing in prevention, providing youth employment opportunities, launching the city’s first Office of Gun Violence Prevention and expanding community policing and mental health resources.
—Malachi Barrett
Kinloch kicked off by pointing to a failure of institutional politics and leadership, noting “Detroit is at a critical point” due to its poverty rate reaching its highest since 2017. He repeated that he will ensure children have a pathway to good education and that families can move on from being renters to homeowners.
Sheffield opened up by noting that she gave her “entire life” to serving Detroit.
“Twelve years ago, as we emerged from bankruptcy, when people and businesses were leaving this city, I made the decision to step up and to serve,” said Sheffield, adding that she, among others, improved city services, reduced crime, invested in parks and home repairs, preserved affordable housing and provided jobs for Detroiters.
—Dana Afana