Mayor Mary Sheffield said her administration defines success as improving the well-being of all residents while marking the start of a “new chapter” of Detroit governance Friday during an ornate public ceremony.
Sheffield drew hundreds of Detroit residents, faith leaders, public officials and political figures to the historic Detroit Opera House for an “investiture” of newly elected leaders. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood administered Sheffield’s oath of office, recognizing her as the city’s 76th mayor and first woman to hold the position, before Sheffield and her staff visited an east side high school, a senior housing building and Cooking with Que, a Black-owned culinary business.
“This is what a unified Detroit can look like,” Sheffield said during the investiture ceremony. “I accept the trust you all have placed in me and I embrace the responsibility of this historic moment. But this moment does not belong to one person. It belongs to every neighborhood in this city.”
The historic nature of Sheffield’s victory in the November 2025 election, where she decisively won with 77% of the vote, was a major theme across the day of events. Sheffield’s speech reflected on her upbringing as the daughter and granddaughter of civil rights activists and ministers. Student cheerleaders who welcomed Sheffield to Pershing High School expressed awe at her presence, and one person who saw the mayor pose for photos with a young girl at the Opera House called it her “Obama moment.”
Newly elected members of the City Council and Board of Police Commissioners took their oath of office at the Opera House, along with City Clerk Janice Winfrey. Council President James Tate Jr. said the council will support Sheffield and push her to deliver results for residents.
“I was there when she first took her seat on council, and I’ve had the personal privilege of watching her grow into a steady leader with discipline and heart,” Tate said on stage. “I see one of our own step into this role as a member of the Detroit City Council. It matters to us that she understands what it’s like to hear directly from the residents who need help to know that the real solutions require partnerships with the mayor.”
Sheffield said the future of all residents is bound together and pledged to lead in partnership with Detroiters, “including voices that too often have been overlooked.” She said every resident must feel the resurgence of the city, which she defined as expanding access to services, affordable housing, good paying jobs, reliable transit, safe neighborhoods and opportunities for young people to realize their dreams in Detroit.
“I hope it reminds every Detroiter of this truth: Every single person gathered here today, every Detroiter across the city has a purpose,” Sheffield said. “When we choose to walk in that purpose, when we choose faith over fear, courage over double and we choose to say ‘yes’ even when the path is not always clear, extraordinary things can happen.”
Several prominent officials attended the Friday ceremony, including former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. The front row featured three gubernatorial candidates: Former Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running as an independent, and Democratic candidates Jocelyn Benson and Garlin Gilchrist. Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed also attended.
Sheffield acknowledged the “unconditional love and support” of her husband Rickey Jackson Jr., who sat in the front row with other members of her family. The event featured a poem from jessica Care moore, the city’s poet laureate, a performance by Gospel artist Kierra Sheard and invocations from Pastors Spencer Ellis, Faith Fowler, Imam Radwan Mardini and Rabbi Yisrael Pinson.
The celebration would continue Friday night with an “inaugural ball” where proceeds from $100 tickets will go to the Homeless Action Network of Detroit. The event quickly sold out after being announced this week.
Sheffield administration takes shape
The new mayor introduced members of her administration to residents in a series of events after the ceremony, including Department of Neighborhoods Director Bryan Peckinpaugh and Director of Youth Affairs Jerjuan Howard.
Sheffield said her executive organization plan was submitted to the City Council and other high-level positions will be announced in the coming days. She hopes to launch a new Office of Neighborhood Safety within the first 100 days of her administration.
The mayor promised forthcoming initiatives focused on reducing childhood poverty, improving neighborhood safety and addressing quality of life issues.
“Childhood poverty is very important; we want to reduce that and continue to drive down crime in the city of Detroit,” Sheffield told reporters. “We want Detroit to be a world-class city. I believe that is not one single metric, but we want to ensure overall improvement in the quality of life.”
Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said he looks forward to building his relationship with Sheffield to focus on neighborhood issues. He told students at Pershing High School that Sheffield’s decision to meet with them is a reflection of her priorities.
“I’m excited about her emphasis on youth and her natural relationship with Detroit youth,” Vitti said in an interview. “Her focus and our needs can align to go deeper in neighborhoods and in the community. Expanding summer programming, after school programs, (addressing) homelessness are major issues. There are some big ideas around mass transportation, trying to align our contracting with what the city does.”
Vitti said he wants to work with the city to reduce costs to demolish some 20 to 30 vacant school buildings and stabilize around a dozen more that could be reopened as schools in the future. He sees merit in improving communication between the school district and city government through an education commission Sheffield proposed as a candidate, saying it would improve strategic partnerships.
“The mayor does not control the school system,” Sheffield explained to students, “but that does not mean that the mayor cannot be a greater partner, that we cannot be visible and hands-on with our youth, and that is what I intend to do.”
Sheffield told students she wanted to visit Pershing High School to let young residents know that she’s focused on their future.
Howard said every city department will be asked to develop youth priorities. Howard said he’s determined to remove barriers that prevent young people from leaving the city and collect data on why residents are leaving. Only a few students who were gathered in the school’s library raised their hands when asked if they plan to stay in Detroit after graduating.
“Every single one of us has a purpose and a gift, something no one else can offer, and my job as mayor is to pull that potential out of you to ensure that we are cultivating an environment that gives you opportunity, that cultivates your gift, so that you can rise higher,” Sheffield said. “I wanted to come here just to say that I see you all. You can count on me to invest in and support you all.”
Sheffield visited Village Senior Center next, introducing tenants to new senior advocates working in the Department of Neighborhoods. Marquita Samuel will perform outreach for west side seniors while Anquenetta Jones will respond to east side residents.
“It shows the heart she has for older adults,” Jones said in an interview. “Our focus is to ensure all older adults have access to Detroit services, they are treated with respect and grace.”
Jones and Samuel said they will direct more attention toward maintenance issues in older senior apartment buildings. They are compiling a list of landlords to hold them accountable for making repairs.
Sheffield said she wouldn’t have won last November without the support of seniors, and they will benefit from under her administration. Oral Ward recorded the visit on a handheld digital camcorder. Ward said he hopes she serves multiple terms like former Mayor Coleman Young,
“While she was in City Council, she gave plenty of help to us,” Ward said. “By her being in power, being mayor, we hope she can do even more for the city, for people like us in low-income homes.”