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Detroiter to Detroiter | Saunteel Jenkins on Neighborhoods, Safety, and Growth: "We must keep our babies safe."
Former Council President Saunteel Jenkins, currently second or third in polling, says Detroit’s next chapter must focus on neighborhoods. In a one-on-one with Hilary Golston, she lays out her plans for public safety, affordable housing, and strategic growth in all seven districts. They also touched on education, marijuana and a host of other issues.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Former Detroit City Council President Saunteel Jenkins is making her return to city politics with a message that centers the places where most Detroiters live—the neighborhoods.
She spoke with Hilary Golston Friday.
Jenkins, who most recently served as CEO of THAW (The Heat and Warmth Fund), stepped down to run for mayor. She’s currently polling second and trailing in fundraising but believes her years of public service and nonprofit leadership uniquely position her to tackle the next phase of Detroit’s growth.
"We have to focus on our neighborhoods now and rebuild the neighborhoods in the same way [we rebuilt downtown]," Jenkins said in a one-on-one conversation. "We have to decide what the vision for each of the seven districts is."
She’s developing a strategic master plan for each district—tailored not just to geography, but to the unique needs of the residents who call those areas home.
From Cradle to Career:
Jenkins says the inequities that show up in Detroit classrooms start well before kindergarten. Drawing from her early-career experience with Healthy Start, she pointed to maternal and child health as critical areas of investment.
"Kids are coming into school already behind," she said.
She wants the Grow Detroit’s Young Talent program to be more intentional, with a clearer path to employment for young people, and she believes the city should be investing in Detroiters "from cradle to career and beyond."
Public Safety & Accountability:
Youth safety, Jenkins says, must be a top priority for the next administration.
"We must find a way to keep our babies safe and keep guns off the streets," she said.
That includes creating positive, structured opportunities for young people—and recognizing that gun violence is not simply a policing issue but a symptom of deeper, systemic failures.
Housing & Shrinking Budget:
Jenkins also hopes to tackle Detroit’s housing challenges through affordable housing bonds—tools she believes can support the construction and preservation of safe, accessible housing options.
"Utilizing affordable housing bonds is my plan to address some of these issues," she said.
But a bigger question looms: how to keep city programs funded now that Detroit’s $826 million in federal COVID-era ARPA funds is nearly gone.
"How do you fill the gap?" Golston asked. "I’m not sure there’s a way to fill a nearly $1 billion gap. We’ll have to figure out if the city can live off of its own budget and revenues."
Jenkins wants to aggressively pursue outside grants and create a new leadership role in city government—a Chief Growth Officer—to focus solely on identifying new opportunities and funding streams.
"That role already exists at the state level," Golston noted, referencing Michigan’s Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe. Jenkins concedes this is not a new idea, but wants to bring this type of innovation to the city level.
"We’ll have to make sure our liabilities are properly aligned with our revenues," Jenkins said.
Water, Equity, & more:
Jenkins is also concerned about basic services—including access to clean water.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says it needs $800 million to replace approximately 72,000 lead service lines across the city. At the same time, the Lifeline Plan, which once helped 30,000 low-income Detroiters afford their water bills, has been scaled back to serve only about 8,000 residents.
"It’s one of the first things we will look at when we talk about finding revenue," she said of the massive task ahead of DWSD. "I don’t know if we’ll get $800 million in this current political environment, but it doesn’t mean we stop looking."
What's Next:
Jenkins is ranked in the top 3 among candidates in terms of fundraising and polling. Hilary Golston is conducting in-depth interviews with all top candidates ahead of Detroit’s August 5th primary election.
All of the mayoral candidates in Detroit were offered the chance for 1-on-1 interviews. Many of them will be featured in the days leading up to the election.