Image from City of Detroit website.
FOX 2 - This election features two open city council seats in Detroit with a lot on the line and a future that includes working with a new mayor for the first time in over 10 years.
Both open seats were vacated by Council President Mary Sheffied in District 5 and by Fred Durhall III in District 7. However, that's not all that's up for grabs on Nov. 4.
Sheffield, running to be the city's first-ever woman mayor, had a dominant run in the August Primary, winning over 50 percent of the vote.
Her challenger, Solomon Kinloch Jr., edged out Saunteel Jenkins, advancing to the general election.
In the council race for two at-large seats — which are elected by all Detroit voters — four familiar faces are squaring off. All other council positions will be decided by the residents in the ward or district they live in.
At-large seat incumbents Mary Waters and Coleman A. Young II are facing challenges from two well-known opponents in Janeé Ayers and James Harris.
- Ayers, 43, lost her seat in 2021 and is running after working recently in the parks and recreation department.
- Harris, 54, is the community public relations chief for Detroit Fire. He is running on a platform of strengthening public safety.
- Waters, 70, has championed housing and tenants’ rights, is a former longtime state representative who ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Shri Thanedar last year.
- Young II, is the son of the late Mayor Coleman Young and ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2017 and lost. The former state representative and senator has promoted a guaranteed income pilot program for those in need of $500 up to two years — an evolution from his 2022 proposal of Guaranteed Basic Income he pitched.
Here are the other Detroit City Council District races:
District 1
Incumbent James Tate, the current council pro-tem and longest serving member, is running unopposed.
The district covers the northwest side of the city, including Brightmoor and Rosedale Park.
District 2
Incumbent Angela Whitfield Calloway faces former council member Roy McCalister, Jr. in a 2021 election rematch.
Whitfield, 64, is a first-term council member who defeated McCalister, 71, a retired Detroit police detective lieutenant.
In that election, Whitfield Calloway won with 55 percent of the vote to McCalister's 44 percent.
The district area is the north-central section of the city including Palmer Woods and the University District.
District 3
Incumbent Scott Benson is running against challenger Cranstana Anderson.
Benson, 55, has championed community development and small business. Anderson, 56, has a background in real estate and is a small business owner.
Boundaries for District 3 are on the north side and include Conner Creek, south to Airport Sub.
District 4
Incumbent Latisha Johnson is running unopposed. Johnson, 49, is a community organizer and is a first-term council member.
The northeast section of the city covers District 4, with Cornerstone Village as the border running south to Jefferson Chalmers.
District 5
This seat opened once Council President Sheffield launched her bid for mayor. In this race, Willie Burton faces Renata Miller.
Burton, 46, a member of the Board of Police Commissioners, has been a critic of facial recognition technology.
He takes on Miller, 56, who is a UAW retiree and member of numerous community groups like the Detroit Historic District Alliance.
This district covers the center section of the city, including the Dexter-Linwood to the west and bordered by East Village to the east.
District 6
Incumbent Gabriela Santiago-Romero faces challenger Tyrone Carter.
Santiago-Romero, 33, is a first term council member and community organizer, born in Mexico and raised in SW Detroit.
Carter, 63, is serving his fourth term in the State House of Representatives and served 25 years in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.
District 6 is the southern section of the city including downtown, Midtown and Delray.
District 7
The second of two open seats after Fred Durhall III vacated the position to run for mayor. He failed to clear the primary in August.
In the race for his seat, Karen Whitsett faces Denzel Anthon McCampbell.
Whitsett, 57, is serving her fourth term in the House of Representatives while McCampbell, 33, served on Detroit’s Charter Revision Commission.
More information:
For a full list of Wayne County candidates and races CLICK HERE
The Source: Information for this story was taken from candidate websites, social media, previous FOX 2 reporting and published reports.
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The Pulse Special: Detroit Mayoral Forum
We're a little more than a week out from Election Day in Detroit. As voters get ready to elect their first new mayor in more than a decade, candidates Solomon Kinloch Jr. and Mary Sheffield sit down with Pulse Anchor Roop Raj to answer questions on fighting crime, neighborhood improvement, the blight fight and so much more.