Outgoing Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has endorsed Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield to be the city’s next mayor.
Duggan credited Sheffield with being a leader who could both work with his office, and challenge him on certain policies. He said that Sheffield’s victory in the mayoral primary — where she won an outright majority of the vote in a crowded field — was impressive, and the first time since 1947 that Detroit voters have chosen a council member to become mayor.
“When I saw the results come in election night with a landslide victory, to say, for the first time in 75 years, people see City Council and their leadership as an asset,” Duggan said during an endorsement event for Sheffield on Wednesday. “I was just so proud.”
Sheffield, for her part, said that she and Duggan haven’t always agreed on everything, but have still managed to work together. She said that includes things like establishing a trust fund to support affordable housing, and providing Detroiters facing eviction with the right to an attorney.
“Mayor Duggan and I never fell into the trap of leading with rhetoric,” Sheffield said. “Instead, we rolled up our sleeves and we found real solutions to the issues that matter most to our residents.”
Sheffield faces Detroit pastor Solomon Kinloch in the November general election. In a statement, Kinloch said that Detroit voters, not Duggan, will choose the city’s next mayor.
Duggan is stepping down after three terms to run for Michigan governor as an independent candidate.
