In first candidate forum, Detroit mayoral candidates pitch plans to address loss of COVID dollars
Al 'BJ' Williams of the African American Leadership Institute, which hosted the April 26, 2025 forum for mayoral candidates at Riverside Marina. Seated from L-R: Mary Sheffield, Jonathan Barlow, Fred Durhal III, Joel Haashiim, James Craig, Todd Perkins, Saunteel Jenkins | Screenshot
With Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan opting against seeking a fourth term in pursuit of the governor's seat, Detroit is in need of a new mayor. On Saturday seven hopeful candidates met at Riverside Marina to introduce themselves and make their case for why they were the best qualified to lead the city.
Former nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins, attorney Todd Perkins, former police Chief James Craig, businessmen Joel Haashiim, City Councilmember Fred Durhal III, entrepreneur Jonathan Barlow and City Council President Mary Sheffield each took time to flex their qualifications while taking questions on how they would work to support the city's residents and address its most pressing issues, alongside their plans to maintain vital programs when the state's American Rescue Plan Act funding expires at the end of 2026.
Triumph Church Pastor Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr. and two-time mayoral candidate Danetta Simpson have also filed to run in the Aug. 5 mayoral primary, though the two were not present at Saturday's forum.
During the forum candidates were asked to name the city's biggest problem and what they would do to address it, with candidates pointing to economic opportunity, housing, public safety and empowering residents through education and opportunities within Detroit neighborhoods as the issues at the top of their mind.
Several candidates also called attention to the need for affordable childcare, following a question on how they would uplift women of color within the city.
'When we talk about some of the issues that our women face, particularly here in the city of Detroit, I will tell you, as a father who drops his son off at daycare, childcare is too expensive,' Durhal said.
'Paying $2,000 a month to have childcare for your children is crazy. And so imagine if you are a single parent, mother or father, and you have to go to work, you have to take your child to daycare. You have to rush there. You gotta get there before six o'clock and they charge you a premium if you don't. This is reality,' Durhal said.
The candidates were also asked how they'd maintain programs, services and jobs created using more than $800 million in COVID-19 relief funds which are set to run out at the end of 2026.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield at an April 26, 2025 Detroit mayoral candidate forum hosted by the African American Leadership Institute and Supermajority. | Screenshot
Businessman Jonathan Barlow discussed his business and political connections at a April 26, 2025 forum for Detroit mayor candidates held at Riverside Marina. | Screenshot
Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal III answers questions at an April 26, 2025 forum for mayoral candidates at Riverside Marina. | Screenshot
Businessman Joel Haashiim joined other candidates for Detroit mayor at Riverside Marina on April 26, 2025. | Screenshot
Attorney Todd Perkins speaks at an April 26, 2025 forum for Detroit mayor candidates at Riverside Marina. | Screenshot
Former nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins during a April 26, 2025 forum at Riverside Marina for Detroit mayoral candidates. | Screenshot
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig alongside other 2025 candidates for mayor during a April 26, 2025 forum at Riverside Marina. | Screenshot
Jenkins said the next mayor will need to dig into the numbers to make sure the city has enough revenues, alongside working with the state and the federal government — 'whether they like it or not.'
Perkins called for a full scale audit of the city, as did Craig and Haashim.
However, Perkins said he wasn't afraid to take Lansing or the White House to court to ensure the city receives any funding it is due.
'Whether it be the United States America versus or Perkins Law Group versus, I've been on one side of that 'v', and I'm not afraid of confrontation because out of confrontation and discord, we get understanding,' Perkins said.
Craig said he would leverage his ties to the White House, with Craig previously drawing praise from President Donald Trump for his leadership amid Black Lives Matter protests in Summer of 2020.
The city later agreed to a $1 million settlement after protestors filed federal lawsuits arguing the Detroit Police Department used unconstitutional and excessive force and prevented the protestors from exercising their First Amendment rights.
'This is about the city of Detroit. It has nothing to do with the person sitting in the White House or James Craig. It has everything to do with the city of Detroit,' Craig said.
Amid talk of forensic audits of the city's budget, Durhal encouraged his fellow candidates to watch him chair the city's Budget, Finance and Audit Standing Committee, where they will review audits from the auditor general.
The council has already begun taking steps to convert jobs added through federal funding into permanent positions, Durhal said, but the next mayor will also need to be brave enough to tell people that they must remain fiscally prudent.
Sheffield noted that under her leadership the city had passed 12 balanced budgets, and that she would work with private and philanthropic support to see how the city could continue some of its grant programs.
'Our day one intention is to join a coalition with our local hospitals — because there's a correlation between health and housing — to create a pot of money that can continue funding home repair grants here in the city of Detroit,' Sheffield said.
She also said the city needed to diversify its revenues including working with the federal government and bipartisan leadership in Lansing.
Barlow touted his business connections and relationships with political leaders like Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
'No one behind me can tell you where they sit at on the yachts down in Mar a Lago or down in Miami. I'm the only one who's taking a yacht from this marina all the way down to Miami. That's because we play at a different level when we don't get involved in petty popularity politics at the local level,' Barlow said, later arguing the city could better assess its assets.
Detroit residents will vote in the nonpartisan primary election on Aug. 5, and the candidates with the two highest vote totals will face off once more in the Nov. 4 general election.
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