Detroit mayoral hopefuls spar over housing, safety, jobs and taxes in TV debate

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Four Detroit mayoral candidates took the stage Monday at Wayne State University's Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, tackling pressing issues in the city in a debate with no rebuttals.
Candidates were faced with policy questions on public safety, affordable housing, education, job creation, taxes and equitable neighborhood investment.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, Triumph Church Pastor Solomon Kinloch, Jr., former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and former Council President Saunteel Jenkins each participated in the debate hosted by WDIV-Local 4 and AARP, moderated by WDIV journalist Jason Colthorp.
Nine candidates are vying for the seat, but organizers limited debate participation to those performing above a 10% polling threshold, using survey data gathered by the Glengariff Group. Left out of the debate were Councilman Fred Durhal III, attorney Todd Perkins, east side resident DaNetta Simpson and businessmen Jonathan Barlow and Joel Haashiim.
Detroiters will go to the polls in an Aug. 5 primary and a Nov. 5 general election to choose a new mayor for the first time in 12 years. Mayor Mike Duggan is leaving office after serving three terms to run for Michigan governor as an independent candidate.
More: Here's who is running for Detroit mayor in the 2025 election
Watch replay: 4 Detroit mayoral candidates debate at Wayne State University
The candidates each focused on developing more community policing and building trust between residents and law enforcement.
"This is not important to anyone on this stage more than me because I lost my 14-year-old brother to gun violence," Jenkins said. "We have to have safe space for our young people between the most dangerous hours of the day, and that is 3 p.m. and 8 p.m."
Craig touted his experience as police chief in multiple cities.
"When I got here in 2013, the community didn't trust the police department," Craig said, noting the high homicide rates and hourlong police response times of the pre-bankruptcy era. "I will continue to build on the successes that we realized during my tenure. But need to focus on neighborhood police officers."
Sheffield said the city cannot police its way out of gun violence and needs invest in Community Violence Intervention programs.
"We have organizations that go out into our neighborhoods and within those zip codes, we see a 50% reduction in crime in those areas," Sheffield said. "We also do have to focus more on prevention."
Kinloch pushed providing more opportunities to Detroiters, including jobs, to reduce crime.
"Every resident deserves safety and justice," Kinloch said, adding that the city needs to reduce to costly legal settlements that stem from lawsuits against the police department.
"In the last three years, City Council approved more than $63 million in DPD settlements," Kinloch added, proposing more mental health professionals within the department and more pay for officers.
Michigan Chronicle Executive Editor Jeremy Allen asked candidates how they expect to increase affordable housing without relying heavily on state or federal funding.
Sheffield praised the city's investments, thus far, of at least $1 billion in creating and preserving affordable housing, but said the path ahead is filled with hurdles.
"We have to address the fact that the cost of construction of doing affordable housing in Detroit is extremely high, so a lot of times we have to provide abatements to allow for the numbers to match out," Sheffield said. "We also have to address the real issue, which is we have extremely high property taxes."
Kinloch fired back at her praise of $1 billion in housing investments by raising the issue of two kids who died last winter while living in a van.
"When we start talking about 'we built a billion dollars in housing' when the median income in this city is less than $40,000 a year, you cannot say you're building affordable housing when the average person in the city is not making $800 a week," Kinloch said, adding the city should look into more options for down payment assistance and help maintaining homes.
Jenkins agreed with Kinloch, further taking aim at Sheffield, who later told the Free Press "this is what happens in politics," and that she plans to stay focused on the city's needs.
Detroit's unemployment rate was at 7.5% earlier this year.
"I was in the front seat of Mayor Duggan negotiating Stellantis brining a plant to the city," said Craig. "He negotiated 3,500 Detroiters to be hired by Stellantis." The challenge for many applicants, he said was an entry exam that many could not pass.
Sheffield's goal is to invest in workforce development programs to ensure "Detroiters have the skills that are equipped for the jobs for today and of tomorrow."
Jenkins said she hopes to prioritize workforce development programs and partner with businesses to ensure schools create long-term educational pathways for children.
"We should be asking, 'What are the jobs you are hiring for today, what will you be hiring 12 months from now and what will you be hiring for five years from now?'" Jenkins said.
Detroit's school system is not under the purview of the mayor, but each of the candidates hope to tackle many of the school system's burdens in some capacity.
Kinloch promises to appoint a chief education officer in his first 100 days, if elected, to work with the school system to ensure, among other things, that absenteeism declines.
Sheffield believes the mayor "can be involved in changing outcomes" and expects to partner with the Detroit Public Schools Community District to establish a commission that brings traditional public and charter schools together to measure outcomes of Detroit's youth. That includes addressing absenteeism and social issues preventing students from showing up to school.
Jenkins said she's worked with underperforming schools across the nation, including Detroit, helping address social determinants holding back students. She added one of the programs included social workers on the ground in schools several days a week to help parents who needed help with basic needs.
Craig said morale among teachers is low.
"Nothing has been done ... the morale of the teachers is at the bottom," Craig said. "These children go into those environments and guess what? They don't want to be there."
Jenkins said property and income taxes make up a large part of the city's revenue, and to reduce them, the city needs to secure alternative sources of revenue.
"We can continue to reduce the millage gradually, but it does not give real relief to Detroiters," Jenkins said. "I would find a new revenue source such as what I'm calling a 'penny for Detroiters' local tax. That one cent can generate over $100 million, which would give us a revenue source that enables us to dramatically reduce our property taxes and make it more affordable to buy a home and live here."
Sheffield echoed Jenkins' call for establishing new forms of tax revenue before the city can begin seeking to reduce property taxes.
"We are not capitalizing on the economic activity that is happening in downtown Detroit to the benefit that we could," Sheffield said, adding she would look at potentially levying a local sales tax, or a "half-penny tax," though the proposal needs further study.
High property taxes did not happen overnight, nor will it be solved overnight, Kinloch said.
"What we will do is continue to decrease the millage and the points, but one of the things we have to do is continue to lobby with the state and make sure we deal with the real issue, which is the structure and system and how we're disproportionately overtaxed in the city of Detroit," Kinloch said.
Craig focused on driving small and large business development.
"We have to leverage our state partners, and yes, the White House. We have to have a mayor that can reach out and touch the assistance," Craig said. "(American Rescue Plan Act) funds are running out next year, what are we going to replace it with? I'm calling for an independent forensic audit on the financial health of our city."
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: [e-mail]. Follow her: @DanaAfana
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit mayoral candidates have their say on the issues in TV debate