Mary Sheffield is ready for the next step.
After spending a decade on the Detroit City Council as an advocate for vulnerable, lower-income neighborhoods, Sheffield says she is “seriously considering” running for mayor in 2025.
She recently formed a committee called Mary Sheffield for Detroit’s Future, which enables her to raise money for a potential bid for the highest office in the city.
In her first full-length media interview since creating the committee on Aug. 17, Sheffield tells Metro Times that her role as council president limits how much she can achieve, and the 36-year-old has big goals for a city where the divide between the haves and have nots is growing.
While downtown glitters with revamped skyscrapers and new commercial developments, many neighborhoods continue to grapple with underinvestment, limited job prospects, a lack of affordable housing, and inadequate public services.
“I’ve learned so much as a council member about the importance of the executive branch in the government and its role in improving the quality of life for all Detroiters and setting the direction of the city,” Sheffield says. “There are limits to what I can accomplish at the City Council table. I’m starting to realize that.”
If Sheffield decides to run and wins, she would become the first woman to serve as mayor of Detroit.
Sheffield is no stranger to breaking down barriers. At the age of 26, she made history when she became the youngest person ever elected to the city council. In 2013, she became the city’s youngest-ever council president.
In her 10 years on the council, Sheffield has emerged as one of the most progressive members, advocating for residents and neighborhoods that have yet to benefit from the city’s economic boom.
Sheffield’s demand for a more inclusive approach to growth has often found her at odds with Mayor Mike Duggan, who has directed hundreds of millions of dollars to billionaire developers and professional sports teams like the Red Wings and Pistons.
While the downtown area booms, the racial and economic gaps continue to grow. Black residents are leaving in droves, while suburban white people are flocking to newly developed areas, like downtown, Midtown, Corktown, and New Center. More than half of the city’s Black children live in poverty, and the number of middle-class neighborhoods has shrunk from 22 in 2010 to 11 in 2020, leaving longtime residents with fewer options to find a decent place to live.
Duggan says he has not yet decided whether he’ll run for a fourth term and will make his decision next year. Political observers are speculating that he’ll run for governor in 2025, but Duggan has said it’s too early to make any decisions.
Asked to comment on Sheffield’s interest in running for mayor, Duggan spokesman John Roach tells Metro Times, “I’m sure this will just be the first of many. Mayor of Detroit is a really good job and will attract a lot of candidates.”
So far, Sheffield is the first candidate to publicly acknowledge her potential bid.
As she contemplates a possible mayoral run, Sheffield has tapped a well-known, formidable campaign adviser — Nick Rathod — to help her “navigate this initial exploratory process.” Rathod was an advisor to President Barack Obama, served as the campaign manager for Beto O’Rourke’s unsuccessful campaign for Texas governor in 2022, and was political director for former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Rathod founded State Innovation Exchange, a nonprofit aimed at building progressive power in state legislatures around the country.
During her time on the council, Sheffield has been a leading voice for affordable and quality housing, tenant rights, water affordability, funding for neighborhood development, and reparations for Black Detroiters who have been victimized by decades of systemic racism. She’s also fought against gentrification, slumlords, and tax handouts for billionaires.
Sheffield’s commitment to her community runs in her family. She grew up in a home where activism was encouraged. Her father, Horace Sheffield III, is a longtime activist, prominent pastor, and executive director of the Detroit Association of Black Organizations. Her mother, who died of brain cancer in 2012, was an educator and nurse. Her grandfather, Horace Sheffield Jr., was one of the first Black leaders of a United Auto Workers local and played a pivotal role in orchestrating the historic 1941 Ford River Rouge strike, which resulted in the automaker recognizing the UAW and requiring all employees to be members.
“Throughout my entire life, I have had shining examples of what it means to live a life of service to others right at home,” Sheffield says. “From learning of the work of my grandfather and great-grandfather in the labor and civil rights movement, to my father continuing that legacy, and through my mother’s and grandmother’s long careers in nursing, I learned the importance of doing my individual part to drive for a better society and serve others. For me, a life of service isn’t a job. It is a calling, and I truly believe I was put here to serve a specific purpose, which I intended to fulfill to the best of my ability.”
On the council, Sheffield upheld her family’s dedication to community service.
When Duggan acknowledged that tens of thousands of homeowners were overtaxed between 2010 and 2016, Sheffield met with residents and activists and took a central role in compensating the victims.
During her first term, Sheffield championed the city’s first inclusionary housing ordinance that required homeowners who receive public subsidies to set aside at least 20% of their housing units for people earning less than the area’s median income. The ordinance also established a fund to help preserve or create affordable housing for lower-income people.
Sheffield was also a key supporter of a measure that provides lower-income residents with free legal representation when facing eviction.
When many residents expressed concerns about the Detroit Police Department using facial recognition technology, which has led to the false arrests of at least three innocent people, Sheffield spearheaded an ordinance to mandate transparency and accountability with video and camera surveillance contracts.
Sheffield also hasn’t been afraid to say no to billionaire developers, who have grown accustomed to getting their way in a city that spends disproportionately on downtown development. When the council voted in March to approve more than $615 million in tax incentives for the Ilitch family and Stephen Ross to help fund a large development project in a space that should have already been transformed, Sheffield was the lone council member to reject it.
Sheffield emphasizes that she supports economic revitalization, but in a far more equitable way.
“I would definitely be a very pro-economic development mayor, but it’s going to be equitable and spread through every section of the city,” Sheffield says. “I will be a very strong advocate of investments in our communities and neighborhoods and our people. I want to continue the momentum but make sure it spreads through all of Detroit.”
To create more equitable wealth, Sheffield says, it’s important to invest in small businesses and education and ensure long-time Detroiters have access to plenty of jobs.
“The main thing is making sure this is a people-driven approach and that generational Detroiters are actually benefiting from the revitalization,” Sheffield says. “It's important to grow our tax base and attract residents, but we have to protect and invest in those who have been here and make sure they are supported too.”
One of her priorities, if elected, is affordable housing and homeownership, Sheffield says. Nearly half of Detroiters rent their homes, and the costs of apartments are skyrocketing, forcing many to move out of the city.
Sheffield says many of the apartments for lower-income renters are too small for families with children.
“I’m going to be laser-focused on housing,” Sheffield says. “A lot of the affordable rental units are 500 to 600 square feet. Families can’t live in that kind of housing, and that’s a huge problem. It’s extremely important for me that Detroit is a safe, affordable city to live in.”
While she explores the potential of running for mayor, Sheffield says she’s focused on listening to what Detroiters want and need.
“I’ve listened for 10 years about residents’ concerns, and I want to listen to what the residents believe the priorities and concerns are and what they think the next mayor should address,” Sheffield says, adding she may launch “a listening tour.”
Sheffield received a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Wayne State University and a master’s of science in public administration from Central Michigan University.
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