Shri Thanedar is moving to Detroit with plans to run for political office

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shri Thanedar is moving to Detroit with plans to run for political office.

“I will definitely be on the ballot but have not yet decided which position,” Thanedar tells Metro Times.

The Ann Arbor businessman, who spent $10.3 million of his own money on the 2018 gubernatorial race, edged out his primary election opponents in Detroit but came in third statewide behind Abdul El-Sayed and now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Thanedar became popular in Detroit because of his focus on the city’s impoverished neighborhoods.

Thanedar’s announcement comes less than a month after Mayor Mike Duggan strongly suggested he’s running for a third term in 2021.

Thanedar said he wants to run for political office “to help the people of Detroit.”

“Improving the quality of life in the neighborhoods will be my focus,” he says, adding that he wants to work on “public transportation, public safety, entrepreneurship in the inner city, affordable housing, and more.”

Duggan has caught criticism for his dealings with billionaire developers at a time when Detroit remains the most impoverished big city in the nation.

When Thanedar ran for governor, his campaign manager was David Bullock, a popular pastor and frequent Duggan critic.

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