City Council President Mary Sheffield wins election to become Detroit’s first female mayor

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Detroit mayoral candidate Mary Sheffield speaks to media before an election night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT – City Council President Mary Sheffield will be Detroit’s newest mayor and the first woman to lead the city.

Sheffield defeated popular megachurch pastor the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday’s general election.

She will take office in January and succeed three-term Mayor Mike Duggan who announced last year that he would not seek reelection. Duggan is running for Michigan governor as an independent to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve following Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipa