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Mary Sheffield and Rev. Solomon Kinchloch Jr. Wednesday night
Detroit mayoral candidates, Council President Mary Sheffield and Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., sparred Wednesday night in a one-hour debate on WXYZ-TV, discussing policy while accusing one another of being disingenuous, misleading, untruthful, and not doing enough for the citizens.
The spirited, combative debate comes just three weeks before the Nov. 4 election and gave voters the first opportunity to see the two clash while articulating their visions as mayor.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus, executive director of Target Insyght in Lansing, tells Deadline Detroit that he thought the debate ended in a draw. He said Kinloch started out slow, but "once he got going, Mary didn't like it. His closing statement was better than hers."
"The point being, it was not a knockout punch. If he had been doing this over the last six or seven weeks with a much more aggressive media plan, this would have been a very difficult time for Mary Sheffield. Right now, he's got to catch up because he hasn't been out in the media like she has been."
Sheffield garnered 51 percent of the vote in the primary election in August compared to Kinloch's 17 percent. Some political observers aren't convinced Kinloch can make up the difference in the general election, though the Kinloch campaign has insisted he can.
During the debate, Sheffield touted her accomplishments during her 12 years on council.
"For over a decade I have been delivering for all Detroiters, leading with integrity... working with my colleagues in this administration we have improved our city services, we've reduced crime, we've invested in our parks, in our recreational centers, we've allocated over $60 million to home repair and beautification efforts, we've created and preserved over 14,000 units of affordable housing, and we've put Detroiters to work with record investments in economic development projects. Now, while I acknowledge our progress, I am running for mayor because I believe there is more work to do."
But Kinloch put her on the defensive, saying she failed on council to make the changes she now advocates for in her campaign for mayor.
"Detroit is at a critical point. We're in a time and in a tenure where the poverty rate is the highest it has been since 2017," Kinloch said. "We have more than 51 percent of our children living in poverty. We have violent crime, the second highest in the nation, and then on top of that, three out of four Detroiters are struggling with an affordable place to reside and to live. This is a failure of institutional politics and institutional leadership, and Detroit deserves more."
“Poverty has gone up, and the majority of our kids are still living in poverty,” he said. “So whatever she's saying tonight that she has done, it has not gone far enough to change the experiences of the people that live in the city.”
On affordable housing, Kinloch asked, Affordable for who?
Kinloch hammered on her 12 years in office.
"Crime didn't just start—it's been going on for 12 years. Now, all of a sudden we want to talk about doing something? What have we been doing for the last 12 years?... I understand she's talking about she's got experience, but how has that experience changed the experience of the people in this city?"
Sheffield said that in his position as pastor of a group of churches, he has had the ability to convene people to fight crime, but "he's been absent on every single public safety initiative in this city... We do need more than rhetoric and talk and slogans. We need leadership that delivers. I've done that and I will continue to do that as mayor of this city."
Kinloch responded, saying: "Anything that she wants to do as mayor she could have done seated at the city council table the last 12 years."
The sniping was sprinkled throughout the debate.
Kinloch brought up a controversy in which Sheffield reportedly took free tickets from Comerica Bank for the rapper Jeezy concert at the Fox Theatre last month and accused the council member of selling those tickets. He said it was a clear violation of the city charter and "another warning sign that a culture of corruption is creeping back into City Hall.”
She did not respond to the allegation of selling the tickets, only saying that Corporation Counsel found that free tickets did not violate the city charter.
He also accused her inner circle of being populated with cronies and individuals who have bribed city officials.
"You need to change your company, you need to change your crowd, because it looks suspicious now," he said.
"Never throw stones at a glass house," Sheffield responded, adding, "We're talking about someone whose church purchased his home and then turned around and sold it to him; same thing with another property in Southfield. So you have a myriad of challenges that I would not go into."
She also accused him of doing nothing to add to the affordable housing stock in Detroit, unlike some fellow church leaders.
“We have a pastor here who has not developed one unit of housing, but we have a lot of your peers who joined in our faith-based initiative, where we're going to be supporting our faith-based institutions to spur economic development and build housing here in the city of Detroit."
At times, Kinloch was defensive, and said:
“Mary, it's disingenuous for you to assault me and my church for all of the work that you know we've done in this community, even helping you and your father, Rev. Horace Sheffield III.
“Triumph Church and Solomon Kinloch have done more in this community than anybody you know. And if you talk to the citizens of this city, they'll tell you that what you're saying is disingenuous and it's a flat-out lie.”
Sheffield shot back:
"I also think it's disingenuous of you, pastor, to sit here and insinuate that I've done nothing for this city for 12 years. I've been on the front line delivering for this city—over 20 pieces of legislation, a true record of people, progress, and prosperity—and not one time as your council member who represents your district, where your church resides, have you come to our office, have you come to a council meeting, have you raised concerns around housing, property tax reform, infrastructure, or transit. You've been completely silent."
When it was over, the Kinloch camp quickly issued a press release with the headline: "SOLOMON KINLOCH WINS MAYORAL DEBATE," accompanied by a subhead: "Kinloch Promises to Invest in Neighborhoods as Sheffield Struggles to Defend Record."
Absentee ballot voting started Sept. 25. Early in-person voting runs from Saturday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, November 2 from 9am to 5pm. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
