Mary Sheffield: Vision for Detroit, Response to National Guard Plans, + More

Mary Sheffield: Vision for Detroit, Response to National Guard Plans, + More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's up? Its way up?

Speaker 2 (00:04):
But Angela, yee, I'm here, My girl, Jasmine brand is here.
And look who's in the building. Mary Sheffield, welcome, thank you,
glad to be here. And you know we're getting ready
for elections in Detroit and you have a chance to
make history. So yes, you'll be the first woman mayor yep,
ever in the history of Detroit.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yep, as a black woman, a black woman. How's the pressure?
Is there? Pressure?

Speaker 3 (00:26):
You know what? There is? Pressure, But it's good. I
think we're well overdue in Detroit. The time is ripe
for new leadership, but more importantly, the right person, you know.
I think Trey has made a tremendous amount of progress.
Resurgence of our cit is in place, and we don't
want to go back. And so not only am my
women I'll make history, but I'm the most qualified and
I'm the most prepared to ensure that Detroit continues to

(00:49):
move forward. But seventy five mayors, fa'st seventy five mayors,
and not one of them has been a woman. I
do believe that it is time for a woman to
step into that position and lead the city to its
next level.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
The trade is in a great position right now, but
there's so much that has to be done.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh yeah, and you.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Know, I'm a fan of the trade and you know
that because way we always have been. I've been coming there,
you know, for quite some time now, and so I
just wanted to ask you.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
You see all the things that.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Have been done under Mayor Mike Duggan, and you've worked
very closely with him as City council president. So what
are you looking I want to know from your thoughts
right and what you've been hearing on the ground, what
needs to happen in the trade to take it to
that next level.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Well, I would definitely say, without a doubt, overwhelmingly the neighborhoods.
I mean, everyone feels that the growth has has taken place,
but it has not reached further into our neighborhoods. And
also more people don't feel the growth in certain areas
and certain pockets of Detroit. So first and foremost, we
have to ensure that the growth goes down deeper into
our communities outside of downtown in midtown, ensuring that housing

(01:48):
is affordable, that people actually have access to home ownership
and opportunities to thrive. From that perspective, We've made tremendous
progress in the in the area of gun violence, but
we still have a lot, a lot of ways to go.
There's a perception that Detroit is not safe, even though
the data shows that we have fifty year record low
crime in the city of Detroit. So we have ways
to go in that regard. But overall, I think raising

(02:10):
the incomes, building our middle class, ensuring that the Detroit
is a destination of opportunities where people they graduate from
high school and college, they see themselves staying in Detroit
and not going to la or Chicago or New York.
But Detroit is that big city, right, We're just like
any other emerging city. If we have to make sure
that we have the opportunities, the good paying jobs, and
the industries that will attract and keep people in Detroit.

(02:31):
But I would just say the main thing is our neighborhoods,
because people will come and hang out and shop and
you know, work and play, but then when it comes
to laying their head in the city, they don't know
where they feel comfortable and safe doing that, And we
have to build up our neighborhoods.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, because it's midtown downtown, there's so many neighborhoods that
are thriving. But then when you go to like the
outskirts for sure, and you're like, okay, you know what's
going on here? And I will say, as somebody that
has property in Detroit, there there's been things that have
been a hindrance, like light violations, you know, get started. Yeah,
sometimes that is really what that means, Angela. So let's

(03:09):
just say you buy a property and then you're in
the process of fixing or whatever, or maybe there's like
weeds growing in the front or and then you get
all these violations and tickets and it can be really
expensive because it's all so expensive. And I like with
the land bank right that you can get a property
if you live there, but that you also have a
certain amount of time.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
To fix it up. Yeah that's important.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, that's important because you don't want people buying properties
and sitting on them because that's an issue too, or
like they get lots and things like that. So what
are some things that can be done also to make
it affordable because sometimes people want to do that, but
they're like, man, I can get my hands on this property,
but then I might run out of money while I'm
in the process of fixing it up or you know,
these violations are making it really tough.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, So we're trying to find balance because, as you mentioned,
we do have a lot of people who look at
Detroit as a place to invest, but then sit on
properties and don't do much with them. And so there
has to be a balance of trying to get people
to bring those properties up to coll and if we
see progress, then we should leave you alone and let
you continue to contribute and redevelop that property. But also
if we have bad actors, then we have to go

(04:10):
after those individuals and give them tickets. We're looking to
reform though, some processes with the land Bank, because the
land Bank has been a gift and a curse, to
be quite honest with you. I mean, wherever you go
and Detroit, people have some really good stories about issues
that they've had with the Landbank. But the main thing
is we want people who are in Detroit also to
have access to properties to develop. And then we also

(04:30):
have to encourage developers as they're coming Even with yourself,
you're developing affordable units, right, You're paving a way for
people who are coming back from incarcerations. Are affordable exactly
and that was a part of an ordinance that I
passed that as new development comes, a portion of it
should be set aside for affordable housing. And I think
we have to keep inclusionary policies like that in place.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
And sure I enjoy that because I wanted to be
part of that, right buying in Midtown amazing neighborhood. But
then you also see it was interesting because was there
for Afro Future and I was walking down what Ward
and I was going to like an event, and I see,
like the bars, but the bars are full of white people,
and Detroit is such. What I love about the trade

(05:11):
is the history of it, the soul of it, motown
like and I was like, dag, where's the.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
What happened? But they said there was like a baseball game.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
And sometimes when there's baseball games, you know, certain people
take over certain neighborhoods. But you also want to make
sure that people feel included, of course, you know, like
in the downtown and going into the bars and the establishments.
There's a Gucci store exactly, Trifle store coming yep, yep.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
And that's important because as Detroit grows and the resurgence
takes place, you have to have a balance of preserving
the culture and the authenticity of what Detroit is, the
historic nature of Detroit, but also welcoming growth, right and
so that has always been a delicate balance for generational
Detroits that have been there, is that we want growth,
but we don't want to be displaced, and we don't
want to lose the culture in the authenticity of what

(05:56):
Detroit is, which I believe is what separates us from
a lot of major cities. To be quite honest with
you, I mean, Detroit is one of a kind. We're also
not as fully developed as a Chicago or New York
or Atlanta. So we have a lot of unique opportunities
in the city of Detroit, and that is I think
what is so important with this next phase of leadership
is how do we usher in development but protect and

(06:19):
support those that have been here as well too, so
that everyone feels included in the growth of Detroit and
it's not being displaced as well.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
How do you feel when people get very critical of
you know, people in the quote unquote establishment working with corporations.
You know, we see that all the time, Like we
might see like, okay, well, why is such and such
supporting marriage Cheffel.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
That goes against what we believe in.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
As you know, somebody that because I see that all
the time, you know they'll be like Dan Gilbert is,
you know, I see, we see them supporting Mary Sheffield,
but that's not what we're standing for, and blah blah blah.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
I want to see how you would respond.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
Well, well, my record is very clear. I've been pro people,
pro progress this entire time I've been on council for
twelve years. When a vote comes down before council, my
position has always been about the betterment of the city
and the people who I represent. As mayor, I am
the executive leader of Detroit, and so I would need
to work with everyone. And in order for Detroit to

(07:15):
move forward, we have to have strong public private partnerships,
and so I would need to work with all of
our corporate partners to ensure they were creating affordable housing,
good paying jobs, that we're investing in our neighborhoods. And
so to me, I want to be a mayor that
can work with everyone, but always stay two to my
values and what I believe is important, which is always
people first, neighborhoods first, and detroits first.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Because you can get it done as long as you
and you can get it done in a way that
y'all can be partner for sure, most.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Definitely, And I've seen it firsthand on council, So I mean,
and that's what I think is important that we lead
that way, that we bring people together to the table
to address the critical needs of Detroit.

Speaker 4 (07:50):
In terms of this actual race, what's been the biggest
challenge for you, The biggest.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Challenge in the race of trying to have some balance
of my personal life.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
I am one.

Speaker 3 (08:01):
Hundred percent absorbed with this race.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Ie one, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
Everyone's like, you got to have a little balance, You
got to take a couple of days. I say, there's
no days off, Okay, I am. We're sixty days away
today after tomorrow, right tomorrow, sixty days away from history
being made the first black woman being elected to mayor Detroit.
And so for me, this is bigger than me, This
moment is bigger than myself. So I think the hardest
thing has really just been trying to allow myself some race,

(08:29):
to have some rest. But I'm excited. I believe that
I am with detroit needs. I have a record of
delivering for the city of Detroit, and I see so
much potential in our city, and so I'm excited about
what's to come for Detroit.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Okay, yeah, Now, if you think you talked about gun
violence earlier, what are some things, and I know we
talk about programs and making sure that people have employment opportunities,
What are some things that you think need to happen
in order to lower gun violence.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
So I've always stated that we need a holistic and
comprehensive strategy, one that involves intervention and prevention. I think
Detroit needs to focus more on intervention excuse me, prevention
in regards to investing more in youth programming. We see
a lot of times it's one sided with more on policing.
But in Detroit, what we're seeing is an uptick in

(09:15):
youth violence, particularly gang violence. And so if we can
get access to rec centers, more you know, educational programming,
more mentoring, more conflict resolution training, more out of school
time programming for our young people to give them something
productive to do, I think that also helps with the
prevention part of what we're seeing in Detroit with gun
violence and youth violence. Community violence intervention we got federal

(09:38):
funding for that has been very helpful where we send
you know, former gang bangers into the community, those who
are from the streets to interact with our communities and
that has reduced crime fifty percent in those zip codes.
So we got to continue to fund programs like that
as well.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
When it comes to federal funding right now, though we
know there's been a ton of cuts, how has that
affected Detroit?

Speaker 3 (09:56):
So right now we are okay because all of our
federal funds run out in twenty twenty six. So what
we're doing now is trying to navigate after the twenty.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Twenty six That's going to be your job, right.

Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yeah, money's gone, you know, but but we always find
a way to get it done, don't and we always
find a way.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
So we were prepared. We knew that as the money
came that it was going to run out in twenty
twenty six, and so our office has been very diligent
on looking for a chief chief growth officer who would
look at how we diversify our revenues and graw population,
which is key.

Speaker 2 (10:30):
No, that's great, and when you think about other things too,
like I've watched now we got to talk about Donald
Trump a little bit, because it isn't going to affect
every major city.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
And I live in DC, so I've seen, oh my,
seen this, so yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
And so when you think about him talking about sending
in the National Guard to certain places, now he's talking
about New Orleans, you know obviously DC.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
I was just there too. It felt weird, it was happening.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
And I could see Detroit being a target, you know,
for for Donald Trump. What do you think about what
the President's been doing when it comes to.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Comanya, it's definitely because and you think about the history
of Detroit, the nineteen sixty seven riots. I mean, I
think it goes back to some very very you know,
just harsh memories in Detroit. And so we never want
to bring the National Guards in the city. And so
I'm going to do my best to strengthen relationships with
other cities, to work with our neighboring urban mayors to

(11:20):
figure out ways that we can fight back and stand
back against those type of efforts. But we are trying
to crack down as much as we can on creating
a holistic approach to gun violence, because when it comes
to crime in these cities, to me, sending the National
Guards is not the answer, right, I mean, that's not
going to stop. I think it goes back to housing,
it goes back to education, it goes back to the
underlying issues, and I think we have to have more

(11:40):
funding for those those issues.

Speaker 2 (11:42):
You know, I've been watching and following a lot of
these stories of things that are happening with everybody who
was it was a really huge mayoral race to see
who's going to be the candidate, right, Yeah, And so
we lived there.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
And I was just like lost. So we came for
your announcement there.

Speaker 4 (12:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
I popped out for that, popped it right out, just
as a regular spectator. I don't want to know special treatment,
because I am always gonna come and support because you know,
one thing that was interesting to me was to see
that once you did get you know, you and Pastor
can Lock are the two people now locked in this race.

(12:21):
But it took a while for people to come on
board with their endorsements. They were waiting to see who
was really going to be the candidates. And I just
thought that was interesting, Yeah, because I saw Mayor Duggan
has endorsed you and said that he does feel that
you are the most qualified for that position, and I
kind of was hoping things would have happened even earlier.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
So to be honest with you, we received the endorsements
that I really wanted at the forefront, and that was
for unions from unions, which is the working people of Detroit.
Those were the ones that were near and dear to
my heart. I've been so much for everyday working people
in families in Detroit. Mayor Duggan we talked prior to
his announcement right when I announced, and he wanted me
to show, really to show Detroit. But this was me,

(13:03):
This was not him, and I and I respected that
because you know, had he endorsed me early on, there
would have been this perception that it was because of him.

Speaker 1 (13:09):
Right, y'all already have a relationship.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Right, endorsement that that that got me here. No, it
was the hard work of myself, my campaign in the
record that I've done, what I've done in the sea
of Detroit for twelve years. So him coming after that,
I think was respect for me, my ability to run,
and just showing that, you know, hey, he's just a
little extra icing on the top of the k.

Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yeah, but you're right, the yes, you're right.

Speaker 2 (13:33):
The Union for City Workers came in and what I
think is great is that you have both sides so
you see the balance because those are things that need
to work in conjunction with each other.

Speaker 3 (13:43):
You can be pro people in pro business, doesn't have
to be one of the other.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
How do you feel about people turning out to vote?
I mean, I see so many endorsements from people, like
seeing Ice weear Vezo super involved in this race. I
enjoy seeing things like that, Big Sean, you know that
that's a big deal.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
But some people also.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Look at that, like all these celebrity endorsements stuff. But
why are celebrity endorsements important?

Speaker 3 (14:08):
I mean, you have to reach people where they are.
You know, some people look up to our celebrities, our influencers,
they follow them, and so for me, I've always been
big on just reaching people where they are. If it's
a pastor, if it's an influencer, if it's a union,
we have to touch people all over and so we
do have a lot of work to do though, to
get our voter turnout in Detroit. You know, people don't

(14:30):
understand that the Mirra race is just as, if not
more important than the presidential race.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah, it's gonna happend them so much.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
I mean directly, I mean the resources directly that impacts
your quality of life. And so we had about eighteen
percent voter turnout in the primary, and we're hoping that
we can get it a little bit higher for the
general because I know.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
Usually the primaries aren't as they're traditionally as big a turnout.
But you got to make sure that you go out
and focus people have a chance.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
To make history.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
To make history, how do you.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
Manage to work with people that ran against you and
said crazy things about you.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
Always wonder that in general, this is where.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
The growth comes in. But someone told me a long
time ago in politics, no permanent friends, no permanent enemies,
just permanent interest. And over the years I've learned to
not take anything personal. And at the end of the day,
I would tell you running this race has really reminded
me that the most important thing is to move this
city forward. There's a huge responsibility, a huge weight of
responsibility upon me, and I just want the right people

(15:28):
around me. And so to your point, there's two current
former candidates who are going to be endorsing me this
one next week. In the following week who were in
the race reached out and entertainment.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
Is a documentary right here, it is it is yeh.

Speaker 3 (15:48):
But I reached out to all of them, and two
of them as of today, will be coming over to
support me.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
From me because for me as somebody who's not a
Detroit person, right but I come there quite frequently. I
remember when Pastor Keinlock announced that he was running, and
people were like, this is gonna be a tough one
because you had such a huge congregation, and people were
actually very.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Nervous and worried.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
But I think when we saw the primaries and we
saw how, you know, what those numbers were looking like
and what the funds raised were looking like, it kind of.

Speaker 1 (16:13):
Felt like because I always was.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
Team Mary, you are and there were people who were
reaching out to me behind the scenes like so you're
not gonna so you're just gonna endurese Mary, and you're
not gonna you know, and wanting me to.

Speaker 1 (16:24):
But I'm like, that's I've seen the work that you've done.

Speaker 2 (16:26):
I've been present to see you, like be out in
the community. I've seen like as far as anybody who
has been in this race, you're the person.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
That i've seen like front and center.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
And sometimes people can also be very wary of people.

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Who are politicians too.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
That's another thing that's a normal thing, right of people
that can be like, well, she's the establishment, she's this,
and she's that. But I also feel like, you know,
this is a great opportunity because I don't see a
lot of mayors that are just like I'm calling you
the mayor already, but that are just as present as
you have been, even even before you announced that you
were running, even when you before you were city council president,

(17:06):
you were outside doing so many different things.

Speaker 1 (17:08):
And I knew that we could, like people could call.

Speaker 2 (17:10):
On Mary to show up to something or with an issue,
and she was always going to be, Okay, what can
we do? What do I need to do? And she
had this accountable we were doing that building, she was like,
I'm checked in, And I was like, Angela, what's going
on with the building?

Speaker 1 (17:22):
Did y'all make sure? Yes, I promise you, I have
the best of intention.

Speaker 4 (17:26):
And then on calls angel like, look y'all we got
to make sure that ain't nobody making married.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
Look yeah, yeah, and.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
I heard everything is going well, Yeah, everything's going well.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
We're almost full, We're almost full almost.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
I had to come toward next time you are.

Speaker 2 (17:38):
We're gonna do something else, okay, But you know, I
just want to commend you for everything that you've been
doing because I also have been watching. I mean, politics
has a lot of muzzlinging when you're running for office,
and I've seen you really just like be focused, you know,
addressing things that are not true, making sure people know
because I saw a whole lot of things that people
were saying. But I think right now we're at the
point where people are like, this is what it's you

(18:00):
know about to being there happy about it. I agree,
you know, because sometimes we're voting.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
For somebody to be a mayor.

Speaker 2 (18:05):
I'm not going to name no places, but you're like,
I'm just trying to pick somebody who's not as bad
as the other person. Yeah, but I think you're a
person that people find to be like refreshing and excited
to want to see.

Speaker 1 (18:16):
When I agree.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
And I think for me, a lot of people and
I hear this in the community a lot, they don't
really see me as a politician to your point, they
just see me as them, you know, And I've always
tried to keep that, you know, that authenticity with just
being a public servant at the end of the day,
and I am in politics, but I always just try
to be as real and present as I can be,
down to earth accessible, and I think that is what

(18:38):
you know, so many people gravitate towards me for and
as mayor, I want to be the same way. So
very excited about this race. Detroit has overwhelmingly showed me
support and we are going to keep fighting for the
issues that I hear about every day, whether it's housing
and gun violence and education, lowering our property taxes which
is another big one as well, to grow in our population.
All of these things matter because Detroit is a world

(19:00):
class city. Uh. And I'm excited to be the leader.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
And I see a lot of people moving back to
the city keep there. I see people being like, let
me just go on ahead and get some property.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
And they actually are creating an initiative come home. It's
called come Home. It's geared towards Native Betraiters that love
to come back home to the city of.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Need to do the song. Can we get to do that?

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Because I see that that right now, for the first
time in decades, it's been an increase in the population
for the first time in decades, so that energy has
to keep on going because it's a place that's beautiful,
and you know, the people there are amazing.

Speaker 3 (19:38):
And the food I like to eat.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
But I can't wait till you have a personal life.

Speaker 3 (19:44):
I don't see when that would happen. Angela, listen, I
don't how to figure it out. Yeah, I don't see
when happened because.

Speaker 1 (19:50):
I didn't see you at dinners. I'm like, where's there's
an empty seat? And I did.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
I got engaged in December of last year.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
I think I told you, Yes, you did. Congratulates.

Speaker 3 (20:02):
He gives me a lot of balance.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
You know what was there before you were engaged?

Speaker 3 (20:07):
Right?

Speaker 1 (20:07):
Being a single woman?

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Was there criticism for that because sometimes people do treat
women a certain way, and they do that with men too,
if you're not married and you're in politics.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
I didn't, not really, not for me, I honestly did.
I mean, there was some concerns that people would say
sometimes that, oh, you know, if you're not if you
don't have a family, people may not look at you
as mature. But but aside from that, no, for the
most part, things have been good.

Speaker 1 (20:31):
This mayor old betting is gonna be amazing, I take it.
But congratulations this race, and I appreciate you for being here.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Thank you as well. Thank y'all.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
It's way yep.