Detroit Next

Detroit Next has interviewed all nine of the mayoral candidates who are on the August ballot. We wrapped up with candidates Joel Haashiim, Jonathan Barlow and DaNetta Simpson.

Check out their full interviews individually and make sure to watch or listen to the other candidate interviews before casting your ballot!

Detroit Next is a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different. Subscribe to stay up to date on all thi...

Bryce Huffman and Khary Frazier discuss the city's legal agreements with various authorities like the Detroit Land Bank Authority and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and more. Attorney and mayoral candidate Todd Perkins joins the show as well, and he discusses why the city needs an attorney in the mayor's office.

Check out the full episode here on Detroit Next, a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different. Head to ...

DaNetta Simpson is no stranger to running for office. This is her third time running for mayor in Detroit, and she hopes this time, voters will listen to what she has to say.

"I'm a lifetime resident. Okay, first of all, I lived in the struggle, not too far from the Black Bottom (neighborhood) on the east side. And I've lived in the struggle with most of the residents in the city of Detroit within the past 40 to 45 years now. So I ...

Attorney Todd Perkins wants to be Detroit's next mayor, and he believes his experience as a lawyer makes him the best choice to handle Detroit's issues.

"It's no secret as to some of the success that you've seen from Mayor Duggan has been because of his skill and his skill set from being an attorney. I think that that is absolutely important when you get to the table and you're negotiating agreements, understanding that you're not ...

Detroit Mayoral candidate and businessman Joel Haashiim believes there is a lot at stake in this election and he's the only candidate who has the chops to handle big issues like the Detroit Land Bank Authority, longstanding issues with the city's largest school district, and more.

"First of all, you're talking 54 years of domestic and international business. Then you're talking about the ability to bring international companies and...

Despite trailing in the polls, mayoral candidate Jonathan Barlow believes he's the only person in the race who can guide Detroit into being a world-class city of the future.

"It's very clear that I'm just a different candidate. The plan that I keep on referring to is the only plan that continues to be presented. And so I believe voters, as well as the other candidates, as well as the city, have taken note of the things that I've sa...

Ken Cockrel Jr., former interim Mayor and former Detroit City Council President, believes the transition from the Council to the mayor's office is a huge one. And any candidate, regardless of their experience, needs to be ready for the full weight of the job.

"I would say the thing that they have to be prepared for and be ready for is to understand that whatever you think your day looks like from day to day, it could change on a di...

Former Detroit Mayor and City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. joins Detroit Next to break down all the different things Detroiters need to think about before casting their votes in the primary.

"When I became mayor, the one thing that even I wasn't quite ready for is the extent to which every day can hit you with something completely unexpected," Cockrel Jr. said. "So that's the thing I think anybody that's going to be mayor need...

Former Police Chief James Craig believes Detroiters should demand a leader who demands accountability.

"Detroit Police Department was under federal oversight for 13 years, one of the longest running consent decrees, and we got out from under within one year of my administration, not by accident. Certainly, leadership played a key role, but accountability played a bigger role."

To learn why Craig thinks he can go from police chief t...

Former Police Chief James Craig believes he's the only candidate who can truly keep Detroiters safe. "Hollywood" Craig believes his decades of experience in law enforcement will ultimately win over Detroiters in the August primary. 

He joins Detroit Next to talk about what public safety looks like and why he's a leader who demands accountability. 

Check out the full episode from Detroit Next, a collaboration between BridgeDetroit a...

Longtime Detroit communications professional and media personality Karen Dumas believes Detroiters deserve better in many aspects of life, and that starts with city leadership.

Dumas, who served as Chief of Communications & External Affairs for Mayor Dave Bing and the City of Detroit and works as a columnist for the Detroit News, believes no candidate in the race has fully stood out from the pack thus far. Dumas makes it clea...

Attorney and former Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams says the next mayor will have a lot of heavy lifting to do with fewer resources than the current administration.

Adams, who unsuccessfully ran against Mike Duggan in the 2021 mayoral race, reflects on the time he spent working with Kwame Kilpatrick. Adams believes whoever becomes mayor next needs to unify the business community, neighborhood leaders, and everyday residents to guide the...

Detroiters Karen Dumas and Anthony Adams join Detroit Next to talk about the honest thoughts they have on the mayor's race. 

Dumas worked communications for former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, but also works as a columnist for the Detroit News. She believes no candidate in the race has fully stood out from the pack thus far. Dumas also makes it clear that Detroiters don't need a miracle worker, they need a competent mayor who can add...

Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield explains how a decade plus of experience serving the city's legislative branch has prepared her to become mayor. 

Sheffield is the frontrunner in the race, by all accounts. But historically speaking, the path from City Council to being elected mayor is a tough one in Detroit. She details her plans for what she'd like to do about affordable housing, raising wages for Detroiters, and at...

Mary Sheffield, current City Council President and mayoral frontrunner in Detroit, talks about years of experience and how that would shape her administration if she is elected with BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett.

Malachi and Stephen Henderson also talk about the sometimes complicated relationship between City Council and the mayor, and the difficult path from Council to being elected mayor. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page ...

Mayoral candidate and former Detroit City Council member Saunteel Jenkins talks to BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett about the different ways she is qualified to be the city's next mayor.

Jenkins spent a decade running The Heating and Warmth Fund (THAW) as its CEO, and she believes that executive experience has prepared her to deal with the various city departments and $3 billion dollar city budget she would be in charge of if elec...

Detroit developer Chase Cantrell, Executive Director of Building Community Value, discusses educating new developers in the city with BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett.

Cantrell focuses a lot of his attention on educating new and inexperienced developers, mostly on how to develop properties in their communities.  He wants people who are thinking about becoming developers, regardless of the scale of the projects, to understand the c...

Detroit developer Sonya Mays, President and CEO of Develop Detroit, discusses barriers and reasons for optimism regarding housing developments in the city with BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett.

Mays shares her experience working with Detroiters to talk about why there is some reason for optimism heading into the 2025 election. She also talks about the need to reframe conversations around "affordable housing" to instead focus on in...

Detroit developer Richard Hosey discusses barriers to development in the city with BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett.

Hosey is the founder of Hosey Development LLC and has worked on large scale development projects in Detroit such as Six55 Willis and the Fisher Body 21. His decades in the development space give him a unique perspective on how he sees the city heading into the 2025 election season. 

This is a clip from the fourth ...