Overview

• Mary Sheffield and Solomon Kinloch Jr. clashed in their first post-primary debate on Oct. 15, setting the tone for the Nov. 4 general election.
• Sheffield outlined a prevention-first public safety plan with year-round youth jobs, expanded community violence intervention, and a new office of gun violence prevention.
• Kinloch questioned the reliability of Detroit’s crime statistics and later clarified he wants additional oversight of how crimes are tracked rather than alleging wrongdoing.
• On fighting poverty, Kinloch proposed a children’s trust fund seeding $1,000 for every Detroit newborn with yearly allocations to age 18, while Sheffield emphasized job creation, an industry standards board, and broader investments in residents.
• Both rejected militarized federal intervention such as National Guard deployments, as watch-party attendees in Corktown urged less personal sparring and more concrete, neighborhood-focused plans.