Photo: Curtis Paul ~ 760 WJR
DETROIT, Aug. 6, 2025 ~ Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield has emerged as the front-runner in the city’s mayoral race, and her father, Rev. Horace Sheffield, sees her candidacy as a historic moment for the city and its people.
Horace Sheffield, a longtime civic leader and activist, spoke with pride today on “‘JR Morning” about his daughter’s advancement to the general election for mayor of Detroit. “She carries with her all of what people have done to make this city better for everyone,” he said, reflecting on his own family’s deep Detroit roots, seeing her candidacy as a continuation of a generational mission to uplift the city.
PODCAST:
Aug. 6, 2025 ~ Rev. Horace Sheffield joins Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds on “‘JR Morning” to share personal insights into daughter Mary Sheffield’s historic campaign. From knocking on 59,000 doors to tackling education, crime perception, and neighborhood development—this conversation goes behind the scenes of a movement rooted in generations of Detroit leadership.
(CONTINUED) Facing Rev. Solomon Kinloch in the upcoming election, Mary Sheffield’s insider status is a strength, according to her father. “Detroit don’t believe the city is broken, the message is how do we make this city work for more people?” her father said, adding that he saw his daughter’s campaign as grassroots by knocking on 59,000 doors.
Education and neighborhood revitalization, Horace Sheffield said, are not just part of her platform—they’re at the heart of her mission. “We’re not going to have a world-class city if folk can’t even spell the word, ‘world,’” he said, pointing to low literacy rates in Detroit’s public schools. He also wants to see his daughter not just address crime itself, but the perception of crime as well, and to support grassroots development in neighborhoods like Grand River and Wyoming.
Though he’s been instrumental in her campaigns, Horace Sheffield made it clear he won’t take a formal role in her administration. “What I really want to do… is go down to West Palm Beach… and enjoy myself,” he said. Still, he plans to remain a guiding force, helping Mary Sheffield surround herself with capable leaders and stay grounded in the city’s needs.
If elected, Mary Sheffield would become Detroit’s first-ever female mayor, a milestone Reverend Sheffield sees as long overdue. “Twenty-six out of twenty-eight major cities in America have all had a female mayor—with the exception of New York and Detroit,” he noted. “So I guess New York may need to get on board now, right?”
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