DETROIT — Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon announced his bid for Detroit Mayor on Tuesday evening at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, where over 1,000 guests were in attendance to support his campaign kick off.

Napoleon, 57, told the crowd that he would be the right person to lead a turn-around for the city. He criticized current leaders for allowing Detroit to deteriorate so badly that  the state had to appoint an emergency financial manager to take over. 

“Basic city services are inadequate, crime has placed our families on edge, and just yesterday, a state appointed emergency manager moved into city hall – to assume control of a city government reportedly on the brink of collapse. Detroit…this is unacceptable,” Napoleon told the crowd who gave him a round of applause. 

Napoleon surrounded by his supporters addresses the crowd. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/TAAN

Napoleon called for efforts to make the city’s neighborhoods livable and said he would work to recruit business, improve education and provide job training for workers to reduce the city’s unemployment level. He also took a jab at Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan, who is also in the running for Mayor. Napoleon hinted that Duggan, who moved from Livonia into Detroit in 2012,  does not have interest or history with the city. 

“Detroit is not my hobby, it is my home. And like all of you, I still believe in Detroit, but it’s time to stop looking at this dysfunction and devastation and acting like it’s the new normal. I’ve been dedicated, remained committed, worked hard, all with the expectation that if I did my part to make Detroit and Wayne County safe with the elected leadership, that we would band together and transform this city…yet here we are,” Napoleon told the crowd. 

Napoleon has had a long history with the city. He lived in Detroit his whole life, and graduated from Cass Tech High School and the University of Detroit Mercy. He received a law degree from the Detroit College of Law, now part of Michigan State University.  

He was Detroit’s police chief from 1998-2001 under former Mayor Dennis Archer. He worked for a real-estate company and was an assistant Wayne County executive before he was appointed Wayne County sheriff in 2009. 

Wayne County Deputy Chief Mike Jaafar was also in attendance to extend his support for Napoleon. Jaafar believes the entire community should support his run for mayor. 

“As long as he’s been in public office, he has always stepped up to the plate when it came to the Arab American community. In his entire tenure as a public servant, he has always been there for every member of the community. He takes every citizen’s complaint seriously, from 85-year-olds to 18-year-olds. Whenever there is an issue to be resolved, he’s always on top of his game. There’s nothing he doesn’t take serious,” Jaafar told the Arab American News. 

Along with Duggan, Napoleon joins a handful of other candidates who have also announced runs for mayor, including State Rep. Fred Durhal Jr.; Attorney Krystal Crittendon, and former State Rep. Lisa Howze, a certified public accountant.