SOUTHFIELD – Mayor Kenson J. Siver will face voters in the upcoming primary election on Tuesday, August 5, seeking to retain his seat for another four-year term. Southfield is home to approximately 76,000 residents, including a significant population of Arab and Chaldean Americans.

Siver, 79, has served as mayor for the past 10 years, after winning a special election in 2015 to complete the term of then-Mayor Brenda Lawrence, who left office after being elected to the U.S. Congress.

Since then, Siver has won two additional terms, in 2017 and 2021. Prior to becoming mayor, he served 14 years on the City Council and spent 45 years as a teacher and administrator in Southfield Public Schools.

This year, he faces two familiar challengers whom he has previously defeated in past elections, Sylvia Jordan, a former City Councilwoman and Ryan Foster, a five-time mayoral candidate and former employee of the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Foster is running again under the banner of change, promising to prioritize a 10 percent cut in property taxes to help stem the tide of residents leaving the city.

“Most Southfield voters are tired of paying high taxes while crime rises and schools shut down,” he said.

“As long as the same people keep getting re-elected over and over, nothing will change,” he added.

Jordan has also pointed to high taxes as a key concern for residents.

“I will work to ease the tax burden over time by expanding our tax base,” she said. “That means attracting new businesses — both large and small — and supporting a welcoming economic climate to allow entrepreneurs and job creators to grow.”

Jordan served on the Southfield City Council, including as Council president, for more than  a decade. She previously ran for mayor in 2009 and 2015, losing first to Brenda Lawrence, then to Siver.

“With the gap between high taxes and the quality of services, people are asking, Where is the value in what we’re paying?” Jordan said, citing delays in garbage collection and the closure of the city’s public swimming pool as sources of resident frustration.

Siver, meanwhile, emphasized his track record of accomplishments, stating, “Overall, Southfield is doing well.”

He noted that the city has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure, including road and water main replacements, new housing developments, recreational trails and public art installations. He also claimed that trash collection services have improved since the city switched contractors last year.

If re-elected, Siver said his top priority would be to rezone underused areas, especially vacant commercial spaces throughout the city.

The top two vote-getters in the August 5 primary will advance to the general election on November 4.