Historic win caps a sweeping night of local elections across Metro Detroit

DETROIT — In the November 4 municipal elections, voters in 36 cities across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties chose new mayors and City Council members in a variety of hotly contested races.

The most historic outcome came from Detroit, where City Council President Mary Sheffield became the first woman elected mayor, defeating Pastor Solomon Kinloch by a landslide.

Sheffield will assume office at the start of next year, succeeding Mayor Mike Duggan, who chose not to seek a fourth term. Sheffield’s victory, with more than 77 percent of the vote, reflected overwhelming confidence among voters in her leadership and her ability to continue Detroit’s post-bankruptcy recovery and revitalization.

Duggan, who has served as mayor since 2014, is running as an independent for governor in the 2026 election.

New mayors across the region

Alongside Sheffield’s win in Detroit, Tuesday’s elections also brought new leadership in seven other cities across Metro Detroit:

• Mo Baydoun (Dearborn Heights)

• Adam Alharbi (Hamtramck)

• John Gillooly (Grosse Pointe Farms)

• Mike McGuinness (Pontiac)

• Cory Haines (Madison Heights)

• Susan Moffitt (Clawson)

• Richard Ganter (Walled Lake)

Paula Millan, the outgoing mayor of Clawson, and Linda Ackley, the outgoing mayor of Walled Lake, were the only two incumbent mayors in Metro Detroit to lose their re-election bids.

Incumbent mayors who prevailed

Meanwhile, eleven sitting mayors across the tri-county region secured re-election victories by varying margins:

• Abdullah Hammoud (Dearborn)

• Tim Woolley (Taylor)

• Steven Borer (Flat Rock)

• Sheila Tomkowiak (Grosse Pointe)

• Theresa Rich (Farmington Hills)

• Ken Siver (Southfield)

• Michael Fournier (Royal Oak)

• Michael Webb (Hazel Park)

• Michael Taylor (Sterling Heights)

• Laura Kropp (Mount Clemens)

• Tom Semaan (New Baltimore)

Among them, Hammoud was one of the night’s strongest performers, capturing more than 71 percent of the vote in Dearborn. The only incumbent to outperform him was Woolley, who received more than 77 percent of the votes in Taylor.

Unopposed victories

Mayors in 17 other cities across Metro Detroit were re-elected unopposed, winning automatically by acclamation. They include:

• Brian Turnbull (Northville)

• Kevin Coleman (Westland)

• Robert McCraight (Romulus)

• Joseph Kuspa (Southgate)

• Garrett Shumate (Gibraltar)

• Troy Cox (Rockwood)

• Arthur Bryant (Grosse Pointe Woods)

• Michele Hodges (Grosse Pointe Park)

• Valerie Kindle (Harper Woods)

• Bridget Dean (Berkley)

• Raylon Leaks-May (Ferndale)

• Justin Fisher (Novi)

• Marian McClellan (Oak Park)

• Brett Scott (Pleasant Ridge)

• Steve Kennedy (South Lyon)

• Patrick Beagle (Wixom)

• Robert Taylor (Roseville)

In summary, the 2025 municipal elections across Metro Detroit marked a historic moment for women and minorities in leadership, highlighted by Mary Sheffield’s groundbreaking victory in Detroit and a growing Arab and Muslim American presence in cities like Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck.