Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield: A night out with her new constituents and a wedding over the weekend

What’s in a mayoral transition: Sheffield wants your suggestions

This story by Malachi Barrett originally appeared in Bridge Michigan.

Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield invited residents to the historic Marygrove Conservancy campus on a snowy Monday night. In the century-old Madame Cadillac Building, Detroiters charted a course for the city’s future in a work session about Sheffield’s policy priorities for the first 100 days.

Roughly 50 attendees had small group discussions on advancing the pillars of Sheffield’s agenda: Public safety, transportation, affordable housing, home ownership, restoring neighborhoods, social services, economic empowerment, and quality education.

More sessions will be held in January, and Sheffield plans to release a citywide community survey in 2026. 

Attorney Melvin Butch Hollowell, Sheffield’s transition team chair and a participant in mayoral handoffs dating back to Coleman Young, said the public feedback effort is unique.

Sheffield said it’s about undertaking “the most rigorous, inclusive and community-driven transition” in Detroit’s history.

Sheffield said Duggan has been “very helpful” to ensure a seamless transition. Hollowell expects her administration will have a mix of Duggan appointees and new talent.

“We want to ensure that we’re keeping those who provide institutional knowledge as part of the process, but also welcoming in new, innovative leadership,” Sheffield said.

Sheffield said 1,200 job applications have already come in for 21 key positions. Hollowell said “some decisions have absolutely been made,” but declined to say how many or who has been hired yet. Iris Ware, a human resources officer for the city, was hired to vet candidates and sort through resumes. A jobs board includes positions you’d probably expect — like chief operating officer and Health Department director. It also includes a few new positions.

Read the full story here, including comments from those in attendance.

Who is Detroit’s first ‘first gentleman?’  

Over the weekend, Detroit’s first woman mayor married Rickey Jackson, Jr., during a small ceremony in Corktown.

Mary Sheffield wed  Rickey Jackson Jr. in a private ceremony at The Godfrey Hotel on Sunday.

There’s no official title for the spouse of the mayor. Sheffield is Detroit’s first woman to serve as the city’s head executive.

Jackson is program manager for Project Play: Southeast Michigan at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the brother of WNBA star Rickea Jackson.

Jackson hasn’t appeared much in local news reports. A LinkedIn profile shows Jackson had past roles as an advisor at New Paradigm for Education, a student mentor at Adrian High School, and assistant director of admissions at Defiance College in Ohio. 

Sheffield wore an engagement ring during her campaign but declined to say who her fiancé was until after the wedding.

In a Monday statement from her mayoral transition team, Sheffield and Jackson said they were “grateful for all the love, prayers, and well wishes we’ve received during this special moment in our lives.”

Sheffield posted more thanks and images from the ceremony on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

Read the full story from Bridge Detroit by Malachi Barrett here.

For more on Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield’s nuptials, read this story by Lee DeVito in the Metro Times: Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield confirms low-key weekend wedding