Mayor Sheffield Uses Swearing-In, Press Scrum to Center Housing and Safety

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood swore in Mary Sheffield at the Detroit Opera House. The public investiture ceremony took place on Friday, January 9, 2026, marking a historic moment as Sheffield became Detroit's first woman mayor and the first Black woman to hold the office in the city's 324-year history. (Photo by Montez Miller/Tell Us USA News Network)

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	From Campaign to City Hall: Mayor Sheffield Uses Swearing-In to Center Housing and Safety Marc Kennedy - National-Politics Tell Us USA News Network 1/9/25 DETROIT - Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield marked a historic milestone Friday with a public swearing-in ceremony at the Detroit Opera House, formally becoming the city’s 76th – and first woman – mayor before a packed crowd of residents, regional leaders and dignitaries. Following the investiture, Sheffield faced reporters in a hallway press scrum where she outlined early priorities around housing, neighborhood quality of life and inclusive economic growth, pledging that “progress is only real when it reaches everyone, every family, in every community in this city.” Historic ceremony at Opera House The “Rise Higher Detroit!” investiture began at 10 a.m. at the Detroit Opera House in downtown’s theater district, where hundreds of residents, elected officials and community leaders gathered for the public celebration. The event also included the swearing-in of Detroit City Council members, the Board of Police Commissioners and City Clerk Janice Winfrey, underscoring the launch of a new governing team at City Hall. Sheffield, 38, took the oath on stage as her family and a roster of state leaders — including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and former Mayor Mike Duggan — looked on. Cultural performances from poet laureate Jessica Care Moore, gospel artist Kierra Sheard and Detroit youth ensembles framed the program as a celebration of Detroit’s civic pride and creative energy. Sheffield’s message to Detroiters In her inaugural remarks, Sheffield thanked Detroiters for entrusting her with the office and framed the day as “the beginning of a new chapter” in the city’s history. She stressed that the moment “does not belong to one person” but to every neighborhood, from the east side and west side to southwest Detroit, first responders, essential workers, parents, labor, seniors and children watching from classrooms and living rooms. Sheffield tied her own breakthrough as Detroit’s first woman mayor to a broader message of possibility, telling residents that leadership “has no gender, no age limit, and no ceiling” and that Detroit’s future must be judged by improvements in quality of life. She emphasized that success will be measured not by a single metric, but by whether residents see better housing options, safer blocks, working streetlights, stronger neighborhood investment and reduced poverty. Themes and priorities highlighted Throughout the ceremony and in comments to the media, Sheffield pointed to housing, neighborhood stabilization and public safety as early pillars of her administration. She has previously called for expanding affordable housing and homeownership, increasing access to home repair grants, and turning vacant land into housing, along with basic infrastructure fixes like sidewalk repairs, alley cleaning and dangerous tree removal. Sheffield also linked her crime and safety agenda to prevention, mental health and community-based interventions, building on plans for an Office of Gun Violence Prevention and expanded community violence intervention programs. She reiterated that Detroit’s future depends on drawing more state and federal investment into neighborhoods and improving transit and regional connectivity so that economic growth is shared across the city. Press scrum after the ceremony After leaving the stage, Sheffield stopped in a back-of-house corridor outside the Opera House auditorium, where reporters clustered around her in an informal press scrum to drill into specifics of her agenda. She was asked how quickly residents should expect to see changes, particularly around housing and neighborhood quality-of-life issues that dominated her campaign and transition interviews. Sheffield told reporters that housing will be a “first-year, first-term” focus, saying she wants to move quickly on affordable housing development, homeownership opportunities and relief for residents struggling with high property tax burdens. (Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us USA News Network) Sheffield also signaled that her team will prioritize visible, basic services like alley cleanups, sidewalk and street repairs, and the activation of recreation centers and community hubs so residents can access city services closer to home. Key quotes and takeaways from media Q&A Pressed on how she wants Detroiters to evaluate her performance, Sheffield reiterated that she wants to be judged on whether residents feel their quality of life has improved under her administration. She pointed to metrics such as increased incomes, reduced poverty, better mental health supports and more neighborhood-level investment as barometers of success rather than a single headline statistic. Reporters also asked about the symbolism of her making history as the first woman to hold the office, to which Sheffield replied that her election shows that “our voices, our experiences, and our ideas belong at the highest levels of decision-making,” especially for Black women and girls watching across the city. Returning to a line from her prepared speech, she closed the gaggle by reminding cameras and the crowd: “Our futures are bound together. The success of this city cannot be measured by the progress of a few, but by the well-being of all.”