Detroit elects first female mayor as Michiganders decide local measures

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(The Center Square) – While there were no statewide elections in Michigan on Tuesday, thousands of Michiganders still headed to the polls to vote in consequential local elections.

Notably, Detroit elected its first female mayor and the controversial Dearborn mayor overwhelmingly won reelection.

Taxpayer-Funded Measures

Voters also decided on billions of dollars in bonds or tax increases – voting on more than 150 measures across 43 counties.

Of the 153 total measures, 49 of those hoped to issue about $3.6 billion in bonds. Those bonds did not have any available tax impact estimates.

Additionally:

• 99 measures looked to extend or increase property taxes by about $235 million

• Four measures looked to extend or increase property taxes without any available tax impact estimates.

• And one measure, in Kent County, looked to extend or increase lodging taxes by 2%, or about $200,000. That measure passed with overwhelmingly positive support.

While many of the measures passed, there were some notable winners and losers.

For example, 53% of voters in Antrim County voted to approve an $18 million bond proposal for a new public safety center. In Benzie County, 52% of voters voted against a different $18 million bond proposal for a new road commission facility.

Thomas Aiello, senior director of government affairs at the National Taxpayers Union, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview last week that measures like these have real financial consequences for many of Michigan’s 10 million citizens.

“We often think that the biggest threats to taxpayers occur in Washington or Lansing,” Aiello explained, “But our data shows that sometimes the largest tax increases take place right in our backyards.”

Detroit-Area Elections

Detroit voters elected City Council President Mary Sheffield on Tuesday in a historic election. Sheffield, a Democrat, will be the city’s first female mayor, winning the race against the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr.

Sheffield’s top issues were neighborhood restoration, expanding social services, and funding affordable housing and transportation.

“Mary Sheffield is a fighter,” said Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Curtis Hertel in a statement Tuesday night. “I know she will stand up for working families and their children every single day as mayor; the city is lucky to have her.”

In Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud overwhelmingly won reelection with 71% of the vote. Hammoud had recently sparked nationwide controversy for a viral clip yelling at a city resident during a city council meeting.