Updated Jan. 1, 2026, 2:18 p.m. ET
Detroit — Mayor Mary Sheffield marked her first day in office by visiting police officers and firefighters, along with a soup kitchen, and vowed that she and her administration “will be pretty busy” in January.
In a brief morning ceremony, Sheffield took the oath to become the 76th mayor of Detroit. She is the first woman, as well as the first Black woman, to hold the office in the city’s 324-year history.
The ceremony at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center officially passed the torch from Mike Duggan to Sheffield. The new mayor, 38, was a three-term Detroit City Council member and is a fourth-generation Detroiter.
She took the oath shortly before 10 a.m. About 15 family members and staff were present as City Clerk Janice Winfrey swore her in as mayor, a proceeding that took less than a minute, according to a Detroit News photographer who witnessed the event.
By law, Sheffield had to take the oath before noon Jan. 1, according to city officials. She will also participate in a public swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Jan. 9 at the Detroit Opera House. The “public investiture” is free and will also include the swearing-in of Detroit City Council members, police commissioners and Winfrey. The event will feature performances from Detroit’s poet laureate, Jessica Care Moore; the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, gospel star Kierra Sheard and Detroit Opera House soloist Brianna Robison. According to Detroit Opera’s website, tickets were sold out as of Thursday.
After being sworn in, Sheffield toured the Southwest Public Safety Center, then the Detroit Police Department’s 5th Precinct and finally the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
“I just wanted to make sure that my first stop was supporting the men and women of law enforcement, both police and fire, as we move forward in Detroit,” Sheffield said at the Southwest Public Safety Center, which houses both a police precinct and a fire station. “There is no way that we can move forward without investing in men and women who sacrifice their lives every day.”
In attendance was Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison, whom Sheffield has already reappointed. Bettison praised Sheffield’s record as a city council member, describing her as “being engaged” with the community and police.
“She was very active in supporting police, whether it came to raises, technology, giving me the resources that I need as chief of police,” Bettison said. “As mayor, I know that she will double down and do even more of it. I think that she’s ready, and I’m really impressed that after being sworn in, immediately she came here to (meet) with first responders. This is amazing to me.”
Sheffield is Detroit’s first new mayor in more than a decade. Duggan was mayor for three terms and 12 years but he did not seek a fourth term. Instead, the longtime Democrat is running as an independent for Michigan governor in the upcoming 2026 election.
Various polls show that Detroit voters are upbeat about the city. In an October poll of likely voters in the November general election, 76% said the city is improving and moving in the right direction, while 13% didn’t offer an opinion, according to 500 respondents in The Detroit News-WDIV-TV (Channel 4) poll. The Glengariff Group-conducted survey has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.
Sheffield said to expect an active January from her administration. “We have some very big announcements coming up, starting next week,” she said. “The entire month will be pretty busy announcing more appointments and then also announcing some initiatives.”
Next week, the Sheffield administration plans to start canvassing neighborhoods to survey residents on a range of issues that will help shape her policies.
In November, Sheffield launched her Rise Higher Detroit transition effort that is being led by dozens of local leaders, from CEOs to community leaders and foundation executives. The effort includes 18 committees examining various issues who will deliver a broad range of policy recommendations to Sheffield. The “community survey” that begins next week is part of the effort.
“At some point, within the first 100 days, we will release the action plan for the administration that takes into consideration the committee work that was done, as well as the community survey,” Sheffield said.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
