DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced on Wednesday that he will not seek a fourth term as mayor, setting up an open race for 2025.
“I will not be a candidate for reelection for mayor of Detroit in 2025,” said Duggan. "Being your mayor has been an honor of a lifetime."
Related Video: Watch Mayor Duggan's full speech below
He started his speech by thanking city employees, the police and fire department personnel for sticking with Detroit through tough times. He also thanked his family, block club presidents, and the people of Detroit.
Duggan reflected on the time he was first running for mayor and met with Detroit families in their homes.
“A large part of who I am today was shaped in those living rooms in 2013,” said Duggan.
He said he is very confident in the city's future, and that he's going to talk more about his future in the weeks ahead.
Related Video: Mayor Duggan speaks to reporters after the announcement
Duggan, 66, has served as mayor of the city since 2014 and worked in a variety of roles in the city and county dating back to the 1980s.
According to his bio on the city's website, he was a lawyer for Wayne County and then deputy Wayne County Executive for 14 years.
He was elected as Wayne County Prosecutor in 2000 and served for three years until he was hired as the CEO of the Detroit Medical Center.
Duggan decided to run for mayor in 2013, and launched a successful write-in campaign during the mayoral primary after he was unable to qualify for the ballot due to a residency issue.
He defeated Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the 2013 election, and then won 72% of the vote against Coleman A. Young II in 2017 and more than 75% of the vote against Anthony Adams in 2021.
Duggan began serving less than a year after the City of Detroit became the largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy. This past April, Duggan celebrated 10 years of progress in the city during his State of the City speech.
WATCH BELOW: Mayor Duggan celebrates 10 years of progress, promises more in State of the City
“Detroit's future to me always comes back to where it started: to the neighborhoods," Duggan said back in April.
Duggan promised to cut taxes while he keeps working to enact the Detroit Land Value Tax in Lansing, pointing out a $1 million tax cut in July 2023 and another that will go into effect in July 2024. He also promised another one will go into effect in July 2025.
RELATED REPORT: Detroiters share hopes for future of Detroit
While celebrating the success of Project Greenlight, Duggan announced that they would begin installing a camera network along Detroit’s freeways this summer. It will be funded by a $30 million grant from the state of Michigan.
Duggan also announced a plan to put solar fields in blighted areas of Detroit, with eight neighborhoods already chosen to compete for the first one. The plan would put the fields next to areas, which will also receive money to repair their blocks.
"Ten years ago we were in the headlines, it was "carjack city" and "murder capital." In February, President Biden called Chief James White to the White House to lead a national conference on how to reduce gun violence in the country," the mayor said.
How others are reacting
Sheila Cockrel, a former Detroit city councilwoman, spoke to us about the city's future. She said Duggan made sure to focus on the city's neighborhoods and Detroit's next mayor should do the same.
“My experience is this administration has had more evidence of change in neighborhoods on a continual, regular basis across the city than I've seen in a long time," she said.
She also told us the key qualities that she hopes Detroit's next mayor will have.
“It needs to be somebody who is really capable of managing city government, forging the kind of political relationships that you’re going to need in both Lansing and Washington and just keep it moving," Cockrel said.
We also talked with some of the business owners from the Motor City Match grant program that has helped 176 businesses.
"Eight years ago, everything here was locked up. Those grant opportunities have helped, and you see this neighborhood has turned around so much," Jonathan Peregrino, the owner of JP Makes & Bakes, said
“What kind of difference has this made for workers and customers?" our Simon Shaykhet asked Chef Sabree from Yum Village.
"We are pushing culture of African Caribbean food. People have responded really well," he said.
