Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield on midterm election, Democratic unity and more

Welcome back to Fox 2 News. We, of course, are watching this election countdown clock. Of course, we are just a day away from perhaps one of the most consequential elections that we've seen in our state in a long time. The whole country is talking about it. And the Democratic Party, of course, had that huge day yesterday in which Haley Stevens threw her support to Mike Rogers. And that was a stunner for a lot of people out there. And it brought into focus Democratic unity joining us now live on Fox two here in our election headquarters in our newsroom is the mayor of the great city of Detroit, Mayor Mary Sheffield. The mayor, it's always good to see you. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. All right. So your phone has to be blowing up. How would you frame what happened yesterday with Congresswoman Stevens backing? Mike Rogers. I mean, I think everyone can agree it was a complete shock and a complete surprise to many of us here in Detroit, in the state of Michigan. However, I have really enjoyed how Abdul has responded to this. Again, going back to this is not about Haley. This is about the policy and the issues that matter to Michiganders. And it's about money in your pockets, money out of politics, Medicare for all. And I think that is what we have to continue to push and figure out ways, again, that we all can unite around the bigger issue here. And that is protecting our democracy, lowering costs, and building our middle class here in the state of Michigan. We had Mike Rogers on The Pulse last night on a special edition, and he talked about how Detroiters are coming up to him saying thank you for being here and being present here. We notice your presence. Showing up is important. How do you, what do you make of The churches, I mean, the NAACP had just said, we believe that the churches are being used as props. Do you believe that that's happening? You know, I think in general, everyone needs to get involved. Once we get through the midterm elections, then we have the presidential election. I think the Democrats have to continue to unite on what we all can agree on, which is fundamental foundational things. Protecting our democracy, again, lowering costs, building our middle class, ensuring that we have safe, free, and fair elections. And so there's always room for improvement, but again, we have to utilize every way that we can to get the vote out and to reach every person to get them involved in this upcoming election and beyond. But I've talked to people, including council people, who say no party should assume that we're in the pocket with them. Detroiters are not props. They're discriminant, smart voters who understand the history. Talk for a moment about that. There are Republican voters, 20,000 who voted for Donald Trump. For the 2024 election, there are Republicans and Democrats who live in Detroit. For sure, and we should never take anything for granted. I think for a very long time, both parties, to be quite honest with you, have oftentimes taken advantage of the African American vote. And I think at this moment, I think Detroiters in general are understanding how consequential these elections are because they feel it in their everyday lives. And so we should never take for granted anyone's vote and have to make sure that we're speaking and to the issues that are impacting everyday people. I wanna talk about election turnout. As we head towards the big day on the polls, a lot of people early voted already 1.5 million in Michigan. Detroit saw its history making day last weekend. What do you expect at the polls and what do you want people to know? I expect that we will continue to see high voter turnout. I'm very proud to see the results that we've seen to date, which shows again that people understand how consequential this election is. And what I want people to know is Your mayor can't do this by herself. We need strong partners in Lansing and in the halls of Washington as well to represent, to bring resources back home and to fight for the issues that matter to everyday people. So get out to vote, spread the word, never take anything for granted. And let's make sure we have people that make sure government works for them. Mayor, I just wanna hit on that a little bit because what you said is really important. As the mayor, as the chief executive of the city of Detroit, arguably one of the most important cities in the country. You're saying what happens in Washington, Does it affect you? Oh, most definitely. I think back to the days of the ARPA funding, right? We had the American Rescue Plan Act dollars, $800 million come to Detroit that funded numerous initiatives that benefited everyday Detroiters, and we have to have, again, strong leaders in Washington that will continue to fight and bring resources back to Detroit. So no, I can't do it by myself. In order for us to address the numerous priorities that our residents have, we need strong partners in both Lansing and in Washington as well. A tease ahead to The Pulse. You want to talk and drill down a little bit more about the 1,000 Home initiative. Yes. Make a quick mention of that, and then we'll talk more about it when we- So the goal is 1,000 new construction homes by 2031, 250 homes per year. We want them in every single council district throughout the city, and we want to make them affordable for everyday Detroiters. That's a big deal. You talk about housing. In this country, that's a big deal. And so we're going to continue to watch that one. And Mayor Sheffield, come back and talk to us more about that, how it's working out, and come on The Pulse someday soon, and we look forward to having you. But Mayor Mary Sheffield, great to see you. Thank you. Thanks for joining us. I appreciate it. And that is a look at what's happening here in our election headquarters in the newsroom. This is a 24-hour operation behind us. Every single person you see behind us is going to be working for you to make sure you're covered on Election Day and beyond. Rich, over to you.