
This is Detroit Next
Welcome to Detroit Next, the one-stop-shop for all things related to the 2025 municipal elections in Detroit. This is a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson and BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett host in-depth conversations around politics, city government and all the issues that will play a factor for the voters in Detroit during the August primary and the November general election.
Henderson, who co-founded BridgeDetroit, has decades of experience covering elections in Detroit and beyond. Barrett covered state politics in Michigan for years before coming to Detroit where he covers city government.
You can watch full episodes and interviews on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe to the channel for the latest content. Stay up to date with us by following BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different on your favorite social media platforms.
Subscribe to BridgeDetroit's free newsletters to stay up to date on news, arts and culture in Detroit.
Let us know what questions you have about city government, the candidates or the issues in Detroit that matter most to you.
Give us a call at (313) 284-6407 and leave a voicemail with your thoughts. We will be playing some of those messages on the show, so do your best to keep them short and clear.
This is a community-led project, so we can't do this work without you. You can donate to Detroit Next by giving to BridgeDetroit.
Episodes

Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Wednesday Dec 10, 2025
Malachi Barrett and Bryce Huffman interview Denzel McCampbell, the newly elected District 7 City Council member, about his priorities and vision. McCampbell emphasizes community-driven policy making, equitable development, and accountability for corporations. He plans to conduct listening sessions, create resident work groups, and address issues like housing, transportation, and environmental pollution.
"I think it's we're going to have to look at all avenues, I would say, looking at one as we're going through the budget process, to make sure that we're priority, prioritizing what we need to be, that we know that home repair is a need. It's not to say that we have to take for somewhere else, but I do think we will have to look at new revenue in a way that how can we address some of these needs." Denzel McCampbell
Check out the full episode of Detroit Next, a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different.

Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Malachi Barrett recently chatted with Melvin "Butch" Hollowell, who is leading Mayor Elect Mary Sheffield's transition team. Hollowell explains what stage the transition is and how his years of experience working on transition teams has guided the approach to the current one.
"The brand for mayor elect has all been about listening and community. So we're going to make sure that people have an opportunity to say what's on their minds. How are the core city services that they're receiving in their particular neighborhoods being handled? What can we be doing better? We want their unvarnished opinions, because that helps to drive where we put attention and resources so, and this is, this is consistent with how mayor elect is has served the public throughout her career. So for us, it will be, we want to hear what you have to say, we will turn that feedback into into action through our our transition committees and through, frankly, the the governing structure that will begin to take shape on January 1." - Melvin "Butch" Hollowell
Check out every episode of Detroit Next online now! Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Friday Nov 21, 2025
Friday Nov 21, 2025
The votes are in and Mary Sheffield will be Detroit's next mayor! She becomes the first woman mayor in the city's history and the first City Council President elected to the office.
Khary Frazier of Detroit is Different and Malachi Barrett of BridgeDetroit breakdown what Detroiters can expect to see during the transition period before she takes office.
"When I was out at the polls talking to folks, they felt that (Sheffield's) experience on the council really mattered. They thought it was really important that she's been leading the City Council and been involved in a lot of the success of the city. She also had a pretty sober look at what's wrong with Detroit. She wasn't out there saying that everything's gravy, everything's fixed. Her message was really focused on continuing what's worked, but make sure it goes deeper into the neighborhoods, bring new investment into the neighborhoods." - Malachi Barrett
Check out the full episode of Detroit Next. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Rev. Solomon Kinloch wants voters to know ahead of the November general election that his administration would be focused on making sure the residents always have a seat at the table.
"We have to do a better job of making sure that citizens in this city don't feel like an afterthought, but they feel like, when we are sitting at the table, that they are the primary thought." - Solomon Kinloch
Check out the full interview from Detroit Next, a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Malachi Barrett and Khary Frazier are back for the last Detroit Next episode before Election Day, Rev. Solomon Kinloch gives his last pitch to Detroiters, once again emphasizing the city's neighborhoods.
"We are not suggesting that good things have not happened in the city of Detroit. What we're saying is, is that when you ask the citizens in this city, they're not good enough, although we've come a long ways, we've made tremendous progress, but that progress has to be more inclusive, so that people in the inner city can feel the renaissance and the revitalization that we say is taking place." - Solomon Kinloch.
Check out the full episode and full interview from Detroit Next, a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters joins Detroit Next to chat about running for re-election in the At-Large race and some of the difficulties facing City Council. One big issue is property taxes in the City of Detroit are too high.
"Where will the revenues come from? That has been our struggle. Even if we are able to lower property taxes by a mill or two, we can't go too far beyond that unless we identify other revenue streams, and we have not been able to do that." - Mary Waters
Check out the full interview on Detroit Next. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
What will Detroiters see from the mayor's office if Mary Sheffield is elected in November? That's exactly what Malachi Barrett spoke to City Council President Sheffield about for Detroit Next this week.
"We always take into consideration comments and concerns that were raised during our forums to go back and add that into our policy, some of our 100 day goals, whether it's in housing or education or public safety, the community knows best what is needed in their neighborhoods. And so yes, we've made a lot of adjustments, and we're always reminded that there's so much work to do in Detroit, but I'm very encouraged to have partnerships, and the collaboration that I believe is going to be needed to help ensure that we get those issues addressed." Mary Sheffield
Check out the full episode from Detroit Next. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Monday Oct 13, 2025
Monday Oct 13, 2025
State Rep. and City Council Candidate Tyrone Carter speaks with Bryce Huffman of BridgeDetroit about how hi experience in the state legislature will be helpful for Detroit, and District 6 specifically, if he is elected next month.
"We're going to have a new mayor for the first time in 12 years, and at least two new city council people. So there's going to be a transition, and we have to look at it. I can take a step back and look at it from the state level, all the monies that we've sent to the city, all the federal monies that have been sent to the city to do projects it's pretty much gone, and also the relationship. So I think that the new mayor will have an opportunity to focus on more community issues, neighborhoods that have been, you know, saying, hey, the two Detroit thing, but if there's no downtown, there's no Detroit. Let's be clear about that. If your heart's not strong, the rest of the body is going to wither away. So downtown is a strong heart now. So I think this gives the opportunity to, you know, do pilot programs in different neighborhoods to see what and meet with the district reps to say, Okay, what do your neighborhoods want? And where can we start this project?" - Tyrone Carter
Check out the full interview from Detroit Next. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
BridgeDetroit's Malachi Barrett and Detroit is Different's Khary Frazier talk about small business development in the city of Detroit. Guests Charity Dean, President and CEO of the Michigan Black Business Alliance, and Jennyfer Crawford, Founder of All Things Detroit, talk about what can be done to help small businesses in the city from the next mayoral and City Council administrations.
"I definitely think that so many of the discussions about those third spaces come into play, and people saying that I want to be in my neighborhood and go to businesses that I enjoy. Communities always talk about the restaurants they want, places like that coffee shop they want, places that they can enjoy and buy the things that they love. The business owners are like, it's sometimes tough to connect to that." - Khary Frazier
Check out the full episode of Detroit Next, which is a collaboration between BridgeDetroit and Detroit is Different. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.

Friday Oct 03, 2025
Friday Oct 03, 2025
City Councilmember and Candidate Gabriela Santiago-Romero represents District 6. She tells Bryce Huffman about her plans for a second term if she wins re-election in November.
"I want to continue to co-govern with our residents today really are the ones that guide our platform, our agenda, and what I'm hearing is that people just want us to double down on making sure that we are making a city that is safe and accessible." - Gabriela Santiago-Romero
Check out the full interview from Detroit Next. Head to BridgeDetroit's YouTube page to watch full episodes and interviews now.







