DETROIT – Former Detroit City Council President Saunteel Jenkins announced she is strongly considering a bid to become the next Mayor of Detroit.
Jenkins has served as the CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund for the past decade and has helped tens of thousands of Detroit families pay their heat, electric and water bills during difficult financial times.
She has worked for a company providing free tutoring to children in underperforming schools and was named Director of the Residential Treatment Program at Mariners Inn, a Detroit homeless shelter for men fighting addiction.
Jenkins ran and won a seat in 2009 and three years later became the first person in nearly 100 years to be elected city council president by her peers.
She stopped by our studio to talk about her mayoral bid with Christy McDonald on the Daily+ Live.
In 2020, Jenkins was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She underwent four months of weekly chemotherapy, lumpectomy surgery and two months of daily radiation treatments.
She formed an exploratory committee which will help her campaign for Detroit’s top job. She will talk with Detroiters about their concerns while building a coalition of voters, activists, and community and business leaders across Detroit.
Detroit’s next mayoral election is in 2025. Mayor Mike Duggan, a three-term incumbent, hasn’t announced whether he is running for a fourth term.