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Mayor Mike Duggan's Final State of the City speech.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who consistently shines in his annual State of the City address, did so again Tuesday night, boasting of his accomplishments over three terms—from housing to business growth to lower crime and unemployment rates—while also sharing his visions of greatness for proposed projects along the Detroit River, including the RenCen.
"I don't think a day goes by when somebody says, 'What happens when you leave? Are things going to get worse?' And I want to show you today why Detroit is going to get much better for the next five years," Duggan said in a speech delivered at the Hudson's Detroit development on Woodward. "This has been about a lot more than me," he added. "There was a whole partnership that has done this."
For Duggan, it was his last State of the City address as mayor, as he finishes his final year in office. And while he was making his case to the citizens of Detroit, he may also have been speaking to a broader audience as he gears up for a run for governor in 2026 as an Independent.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus, executive director of Target Insyght, said the mayor Tuesday night acted as if he was running for mayor again—but this time, he's actually running for governor.
"He's showing that he developed the tools needed to turn the city around from bankruptcy, and now he wants to turn the state around," Sarpolus said.
Duggan cited a string of successes, from the redevelopment of Michigan Central Station to the Hudson's site project, new housing, and lower property taxes. He highlighted a homicide rate he says is the lowest since 1965 and a reserve of $550 million to help the city weather potentially harder times in the future.
Since taking office, he said, the city has 29,000 fewer abandoned houses.
He also spoke about Detroit’s turnaround from bankruptcy:
"We got the city out of bankruptcy, and we went to Lansing and ended up with legislation that allowed us to get out from under state control with three straight years of balanced budgets. We've been working together, and I don't intend to offer much advice to my successors, but I hope they'll continue the tradition because Detroit's recovery has been built on this partnership."
Tipping his hat to bipartisanship—something he hopes to capitalize on as an Independent candidate for governor—he told the audience:
"In this country right now, you're hearing lots of toxic political division. In this room, you're going to hear the story of the people over the last 12 years who came together and became partners to rebuild this city into one of the great American success stories."
Reinforcing his theme of being a unifier, Duggan addressed Detroit’s steady population decline since the mid-1950s. Even around 2012, when young people were moving into American cities, Detroit continued losing residents.
"That should have been our moment in the city of Detroit," he said, pointing out that at the time, half the streetlights were out, 20 recreation centers had been abandoned and parks were closed.
"Detroit was becoming America's vanishing city," he said.
Seeing these challenges, Duggan said he decided to run for mayor in 2013. He recalled visiting residents in their homes every night, listening to their concerns.
"They just wanted their streetlights on and police to show up. They wanted real change," he said.
"I said to them every night in those living rooms, 'If you're voting for me, us versus them politics is over. This is going to be a city where everybody's welcome and everybody's valued.' And I can't tell you how many political people said, 'Oh no, you don't have a chance. That will never work.'"
Watch speech below
