DETROIT (FOX 2) – After 12 years of leading the city of Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan says he is not seeking reelection in 2025.

Duggan made the announcement on Wednesday but di not specify what his plans are after completing his term in 2025. Politicos believe the outgoing mayor could run for governor of Michigan with Gretchen Whitmer’s term ending in 2026.

“Detroit’s story of resurgence is one of Detroiters who never gave up on their city,” said Mayor Duggan. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as mayor over the past 12 years and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together-from emerging out of bankruptcy to becoming a vibrant, healthy city that is a model of resilience and transformation. This last year is about continuing the work we started and ensuring Detroit’s success remains rooted in opportunity for everyone.”

Duggan will speak during a press conference at noon on Wednesday. You can watch his announcement live in the player above.

A write-in candidate leads Detroit

Duggan was first elected in 2013 after winning the vote through a write-in campaign. 

After working as the president and CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, Duggan moved to the city in 2012 with intentions of running for mayor. However, he hadn’t lived in the city for a full year and subsequently filed his paperwork two weeks before he should have.

Even with the early hurdle, Duggan won the mayoral race with 52% of the vote in the August Primary and then 55% of the vote in the general election. 

He would win reelection two more times: in 2017 he was re-elected with 72% of the vote over Coleman Young II. Then in 2021, he was re-elected with 75% of the vote.

Duggan’s accomplishments as mayor

In the statement announcing his intentions not to run, Duggan highlighted improved EMS times, historic reduction in violent crimes, and the rebuilding of city’s neighborhoods. When Duggan was first elected, there were 47,000 vacant and abandoned home. Today that number is 3,000.

Over his first four years in office, Duggan focused on improving emergency services response times, getting the city’s streetlights back on, increasing park maintenance, and decreasing blight through the Detroit Land Bank Authority. 

Duggan’s administration also spearheaded Motor City Match, a program that provides grants to entrepreneurs in the city. Since MCM started in 2014, it has provided more than $19 million in grant money to nearly 2,100 small businesses. 

In the spring of 2018, Detroit was released from state oversight, marking the first time in four decades that the city was fully in control of its own future. 

However, his second term wasn’t as smooth sailing. In 2019, Duggan was caught up in a scandal involving the non-profit Make Your Date after he was accused of giving the organization preferential treatment. His relationship with the director of the organization came under scrutiny with accusations that Duggan had asked the staff to raise money for the nonprofit. 

Additionally, chief of staff Alexis Wiley ordered some employees to delete hundreds of emails related to the Make Your Date program as news surfaced about a potential conflict of interest.  

Duggan was ultimately cleared by the attorney general’s office of any wrong-doing. A few years later, Duggan and the director of the organization, Dr. Sonia Hassan, were married.

In 2020 and 2021, Duggan navigated the city through the COVID-19 pandemic including testing and the eventual implementation of the vaccine ahead of his third re-eleciton.

Even with the health crisis, the city continued to grow and in 2023 it experienced its first year of population growth in nearly 70 years – a goal that Duggan had set when he first ran for mayor.

“Today, Detroit is offering a roadmap to cities across the nation as an example of what can be accomplished when leaders put people over politics and build bridges instead of sewing division,” the statement from the city read.

Detroit’s future leader

With Duggan’s plans not to run, the city will look to its next leader. 

Names considered for the role are former Detroit City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, current City Council President Mary Sheffield, City Councilman Fred Durhal, and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig are among the possible candidates.