From Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of New York City to the election of women as governors of New Jersey and Virginia, Tuesday’s elections made history in several races. In addition to these results, several mayoral races also led to historic firsts in cities across the United States.
Mary Sheffield to become first woman mayor in Detroit history
In Detroit, Democrat Mary Sheffield made history in more ways than one. Her victory Tuesday makes her the first woman, and therefore the first Black woman, elected to lead the city. At 38, she is also the youngest Black woman to be elected to lead a major city in the United States. This follows up on a previous milestone achieved by Sheffield in 2013, when the then 26-year-old became the youngest city council member in Detroit’s history. Earlier this year, Sheffield handily won the Democratic primary, defeating nine other candidates, including Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr.; Sheffield defeated Kinloch again in Tuesday’s general election, winning 77% of the vote, according to early results.
Sheffield comes from a long line of activism, reaching back to her grandfather, Horace Sheffield Jr., and her father, Horace Sheffield III, and she thanked her family during her acceptance speech. While Sheffield’s victory was expected, she did have to deal with accusations of ethics violations relating to concert tickets she received from a bank as well as millions of dollars in city contracts awarded to a contractor she once dated. In the end, neither of these incidents, which Sheffield defended as being within the rules set by Detroit law, prevented her from cruising to victory. Sheffield marked the significance of her win during her victory speech. “Throughout Detroit’s 324 year history, 75 mayors have led this city. Not one has been a woman,” Sheffield said, and she is set to break that trend when she takes office.
Two Black women elected mayors in upstate New York
While Zohran Mamdani will become the first Muslim and first person of South Asian heritage to serve as mayor of New York City, he won’t be the only historic mayor in the Empire State. In Syracuse, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens won the race to succeed her boss. Owens, a Democrat, won handily, gaining 70% of the vote against her Republican and Independent challengers. Her election will make her the first Black person and the second woman to lead the city. Owens addressed a group of supporters on election night, saying, “To the elders of this community, you who for decades looked to the future of a time when there would be a mayor that looks like you, that comes from your experience, that understands the struggle, that gets the hopes and the aspiration of generations of Syracusans … I’m going to work hard to make you proud.”
Elsewhere in upstate New York, voters in the state’s capital, Albany, elected Dorcey Applyrs to serve as that city’s next mayor. Applyrs, currently Albany’s chief city auditor, won an overwhelming 86% of the vote against Republican Rocco Pezzulo. “I’m here because others believed, pushed and kept going, even when it was extremely hard,” Applyrs told supporters on election night. “They made room for me to lead and chip away at that cement ceiling and barriers that once felt unbreakable.” On Wednesday morning, Applyrs met with her team to begin her transition to mayor, which will include identifying talented individuals to serve in her administration and designing a survey for Albany residents and businesses that will help shape her agenda as the city’s new mayor.
Sheffield, Owens and Applyrs each broke new ground in their respective cities, and they added to a night of firsts that marked Tuesday’s elections. Their wins make up part of a Democratic wave that swept across U.S. politics during these elections, while their victories also represent new chapters in the histories of three centuries-old American cities.