City Chatter: New roles and a confidential memo
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Welcome back to our new regular feature on city government and politics.
✅ Mayor Mary Sheffield is continuing to fill out her leadership roster by hiring Winnie Liao as COO. Liao previously led an effort to overhaul customer services and improve wait times for the Michigan Secretary of State.
- Making $290,000 and managing 17 departments, Liao will analyze how city services interact with residents.
- She'll look to make processes easier and more reliable, including licensing and permitting — long cited as headaches for businesses and property owners.
Between the lines: The city also confirmed that several leaders under former Mayor Mike Duggan will continue in their roles, including longtime buildings department director David Bell, sewer department director Gary Brown and municipal airport director Jason Watt.
- Some management hasn't been finalized yet, like the new heads of the Detroit Health Department and Office of Immigrant Affairs and Economic Inclusion.
🗳️ Intriguing race: Two young Democrats are going head to head to represent state Senate District 1, which covers part of Detroit's west side, as well as downriver cities like Ecorse, Lincoln Park and Melvindale.
- Justin Onwenu, hired under Duggan as Detroit's first director of entrepreneurship and economic opportunity, is continuing under Sheffield as director of Detroit's office of small business services.
- He recently secured endorsements from five City Council members, including President James Tate.
- Abraham Aiyash, a former Michigan House of Representatives majority floor leader, is also running. Aiyash says he'd prioritize standing up to corporate interests, including rising DTE Energy bills, per Michigan Advance.
👀 What we're watching: We've waited for responses to questions City Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero asked the Detroit Police Department last month about how it interacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The council member got a response, we learned this week, but it's confidential.
- Santiago-Romero is seeking to get the memo publicized via a council vote, per BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett.