Rec Sports
Who is Detorit’s first ‘first gentleman?’
Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield wed Rickey Jackson Jr. in a private ceremony at The Godfrey Hotel on Sunday.
There’s no official title for the spouse of the mayor. Sheffield is Detroit’s first woman to serve as Detroit’s head executive.
Jackson is program manager for Project Play: Southeast Michigan at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the brother of WNBA star Rickea Jackson.
Jackson hasn’t appeared much in local news reports. A LinkedIn profile shows Jackson had past roles as an advisor at New Paradigm for Education, a student mentor at Adrian High School and assistant director of admissions at Defiance College in Ohio. Sheffield wore an engagement ring during her campaign but declined to say who her fiancé was until after the wedding.
In a Monday statement from her mayoral transition team, Sheffield and Jackson said they were “grateful for all the love prayers and well wishes we’ve received during this special moment in our lives.”
Sheffield posted more thanks and images from the ceremony on her Instagram page on Tuesday.
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is serving as fiduciary for Sheffield’s transition process. It launched Project Play Southeast Michigan in 2017 to build youth sports opportunities. The initiative is a collaboration between the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the Aspen Institute.
Jackson’s LinkedIn profile states he is “passionate about expanding access to quality sports, play, and physical activity opportunities for all youth across the region.”
BridgeDetroit requested an interview with Jackson to learn more about his background and public service experiences. Sheffield’s transition team said they would follow up after the newlyweds have some time to celebrate their nuptials privately.
The Detroit City Council was sworn in this week and started an orientation process organized by the City Clerk and Legislative Policy Division.
The agenda included sessions on Monday and Tuesday focused on council responsibilities, meeting rules, ethics, contracting, city agencies, staff appointments, safety protocols, media services and technology.
Formal sessions will resume in the first week of the New Year.
In the meantime, help me improve this newsletter! I’m overhauling the Notebook for the new year and genuinely need your help.
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Shoot me a note at mbarrett@bridgedetroit.com.
I remain chronically online, and, by consequence, come across lots of great information I’ll never have time to report on myself. I’m sharing with you and closing these tabs on my computer.
Detroit’s RoboCop statue in Eastern Market is like a meme come to life, but Daily Detroit’s Jer Staes convinced me there’s more to the story than you’d think. He got the inside scoop on how the saga unfolded, and the details will surprise you
Staes also reminded me that for as much as people may scoff or cringe at Detroit’s derelict depiction in the film, “RoboCop” remains a caustic, prescient satire of the soul-consuming nature of corporate greed. Maybe it’s worth revisiting art that explores how the human spirit perseveres against the forces of predatory capitalism and fascism.
Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday. Thanedar accused Hegseth of allegedly murdering Venezuelan civilians suspected of trafficking drugs and mishandling classified information by discussing war plans in an unsecured chat app.
Read Thanedar’s reasoning in the articles of impeachment here. The effort may end the same as Thanedar’s failed attempt to impeach President Donald Trump earlier this year. Axios explains why.
Thanedar is running for reelection in the 13th District and faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who was endorsed by dozens of Black leaders, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Justice Democrats.
Mayoral candidate Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. called for a renewed focus on eradicating childhood poverty in his first public statement since losing the 2025 race. Kinloch, writing in Deadline Detroit, said the city can’t celebrate its recovery while half of children are under the poverty line.
Kinloch, senior pastor of Triumph Church, also argued that most registered voters didn’t participate in November elections “not because they didn’t care — but because they didn’t feel connected.” He earned just 22% of the vote.
The Detroit Ice Boiz are back on Belle Isle, hosting weekend pickup pond hockey games as long as the weather allows. Last year, we covered how the inclusive community group is preserving a historic tradition of casual hockey on Belle Isle’s frozen waterways.
I was out with the group again last weekend and can confirm it remains chill and open to all. Consider donating to a GoFundMe page, which will fund equipment and community events.
Detroit’s heavy embrace of tax abatements is considered necessary when developers face high property taxes and construction costs, but what happens when tax breaks expire
Clara Hendrickson at the Detroit Free Press took a sharp look at Detroit’s reliance on abatement programs that need Legislative renewal. One thing that stood out to me is how much we actually don’t know — there’s no cost-benefit analysis to draw from.
Many are trying to emulate the annual Spotify Wrapped feature, which recaps each user’s unique music consumption over the year. The Detroit Institute of Arts did it better than most, listing which pieces in its online collection attracted the most attention.
It’s a fun read, and a great reminder of how many iconic pieces the DIA has in its inventory. Here are my most-listened-to songs of 2025, and no, I will not explain myself.