(WXYZ) — Ahead of the 2025 primary in the Detroit Mayoral Election, 7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford is speaking to Todd Perkins, one of nine people who are running to be the next mayor.
Related: See interviews with all 9 Detroit mayoral candidates here
Watch our full interview with Todd Perkins in the video below
"I'm a father and I'm a husband, I'm a once-widowed, twice-married man who's also been a single father at one point in time," he said.
With his signature gray hair, Todd Perkins is visible on the streets or in the courtroom after practicing law for 28 years.
"What qualifies you to lead this city, especially right now because this is a critical moment?" I asked
"This is a city that has loved me and I've loved it back and the best way of paying service to a city that I know and love is to serve as its leader at a critical time," he said.
I asked Perkins what the biggest difference Detroiters will see compared to the current mayor, Mike Duggan.
"If you ask a majority of Detroiters, everyone is so busy trying to live their lives, work paycheck to paycheck, is that the idea inescapable feeling that they've been left out," he said. "People like the majority are not having their seat at the table, what my administration will have is that."
I asked Perkins for his mission to prevent corruption and ensure transparency.
"My stock in trade is transparency in most aspects and because as a lawyer, you have to live in a certain ilk, you have to live in a certain life, and I have so many people who have trusted me," he said.
He also believes a residential requirement would give Detroiters a better chance at earning a piece of the pie in city contracts.
When asked about bringing jobs to the city, he said, "So many people talk about creating or giving out jobs or creating jobs as a mayor. That's not what a mayor does. A mayor creates an atmosphere in which people want to come to the city, not only residents, but companies and corporations."
I asked him about his plan to address gun violence, especially among young people, in the city.
"Number one on my platform is public safety. You cannot grow a city in which the city and people who don't feel safe," he said. "If young people are given an opportunity, you're gonna see a different action and you're gonna see a different result from them."
While there is blight, Perkins said demolition is not his priority; single-family homes are.
"My focus is on building and also rehabilitating," he said. "I would enjoy seeing and focusing on rehabbing the properties that we have rather than continuing destroy."
I asked him about his message to struggling parents who are fighting to keep their kids safe.
"One, you matter. Two, we need to know who you are. Three, we're gonna be in your neighborhood to let you know and have access to us because I think, and I truly believe that you don't feel like you have a voice, and if you have that voice, I believe that every problem, there's a viable solution," he said.
I asked the one thing to define his legacy in the first year, if he is elected.
"A sense of empathy, a sense of caring, an idea of leadership," he said. "What I wanna do is change the spirit of Detroit because I think once you change people's beliefs."