This week on Bankole’s Nation, journalist Bankole Thompson discusses the October 15 debate between Detroit mayoral candidates Solomon Kinloch Jr., the senior pastor of Triumph Church, and Mary Sheffield, the president of the Detroit City Council. 

 Thompson believes that Kinloch, the anti-establishment candidate, has a chance to seal the deal in the debate by presenting an inclusive economic vision for Detroiters, who face a 51 percent child poverty rate and a 34 percent overall poverty crisis in the city. 

In what is perhaps the only debate that will occur between the two candidates for the city’s top job, Thompson believes that it is Kinloch’s opportunity to make the case against Sheffield, who has the support of city establishment members.

He should explain to skeptics and doubters alike why he is running and clarify the change he wants to bring to City Hall. 

He said the high cost of living is causing economic misery for many in the city, and that should be a central focus of the debate.