Detroit Mayor Sheffield Keeping Many Duggan Appointees

Photo: (Top L-R): Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms, Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallet, CFO Tanya Stoudemire. Bottom: L-R: Director of Human Resources Denise Starr, Director of Homeland Security Hilton Kincaid, Police Chief Todd Bettison.

Mayor Mary Sheffield, who was sworn into office on Thursday, is sticking with many of Mike Duggan’s appointees.

On Friday, she announced that some key Duggan appointees will remain in their positions, including the fire commissioner and the corporation counsel. In mid-December, she announced she would keep Duggan’s police chief, Todd Bettison. 

The following are the appointees and their bios as written by the city.

►Chuck Simms will remain Fire Commissioner, allowing him to continue building on the key accomplishments under his leadership to date, including delivering one of the fastest average EMS response times in the country. A 37-year veteran of the Detroit Fire Department, Simms was named interim commissioner in December 2021. He joined the department in 1986 at age 19. Since that time, he has risen steadily through the ranks from Firefighter/EMT to Fire Investigator Lieutenant, Fire Investigator Captain and Chief of Arson and Fire investigations.

►Hilton Kincaid will serve as Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, where he has served as Deputy Director since 2014, helping to protect Detroiters from harm. Kincaid began his career in law enforcement as a Detroit police officer in 1977, where he also served until being named Deputy Homeland Security Director.  Kincaid brings with him extensive experience and relationships across the local, state and federal law enforcement and homeland security fields.  During his time at Homeland Security, Kincaid has helped build and lead Detroit’s preparedness for major events, including the NFL Draft, and for a range of critical incidents, including weather and mass casualty events.  Kincaid also led the expansion of the Community Emergency Response Team, which prepares volunteer residents to assist in emergencies.

►Tanya Stoudemire will stay on as Chief Financial Officer. With over 30 years of distinguished service to the City, Stoudemire has a wealth of experience, having spent over half of her career in the Budget Department and later in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, where she excelled as Deputy CFO/Budget Director for six years. In this pivotal role, Stoudemire played a crucial part in guiding the office through the City’s emergence from bankruptcy, where her efforts were concentrated on building resilient and sustainable budgets that prioritized long-term financial stability.

►Conrad Mallet, one of the city’s most tenured and respected public servants and health administrators, will continue to serve as Corporation Counsel. Mallett spent 20 years as a top administrator at the Detroit Medical Center, including his service as president of one of Michigan’s largest hospitals, Sinai-Grace. Prior to that, Mallett spent eight years as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, his last two years as its Chief Justice.

►Denise Starr will continue in her role as Director of Human Resources for the city.  Starr has served in this role since 2015 and has led transformational changes inside the department to rebuild its personnel and payroll systems, implemented effective training and recruitment efforts, and created a new culture of professional development to help grow and strengthen city leadership. Starr also has been instrumental in leading contract negotiations with all city employee unions that have resulted in significant and competitive wage increases for Detroit’s firefighters and medics, police officers and bus operators that have helped the city to recruit and retain top talent.