Detroit council appoints Sherry Gaye Danyogo as city ombudsman after two-round ballot

The Detroit City Council on Sept. 30 appointed Sherry Gaye Danyogo to serve as the city’s ombudsman after a two-round voting process that narrowed a larger field to three finalists and then produced the six affirmative votes required for appointment.

Council leaders opened item 18.2 by describing the ranked-ballot process: in the first round each council member allocated 3, 2 and 1 points to three candidates; the three candidates with the highest point totals advanced to a second, single-choice round. City attorneys and the Law Department noted a legal opinion from LPD that a sitting school-board member would need to resign before assuming the ombudsman post under the incompatibility rules; council members discussed that obligation and clarified that one finalist had indicated she would resign if selected.

Public comment before the vote was extensive and dominated by endorsements: dozens of residents, union representatives and community leaders spoke briefly in support of multiple candidates. Supporters of Danyogo cited her advocacy on education and community complaints, pointing to past work on redistricting litigation and neighborhood problem-solving. Other callers and in-person speakers urged the council to consider Gail Bernard and Tiffany Tilley, citing experience in administration, education and constituent services.

After the first ballot, the council announced the three finalists who advanced: Gail Bernard, Sherry Gaye Danyogo and Tiffany Tilley. In the second round, the clerk announced that Danyogo received six votes — the threshold required by council rules — and thus was appointed. The council congratulated the appointee during the session.

Attorney Phil Keller of LPD and the city’s law department briefed the council that, because of a conflict rule tied to school-board service, any finalist who currently holds a school-board seat would need to resign from that seat before taking office as ombudsman; the council discussed that constraint during the briefing and before voting.

The council did not provide a public timeline at the meeting for when Danyogo will assume the office. Council members said additional procedural steps — including processing the appointment paperwork and coordinating onboarding — would follow. The council moved on to other agenda items after the appointment was announced.

The appointment concluded the scheduled action under item 18.2; the council then proceeded to approve several contract and procurement items before adjourning.