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Tag: Solomon Kinloch

  • Highland Park activist sues pastor and mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch for defamation – Detroit Metro Times

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    Highland Park activist Robert Davis is suing Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch Jr. for slander and defamation, claiming the megachurch leader maliciously lied about him during and after a recent debate. 

    The lawsuit, filed Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court, argues Kinloch falsely alleged Davis was a “covert operative” for Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who is the leading mayoral candidate. 

    Kinloch’s claims come after Metro Times wrote a series of stories about delinquent water bills and controversial property deals involving the reverend and his Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations. 

    During a televised mayoral debate on Oct. 15, Kinloch claimed without presenting evidence that Davis was a paid operative for Sheffield’s campaign. 

    “When she [Sheffield] talks about my integrity and allegations, she’s talking about her covert operative that’s throwing rocks while they hide their hand,” Kinloch said. “All of these assaults have come by one person — Robert Davis.”

    During a post-debate interview with reporters, Kinloch also alleged Davis approached his campaign with offers to “dig up dirt” on Sheffield for money. 

    Two newspaper reporters called Davis to ask for his comment on the allegations, and The Detroit News published a story that included Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements,” the lawsuit states.  

    Davis emphatically denies those allegations and says Kinloch fabricated the claims in an attempt to “resuscitate his failing and bewildered mayoral campaign.” Davis added that the “false and defamatory statements” were made “with actual malice.”

    “Kinloch has a strong animus, hatred and dislike for the Plaintiff because Plaintiff has exposed to the media and to the general public Defendant Kinloch’s past criminal convictions for beating and assaulting his ex-wife and Plaintiff has revealed and exposed fraudulent real-estate transactions between Defendants Kinloch and Triumph Church, which are currently under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”),” Davis wrote in the lawsuit. 

    A Detroit News and WDIV survey conducted Oct. 16-18 shows Sheffield leading the race with support from about 65% of likely voters, compared with 14% for Kinloch. Another 20% said they’re undecided, and roughly 1% backed another candidate. 

    The winner will replace three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who has endorsed Sheffield and is running for governor in 2026 as an independent. 

    Davis, who is a political consultant, is seeking at least $250,000 in damages, saying he “has lost out on potential clients” as a result of Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements.”

    In addition, Davis is asking a judge to declare that Triumph’s purchase and sale of the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield “was NOT for a lawful church or religious purchase” and “was fraudulent in violation of Michigan and Internal Revenue Service laws. 

    Earlier this month, Davis alleged in a lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court that Kinloch violated state and federal laws after his church bought the property and then conveyed it to him last year for $1 through a private limited liability company that he controls. 

    Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.

    For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.

    Kinloch’s church and campaign have declined to answer questions about the property deal and did not respond to Davis’s lawsuit. 

    Davis has also raised questions about Kinloch’s $1.3 million home in Oakland Township. 

    Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in Oakland Township in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    State law requires nonprofit officers to act in the church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders. 

    Davis also revealed that two of Kinloch’s churches in Detroit owed nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills. 


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    Steve Neavling

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  • Kinloch’s megachurch bought a $6.6M theater in Southfield, then transferred it to his private company for $1  – Detroit Metro Times

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    In May 2022, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. announced his megachurch planned to buy a former movie theater site in Southfield and convert it into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need. 

    More than three years later, as Kinloch runs for mayor of Detroit, the former AMC Star Southfield theater still sits empty after an unusual land deal in which Triumph Church bought the property in May 2024 and then transferred it on the same day for $1 to a newly created company solely controlled by Kinloch, according to county records obtained by Metro Times. 

    The LLC, “Triumph Southfield Property,” was created six days before the sale and lists Kinloch as the sole resident agent, state records show.  

    The property is valued at $6.6 million. 

    By switching ownership to a private company, Kinloch subjected the land to annual property taxes of approximately $200,000 a year. State law allows churches and other nonprofits to own land without paying property taxes on it. Once placed in a private LLC, the property does not qualify for that exemption.

    According to tax records, Kinloch’s company failed to pay its outstanding $228,447 tax bill on the property by the Sept. 2 deadline, resulting in a $7,934 interest payment. The tax bill also appears to include a delinquent $49,557 water bill. Under Michigan law, cities can add unpaid water and sewer charges as a lien to the property and roll them onto the owner’s property tax bill. 

    On May 21, 2024, Triumph Church bought the former AMC Star Southfield theater, according to property records. The Oakland County Register of Deeds redacted the purchase price and transfer tax on the deed, leaving the amount Triumph paid unclear. The property was quickly transferred to Kinloch’s LLC for $1, and his company took out a $2.175 million loan from CRE Bridge Capital and put the theater up as collateral, including the right to collect any future rent, records show. According to the mortgage, the loan must be paid off by Nov. 16, with a possible extension to May 16, 2026.  

    CRE Bridge Capital’s website describes the Southfield loan this way:

    “A $2,175,000 loan secured by a senior lien on a 178,050 sf building that was formerly an AMC movie theater. Loan proceeds were used to refinance an existing loan and to give the sponsor time to secure a construction loan to renovate the building. This is an amortizing loan as the sponsor will be paying down the principal balance each month with operating cash flow from its business.”

    CRE Bridge Capital didn’t respond to questions for comment. 

    County records show that the church entered into a land contract in September 2022 with Manchester Star LLC of Shelby Township for the AMC property before buying it outright in May 2024. 

    Kinloch’s campaign didn’t respond to questions for comment, but Triumph Church offered a brief written statement. 

    “Triumph Church, its leadership and members have done its business in accordance with the law,” Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said. 

    But he declined to answer specific questions about the purchase, including how much the church paid for the theater, why it transferred the property to Kinloch’s LLC for $1, what the plans are for the property, who is responsible for the property taxes, and how the $2.175 million debt will be repaid. 

    Kinloch said in May 2022 that construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months. That clearly didn’t happen. 

    The records surrounding the property swap were obtained by Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who is suing the Oakland Oakland County Register of Deeds and Equalization Department to release unredacted public records related to the land. 

    In a court filing Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court, Davis is asking Judge Martha D. Anderson to order the release of unredacted records and to declare that the church’s acquisition and same-day transfer “was NOT for a lawful church or religious purpose.” Davis alleges Triumph “fraudulently conveyed this property to a newly formed private limited liability company, Triumph Southfield Property, LLC, which is controlled solely by its Senior Pastor, Rev. Solomon Kinloch, Jr.” 

    Davis contends the sale violated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) laws that govern religious organizations because the church sold “a valuable commercial piece of property below fair market value to a private corporation” controlled by Kinloch. 

    He argues the county’s redactions conceal the true purchase price and hinder public scrutiny of a transaction that moved a church asset into the pastor’s privately controlled entity. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders. 

    State law also requires nonprofit officers to act in a church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. 

    Oakland County officials have declined to respond to our requests for comment on the redactions.

    Davis’s court filing also points to the property’s tax status, and he argues that the assessment of local taxes on the private company “is evidence that the intended use” of the site “is NOT for a religious or church purpose.” 

    Godbee insists Davis is fabricating the information, even though it came from public records. 

    “We again have no response to another lie that is not based in fact offered by Robert Davis,” Godbee said. 

    During the mayoral debate Thursday with his opponent, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, Kinloch alleged Davis was working for Sheffield’s campaign, a claim Davis vehemently denies. Sheffield alluded to the property deal, first reported by Metro Times last week, during the debate.

    “While you’ve been building up Southfield, you could have been helping build up Detroit,” Sheffield said. “We know pastors all around the city that have contributed to economic development, who built housing, who helped transform their communities. His church is in my district, and our community wants to know where he’s been.”

    Davis tells Metro Times he plans to sue Kinloch, his campaign, his brother Jonathan Kinloch, and Godbee, alleging they defamed him with false statements made in text messages, online, and in statements to the media. 

    “Rev. Kinloch has gotten so desperate that he is now making false and defamatory statements about me,” Davis says. “I hope he has a good lawyer to defend him in court because before the general election, I will be suing him, his campaign, Ralph Godbee and his brother Jonathan Kinloch for making false and defamatory statements about me.”

    Davis argues the lies are “out of desperation to add smoke and mirrors to deflect from his unethical and unlawful conduct.”

    Kinloch, who finished second in Detroit’s August mayoral primary, will face Sheffield on Nov. 4. He garnered 17.4% of the vote, while Sheffield won with 50.8%. 

    Kinloch has made his leadership of Triumph Church central to his campaign, but he’s declining to respond to questions about the megachurch.

    This is not the first eyebrow-raising land deal involving Kinloch and Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills.

    For most of the past decade, Kinloch has lived in a $1.3 mansion in Oakland Township. Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    In the same month they bought the house, Kinloch and his wife Robin Kinloch secured another $84,000 mortgage for the home, records show. Then in March 2023, the Kinlochs opened a $725,000 revolving-credit mortgage. 

    Davis recently filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, and the IRS, requesting an investigation into the home purchase.  

    In 2016, two years after Triumph Church sold the house to Kinloch, its church on Joy Road in Detroit began falling behind on its water bills. The delinquency reached more than $60,000 in 2020.

    Davis’s latest filing adds Triumph Church as a defendant in the lawsuit against the Wayne County Register of Deeds. That allows the church to argue if the documents should remain a secret, Davis says. 

    A hearing is scheduled in Oakland County Circuit Court on Wednesday.


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  • Triumph Church and Detroit mayoral candidate Kinloch accused of illegal property deal involving old theater site – Detroit Metro Times

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    A new lawsuit alleges that Triumph Church and its pastor, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., who is a candidate for Detroit mayor, violated state and federal laws after the church purchased the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield.

    The church later conveyed that property to a private limited liability company “controlled exclusively” by Kinloch, according to the lawsuit filed by Highland Park activist Robert Davis in Oakland County Circuit Court on Tuesday. 

    Davis is asking a judge to force the Oakland County Register of Deeds and Equalization Department to release unredacted public records related to the property in Southfield. Davis contends those records, which the county refused to disclose without redactions, could shed light on whether Triumph Church or Kinloch violated state and federal laws.

    The county redacted the purchase price and transfer tax. 

    “This lawsuit is necessary to expose the full extent of what I believe to be unlawful conduct by Triumph Church and its senior pastor, Solomon Kinloch Jr.,” Davis wrote in the complaint. 

    Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporations Act also requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organizations and avoid conflicts of interest. 

    Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills, bought the theater location in 2024, according to real estate records. Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need, Crain’s Detroit reported in 2022. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.

    For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.

    Triumph Church declined to answer specific questions about the purchase, including how much the church paid for the property and why it was conveyed to Kinloch. The church also would not say how much Kinloch’s LLC paid Triumph for the property.  

    “We have no response to the continued false allegations and frivolous actions of Robert Davis,” Triumph Church’s Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said in a statement to Metro Times. “They are meritless and simply not true.”

    The site has been vacant since AMC shut down the theater during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

    According to the complaint, Davis filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking deeds, purchase documents, and property tax records from Oakland County, but the county’s Register of Deeds and Equalization Department refused to release the information. He is now asking the court to order the release of those records.

    “The requested documents will demonstrate whether Triumph Church’s property purchase was lawful and consistent with its tax-exempt purpose,” the lawsuit states. 

    Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. And the Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporation Act requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organization and avoid conflicts of interest.

    Kinloch, who finished second in Detroit’s August mayoral primary, will face City Council President Mary Sheffield in the November general election. He has made his leadership of Triumph Church a central theme of his campaign.

    But his mayoral run has also shed some unwanted light on Kinloch and his church. Triumph’s two Detroit churches recently owed nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills. 

    Davis has also filed county, state, and federal complaints against the church and Kinloch over his $1.3 million home in Oakland Township. Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    In late July, the Detroit Free Press reported that Kinloch pleaded guilty to assaulting his first wife after threatening her with a butcher knife and beating her with its handle, according to police.

    Kinloch has also faced questions about residency. For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He said he later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area.

    In the latest case, Davis contends Triumph Church is trying to keep the property records from being disclosed. 

    “Triumph Church is seeking to keep the purchase price a secret because they fraudulently conveyed this property” to an LLC controlled by Kinloch, Davis said. Metro Times could not immediately reach Oakland County officials for comment.


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  • Megachurch’s role in Rev. Kinloch’s $1.3M suburban home draws scrutiny amid Detroit mayoral race – Detroit Metro Times

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    The Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., senior pastor of a megachurch and a candidate for Detroit mayor, quietly lived in a $1.3 million home in the far-flung suburbs for most of the past 12 years.

    Now records shared with Metro Times raise serious questions about how he acquired the opulent home, his church’s central role in the purchase, and his lavish lifestyle.  

    During the campaign, Kinloch has highlighted his position as senior pastor of Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills. 

    Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in Oakland Township in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.

    Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house. 

    State law requires nonprofit officers to act in the church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders. 

    In the same month they bought the house, Kinloch and his wife Robin Kinloch secured another $84,000 mortgage for the home, records show. Then in March 2023, the Kinlochs opened a $725,000 revolving-credit mortgage. 

    In 2016, two years after Triumph Church sold the house to Kinloch, its church on Joy Road in Detroit began falling behind on its water bills. The delinquency reached more than $60,000 in 2020.

    Metro Times obtained the deeds and mortgage records from Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who on Thursday requested an investigation by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. Davis points out that state law allows a church to buy a house for the pastor to live in, but the church must remain the owner. 

    Davis also alleges that the sale to Kinloch and the subsequent mortgages amounted to an unlawful inurement because a tax-exempt group — the church — improperly gave a private financial benefit to an insider — Kinloch. 

    “As evidenced by the number of personal loans and mortgages Solomon Kinloch Jr. and his wife, have been able to procure and secure as a result of their personal ownership of the home located at 5629 Mystic Lane in Oakland Township, Solomon Kinloch Jr. has substantially benefited financially from Triumph Church’s sale of the Oakland Township property home to him,” Davis wrote in the complaint. “Solomon Kinloch Jr.’s and Triumph Church’s unlawful real estate transactions have now put Triumph Church’s 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in serious jeopardy.”

    Davis also questions how Kinloch managed to secure three mortgages that together exceed the value of the home. Davis argues the $725,000 revolving-credit line appears out of step with typical loan-to-value (LTV) limits. Using the $1.3 market value and an assumed $450,000 balance on the 2014 mortgage, Davis said an 80% combined LTV would cap available credit near $558,000, or about $200,000 less than the recorded credit limit. Davis points to Bankrate, which says “homeowners can never borrow the full amount of their equity – they must leave around 20% of it in the home.”

    The Kinlochs secured the revolving-credit mortgage through Community Financial in Plymouth, which did not respond to Metro Times’s questions about the loan.

    Metro Times asked the Kinloch campaign and church leaders about the sale and mortgages, but they would not answer most questions. 

    It’s also unclear if Kinloch notified the lenders that he had multiple liens against him. Between 2006 and 2022, at least nine liens were placed against Kinloch, most of which were for delinquent taxes. Those liens totaled more than $168,000, according to The Detroit News in February. 

    That matters because lenders and federal law typically require borrowers to disclose liens. Mortgage applicants must list debts and judgments on the loan applications, and making false statements to a bank to secure money from a lender is a federal crime. 

    Dan Lijana, spokesman for Kinloch’s campaign, noted that banks search for liens, and if there were any, “the purchase would not have been completed.” But public records show that Kinloch had five liens for delinquent state income taxes, totalling more than $53,000, from 2011 to 2022.

    Dora Brown, who is the church’s chief financial officer, appears on the warranty deed for the house, but she didn’t return messages seeking comment. 

    Davis says the house and the questionable financial transactions are important to the race because Kinloch often refers to his leadership of the church on the campaign trail. He says the pattern of debt and transactions raises serious questions about transparency and accountability. 

    “He’s made the church a centerpiece of this campaign,” Davis says. “He also said he would continue to serve as the senior pastor while serving as mayor. His track record as the head of that church is relevant. So all the business dealings and transactions are relevant. He’s made them relevant.”

    For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area, where he says he now lives.

    Kinloch finished second in the August primary with 17.4% of the vote, far behind Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who won with 50.8%. Sheffield and Kinloch advanced to the general election on Nov. 4.

    Sheffield has also nearly doubled Kinloch’s fundraising. Between July 21 and Aug. 25, she raised more than $206,000, compared to his $116,000.

    The home purchase and mortgages are the latest controversy dogging Kinloch’s campaign. In late July, the Detroit Free Press reported that Kinloch pleaded guilty to assaulting his first wife after threatening her with a butcher knife and beating her with its handle, according to police.

    While his campaign and church leaders dodged many questions, Lijana said the focus should be on affordable housing in Detroit. 

    “If we want to talk about housing in this race, let’s talk about the housing affordability crisis that’s exploded over the last 12 years in Detroit or the poverty rate, the highest it’s been since 2017.” 

    In his complaint to authorities, Davis said he hopes legal action is taken against Kinloch and the church. 

    “I pray that both the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office open independent investigations to determine whether Solomon Kinloch Jr.’s and Triumph Church’s suspicious and questionable real estate transaction pertaining to the home located at 5629 Mystic Lane in Oakland Township, MI violated any applicable civil and/or penal laws codified in the State of Michigan or the IRS Code governing 501(c)(3) tax-exempt church and religious organizations,” Davis wrote.

    The Michigan Attorney General’s Office confirmed it received Davis’s complaint but declined to comment “at this time.”

    Metro Times is awaiting a response from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.


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  • Mayoral candidate Kinloch’s megachurch owes Detroit nearly $30K in delinquent water bills

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    Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch’s megachurch owes nearly $30,000 in delinquent water bills in Detroit, raising questions about whether voters should trust him to manage a city with a $3 billion budget, according to public records. 

    Kinloch, 52, is the senior pastor of Triumph Church, a Detroit-based megachurch with more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in the city. 

    The church’s financial troubles stand in stark contrast to Kinloch’s opulent lifestyle, which includes a $1.3 million, 5,100-square-foot home in the suburbs. He rented an apartment in Detroit to qualify as a candidate. 

    The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s (DWSD) records show Triumph Church at 15801 Joy Rd. owed $19,784 as of Aug. 18. Another site, at 2760 E. Grand Blvd., owed $9,873 as of May 2025.

    Those debts are part of a larger pattern. The Joy Road location owed more than $51,000 in September 2024 and over $60,000 in June 2000. With few exceptions, records show the church has been delinquent since April 2016. The East Grand Boulevard church has been behind since at least January 2024. The city redacted earlier records for reasons that remain unclear. 

    Since 2013, the city has shut off water to tens of thousands of residents, but it does not appear that service was ever interrupted at Kinloch’s churches.

    To catch up on the bills, the two Detroit churches are now on a payment plan, spending about $7,000 a month combined. Roughly $1,300 of that goes toward paying down the debt. At that rate, it would take nearly two years for the churches to pay off what they owe. 

    Metro Times obtained the records from Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who sued the city and DWSD for access to some of the information. Davis also filed a lawsuit against Southfield and City Clerk Janet Jackson on Tuesday for failing to disclose whether Kinloch’s suburban church has unpaid bills. Jackson could not be reached for comment.

    Despite the delinquent water bills, Triumph Church spent more than $583,000 on events at Huntington Place in Detroit from July 2021 to July 2025.  

    In a written response early Wednesday, Triumph Church Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said the church is making good on its payment plan.

    “Triumph Church, along with 35k residents, non-profits, commercial and industrial customers are on the same plan,” Godbee said. “The church is current on this plan.”

    Godbee added, “As a nonprofit entity that works from a zero based budgeting standpoint, we have a fiduciary responsibility to take advantage of programs such as the affordability plan so that we can allocate our resources in the most efficient and effective way possible. To do otherwise would be irresponsible.”

    Kinloch’s campaign did not respond to questions about why the churches are behind on their bills or why voters should trust him to run Detroit’s budget.

    But Godbee said the high water bills that residents and businesses are burdened with are a concern to Kinloch.

    “Pastor Kinloch understands firsthand the strain caused by soaring water costs and, as mayor, will put measures in place to help Detroiters address the burden of excessive fees —particularly those driven by the drainage tax,” Godbee said. 

    He added that Triumph Church has a long history of helping the community. 

    “The role of the church has always been to uplift and empower our community,” Godbee said. “For more than 105 years, our church has served as a beacon for Detroit. Under Pastor Kinloch’s leadership, that impact has grown tremendously. As it pertains to special Triumph Church services they are self-supporting through private donations and sponsorships and the events pay for themselves. At a time when regular Detroiter’s feel left out of the access to downtown Detroit, these services minister to tens of thousands of people.”

    According to Godbee, Triumph Church in Southfield is up to date on its water bills. 

    Davis argues the delinquent payments in Detroit raise serious questions. 

    “It’s concerning if the house of worship that he leads is not as financially solvent as one may think based upon what is advertised,” Davis said. “If Mr. Kinloch is having difficulty leading his fine religious institution, then how can he lead a multi-billion-dollar corporation that is the city of Detroit?”

    At the same time, Davis praised some of the church’s work. 

    “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Triumph Church’s outreach,” Davis says. “I think many churches in Detroit should learn more about community outreach. But it is concerning that there is a pattern of delinquency of paying the financial obligations of their church.”

    The delinquent bills are the latest controversy dogging Kinloch’s campaign. In late July, the Detroit Free Press reported that Kinloch pleaded guilty to assaulting his first wife after threatening her with a butcher knife and beating her with its handle, according to police.

    He has also faced questions about residency. For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area.

    Metro Times recently revealed that his brother never served a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to his third drunk driving offense in 2003.

    Kinloch finished second in the August primary with 17.4% of the vote, far behind Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who won with 50.8%. Sheffield and Kinloch advanced to the general election on Nov. 4. 

    Sheffield has also nearly doubled Kinloch’s fundraising. Between July 21 and Aug. 25, she raised more than $206,000, compared to his $116,000.

    On Wednesday, former City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, who came in third in the primary, endorsed Sheffield.

    Mayor Mike Duggan opted not to run for reelection and is instead campaigning for governor as an independent in 2026.


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    Steve Neavling

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