The chaotic political picture has suddenly clarified. Nine days ago, businessman and former basketball star Dave Bing won a close but clear victory in a race to be mayor for the rest of the year. At first, that seemed just another battle in a long war. He now has to run for the full four-year term for mayor that begins next January.
To keep his job, he has to win a primary in August and a general election in November. It is hard to imagine how anyone, especially a political newcomer, could cope with the combined stress of governing a city in crisis and a tough election battle.
But in the last two days, that all got a lot easier. Suddenly, all his main rivals dropped out of the race just hours before the deadline to run in the primary. Ken Cockrel, the outgoing interim mayor, said he would run for re-election to council instead.
The only people who did file to oppose Mayor Bing were a handful of candidates nobody ever heard of, with one exception: Tom Barrow, a 59-year-old accountant who ran against the legendary Coleman Young a generation ago, in 1985 and 1989.
Barrow lost both those elections badly, despite considerable financial support and the backing of both of Detroit’s major newspapers the second time. That was twenty years ago, however, and those years haven’t been kind. He served time in prison for tax evasion, and the IRS says Mr. Barrow owes it more than $150,000.
Nothing is ever certain, but the lack of a major opponent may give the new mayor a breathing space to try to figure out how to cope with the city’s $300 million dollar deficit and its many other problems.
Dave Bing has a couple of things going for him that no mayor in many years has had. Personal charisma and vast goodwill that extends throughout the region. He doesn’t need the job. In fact, he is donating his salary to the police department. He is the first non-politician to become Detroit’s mayor since before the automobile.
He has his work cut out for him. The schools have been taken over by the state, crime is rampant, and unemployment is at Great Depression levels. Balancing the city’s books is job one; that and worrying about the survival of General Motors.
Yet the cancer of corruption is gone. The mayor and the council president are sensible men of good will.
When he was sworn in, the basketball Hall of Famer said being mayor was “the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in my life, but one I think I’m ready for.” If he can truly turn Detroit around, the history books will mention his basketball career only as a footnote.
Back in the 1920s, Detroit was actually called the Paris of the Midwest. If ten years from now it is just a normal, decent, functioning city, Michigan and everyone in it will be drastically better off.
A progressive post election analysis: 1. Bing and Cockrel are both average at best candidates and the main reason for the low voter turn out..Voters were not given much of a selection... 2. Cobo Center Saga had nothing to do with Cockrel's 2nd place finish besides being an average candidate his inability to handle Monica and his failure to convince the DCC to bypass the charter and have only one election was fatal and displayed his shallow leadership skills. The Cobo saga was a much to do about nothing diversion..Truth is GM should pay for any modernization of Cobo Center and Monica was correct about Federal Stimulous Funds... 3. Freeman's endorsement of Bing was worthless and impotent clearly if he could not convince voters to vote him over Bing and Cockrel of course his endorsement was worthless.. 4. The governor's lack of leadership skills and the tired racist chants of Brooks Patterson made many voters reject Cockrel since he was a doormat for both Grandholm and Brooks...Bing at least is his own man.. 5.Fact is Bing is out of his element tired old caretaker type whose best days bounced away years ago..Bing does not represent the future but nothing more than a stale placeholder..The city needs a young turk not a KK clone but a young missle capable of taking down tired old slugs like Jack, Bing, Brooks, Jennifer and the cadre of brain dead CEO's who have made our state a funeral home and a 3rd world venue...The city can hold out a little longer for this icon to emerge..
Posted by: Thrasher | May 15, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Yawn yawn yawn ..... where is Vladimir Lenin when we need him?
Posted by: Matt | May 15, 2009 at 03:47 PM
Lenin was a white man sorry but he lacks the skill set for Detroit
Posted by: Thrasher | May 15, 2009 at 10:57 PM
tomorrow is another day.
Posted by: rachel | May 16, 2009 at 12:23 AM
OK let's go for Robert Mugabe. Detroit already is the Zimbawe of the US! Perfect.
Posted by: Matt | May 16, 2009 at 01:53 PM