Detroit elects first white Mayor in 40 years

[tigerbob]

Not that anyone here in Detroit is surprised, but the city last night elected its first white Mayor in decades.

November 6, 2013
Detroit Free Press

For the first time in 40 years, predominantly black Detroit elected a white person as mayor.

Community leaders, political observers and voters provided a number of theories on how that happened. But among them was a theme: The election was about much more than skin color, even in a region where race has been a foremost issue for decades.

They said Mike Duggan beat Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the city whose population is 82% African American because of a more organized, better-financed campaign. Others sensed desperation among voters — a thirst for change in a broken city that led to a measuring of the whole candidate against the other.

Detroit elects first white mayor in years — and reasons go well beyond race | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

OK, so he won't have any power for now because of Kevyn Orr, but he is likely to have influence. And sometime in the next couple weeks we will know whether the Chapter 9 filing is considered legal or not, which will help.

But, this is the right decision for the city. Whether you agree with his politics or not (which for most people here will depend of whether they are blue or red and will have little to do with Duggan's policies, which they won't know) Duggan is by far the better man for the job.

I don't agree with all his policies but the city did need a Mayor who is savvy enough to know he needed to work with people like Orr and Snyder rather than against them. Benny Napoleon's campaign was one rooted firmly in the politics of a Detroit that voters yesterday rejected. Good for them.

This will be interesting to watch over the next year. The comments on this board (which are 95% not worth the energy it took to type them) will be predictable, but if people look past the pathetic left vs right dogma there will be a story worth following.

The other part of the jigsaw worth thinking about is whether the new city council (elected using wards for the first time rather than 100% at-large) will have sufficient people on it who are genuinely thoughtful politicians rather than just grandstanding rabble-rousers. If restructuring is going to work, a pragmatic city council will be critical. I haven't seen who has won all the districts yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

Nancy Kaffer: For Detroit's new City Council, dysfunction is not an option | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

An awful lot of stars need to align. Duggan is just one piece, but he's the right piece (considering the alternative).

 

[tigerbob]

And the day after the election, Kevyn Orr seeks Mike Duggan's help. You can bet the farm that wouldn't have happened if Napoleon had been elected.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131107/BIZ/311070046

 

[Mr. H.]

Big deal. Another Democrat.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Good for Detroit!

 

[WelfareQueen]

You have to wonder about the stupidity of Detroit voters. They elect Dimocrap mayors for the last 60 years...the city is in default....it is a national joke...and you elect another Dimocrap.

I don't care about his skin color. Electing another Dimocrap under the circumstances is deeply stupid.

 

[goong]

really, it is time to forget the color of his skin.

And he is a democrat. that is what you have to guide you.

 

[auditor0007]

really, it is time to forget the color of his skin.

And he is a democrat. that is what you have to guide you.

City politics is a whole different ballgame than statewide or national politics. Running a city is about making sure there are adequate city services and that things get done. I'm not sure you could give me the name of one truly conservative mayor of any large city.

 

[auditor0007]

Not that anyone here in Detroit is surprised, but the city last night elected its first white Mayor in decades.

November 6, 2013
Detroit Free Press

For the first time in 40 years, predominantly black Detroit elected a white person as mayor.

Community leaders, political observers and voters provided a number of theories on how that happened. But among them was a theme: The election was about much more than skin color, even in a region where race has been a foremost issue for decades.

They said Mike Duggan beat Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the city whose population is 82% African American because of a more organized, better-financed campaign. Others sensed desperation among voters — a thirst for change in a broken city that led to a measuring of the whole candidate against the other.

Detroit elects first white mayor in years — and reasons go well beyond race | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

OK, so he won't have any power for now because of Kevyn Orr, but he is likely to have influence. And sometime in the next couple weeks we will know whether the Chapter 9 filing is considered legal or not, which will help.

But, this is the right decision for the city. Whether you agree with his politics or not (which for most people here will depend of whether they are blue or red and will have little to do with Duggan's policies, which they won't know) Duggan is by far the better man for the job.

I don't agree with all his policies but the city did need a Mayor who is savvy enough to know he needed to work with people like Orr and Snyder rather than against them. Benny Napoleon's campaign was one rooted firmly in the politics of a Detroit that voters yesterday rejected. Good for them.

This will be interesting to watch over the next year. The comments on this board (which are 95% not worth the energy it took to type them) will be predictable, but if people look past the pathetic left vs right dogma there will be a story worth following.

The other part of the jigsaw worth thinking about is whether the new city council (elected using wards for the first time rather than 100% at-large) will have sufficient people on it who are genuinely thoughtful politicians rather than just grandstanding rabble-rousers. If restructuring is going to work, a pragmatic city council will be critical. I haven't seen who has won all the districts yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

Nancy Kaffer: For Detroit's new City Council, dysfunction is not an option | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

An awful lot of stars need to align. Duggan is just one piece, but he's the right piece (considering the alternative).

Sounds like Detroit took a step in the right direction. Funny thing is that Toledo took a step in the wrong direction by electing a white mayor over the incumbent black mayor. Both ran as independents, although Mike Bell, the outgoing mayor, is more of a Republican than the newly elected D. Michael Collins.

When Bell took office nearly four years ago, the city was facing a $48 million deficit. Within four years, Bell got the city to a surplus while hiring on more police officers and fire fighters and not raising taxes. In doing so, he pissed off the unions, so they backed Collins heavily with money and votes. My prediction is that Collins will be indebted to them so much that four years from now Toledo will be facing a huge deficit again. Bell also had a good working relationship with Governor Kasich.

 

[Politico]

Yay now a white guy can spend some time fucking things up.

 

[tigerbob]

You have to wonder about the stupidity of Detroit voters. They elect Dimocrap mayors for the last 60 years...the city is in default....it is a national joke...and you elect another Dimocrap.

I don't care about his skin color. Electing another Dimocrap under the circumstances is deeply stupid.

You don't care about skin color, but you will make judgements based solely on party color.

Equally stupid either way. But it saves you actually having to know anything I suppose.

 

[tigerbob]

Not that anyone here in Detroit is surprised, but the city last night elected its first white Mayor in decades.

November 6, 2013
Detroit Free Press

For the first time in 40 years, predominantly black Detroit elected a white person as mayor.

Community leaders, political observers and voters provided a number of theories on how that happened. But among them was a theme: The election was about much more than skin color, even in a region where race has been a foremost issue for decades.

They said Mike Duggan beat Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the city whose population is 82% African American because of a more organized, better-financed campaign. Others sensed desperation among voters — a thirst for change in a broken city that led to a measuring of the whole candidate against the other.

Detroit elects first white mayor in years — and reasons go well beyond race | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

OK, so he won't have any power for now because of Kevyn Orr, but he is likely to have influence. And sometime in the next couple weeks we will know whether the Chapter 9 filing is considered legal or not, which will help.

But, this is the right decision for the city. Whether you agree with his politics or not (which for most people here will depend of whether they are blue or red and will have little to do with Duggan's policies, which they won't know) Duggan is by far the better man for the job.

I don't agree with all his policies but the city did need a Mayor who is savvy enough to know he needed to work with people like Orr and Snyder rather than against them. Benny Napoleon's campaign was one rooted firmly in the politics of a Detroit that voters yesterday rejected. Good for them.

This will be interesting to watch over the next year. The comments on this board (which are 95% not worth the energy it took to type them) will be predictable, but if people look past the pathetic left vs right dogma there will be a story worth following.

The other part of the jigsaw worth thinking about is whether the new city council (elected using wards for the first time rather than 100% at-large) will have sufficient people on it who are genuinely thoughtful politicians rather than just grandstanding rabble-rousers. If restructuring is going to work, a pragmatic city council will be critical. I haven't seen who has won all the districts yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

Nancy Kaffer: For Detroit's new City Council, dysfunction is not an option | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

An awful lot of stars need to align. Duggan is just one piece, but he's the right piece (considering the alternative).

Sounds like Detroit took a step in the right direction. Funny thing is that Toledo took a step in the wrong direction by electing a white mayor over the incumbent black mayor. Both ran as independents, although Mike Bell, the outgoing mayor, is more of a Republican than the newly elected D. Michael Collins.

When Bell took office nearly four years ago, the city was facing a $48 million deficit. Within four years, Bell got the city to a surplus while hiring on more police officers and fire fighters and not raising taxes. In doing so, he pissed off the unions, so they backed Collins heavily with money and votes. My prediction is that Collins will be indebted to them so much that four years from now Toledo will be facing a huge deficit again. Bell also had a good working relationship with Governor Kasich.

That's interesting. Here in Detroit Duggan was by far the more popular candidate with the business community, and Napoleon got all the union backing. Duggan led a very impressive turnaround as CEO at Detroit Medical Center while Napoleon, if we're going to be honest, had very little positive he could point to in terms of fiscal management success.

What Napoleon did do was point to his service record (as a cop) and the fact that he is a lifelong Detroiter. Essentially, these appeals to the heart ended up carrying less weight with the electorate that proven operational management expertise.

This really is something of an historic decision for Detroit, and seeing so many dismiss it as "just another Dimocrap" goes a long way towards highlighting how far this board has fallen in quality terms over the last 6 years. There have always been posters who follow one party or another, but at least in the past they had reasoned opinions. Now they just have pointless soundbites. Great shame, but the board mirrors the country - the two sides grow further apart, making more noise but saying infinitely less.

Interesting points about Toledo - thanks.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Not that anyone here in Detroit is surprised, but the city last night elected its first white Mayor in decades.

November 6, 2013
Detroit Free Press

For the first time in 40 years, predominantly black Detroit elected a white person as mayor.

Community leaders, political observers and voters provided a number of theories on how that happened. But among them was a theme: The election was about much more than skin color, even in a region where race has been a foremost issue for decades.

They said Mike Duggan beat Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the city whose population is 82% African American because of a more organized, better-financed campaign. Others sensed desperation among voters — a thirst for change in a broken city that led to a measuring of the whole candidate against the other.

Detroit elects first white mayor in years — and reasons go well beyond race | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

OK, so he won't have any power for now because of Kevyn Orr, but he is likely to have influence. And sometime in the next couple weeks we will know whether the Chapter 9 filing is considered legal or not, which will help.

But, this is the right decision for the city. Whether you agree with his politics or not (which for most people here will depend of whether they are blue or red and will have little to do with Duggan's policies, which they won't know) Duggan is by far the better man for the job.

I don't agree with all his policies but the city did need a Mayor who is savvy enough to know he needed to work with people like Orr and Snyder rather than against them. Benny Napoleon's campaign was one rooted firmly in the politics of a Detroit that voters yesterday rejected. Good for them.

This will be interesting to watch over the next year. The comments on this board (which are 95% not worth the energy it took to type them) will be predictable, but if people look past the pathetic left vs right dogma there will be a story worth following.

The other part of the jigsaw worth thinking about is whether the new city council (elected using wards for the first time rather than 100% at-large) will have sufficient people on it who are genuinely thoughtful politicians rather than just grandstanding rabble-rousers. If restructuring is going to work, a pragmatic city council will be critical. I haven't seen who has won all the districts yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

Nancy Kaffer: For Detroit's new City Council, dysfunction is not an option | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

An awful lot of stars need to align. Duggan is just one piece, but he's the right piece (considering the alternative).

well here's hoping that someday the color of who is elected is meaningless


aside from that, he's still another D, but here's hoping.

 

[lakeview]

OK, so he won't have any power for now because of Kevyn Orr, but he is likely to have influence. And sometime in the next couple weeks we will know whether the Chapter 9 filing is considered legal or not, which will help.

I heard Snyder being interviewed on one of the morning shows on JR yesterday and he said that the state may drop some of it's plans in Detroit due to the election of Duggan so we'll see exactly what that means as time passes but that's encouraging because EFMs in Michigan have always acted as asset-strippers so hopefully that can be avoided and hopefully the EFM will eventually no longer be seen necessary by the state.

The other part of the jigsaw worth thinking about is whether the new city council (elected using wards for the first time rather than 100% at-large) will have sufficient people on it who are genuinely thoughtful politicians rather than just grandstanding rabble-rousers. If restructuring is going to work, a pragmatic city council will be critical. I haven't seen who has won all the districts yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

This city council change is huge. There have been a lot of rejuvenation projects that have been tabled or never even gotten off the ground because there was no authority officially responsible for projects at the neighborhood level. Now there is so those projects can now be administered.

 

[RoadVirus]

Good for Detroit!

We'll see.

 

[Redfish]

really, it is time to forget the color of his skin.

And he is a democrat. that is what you have to guide you.

City politics is a whole different ballgame than statewide or national politics. Running a city is about making sure there are adequate city services and that things get done. I'm not sure you could give me the name of one truly conservative mayor of any large city.

Rudy Giuliani. Cleaned up NY, reduced crime, balanced the budget.

Bloomberg. no big gulp sodas, be nice to the criminals, spend, spend, spend.

 

[Unkotare]

Who the hell would want that job?

 

[bendog]

really, it is time to forget the color of his skin.

And he is a democrat. that is what you have to guide you.

City politics is a whole different ballgame than statewide or national politics. Running a city is about making sure there are adequate city services and that things get done. I'm not sure you could give me the name of one truly conservative mayor of any large city.

Rudy Giuliani. Cleaned up NY, reduced crime, balanced the budget.

Bloomberg. no big gulp sodas, be nice to the criminals, spend, spend, spend.

try googling stop and frisk

 

[Politico]

Who the hell would want that job?

I'd take it in a heartbeat.

 

[tinydancer]

I know we all laugh and point fingers at the Dems that ruined Detroit, but I love that city.

I hope this guy can turn it around. I really do. You should have seen it when it rocked. But this weird goal of trying to make a city a "chocolate" city failed.

It always fails.

 

[tinydancer]

Who the hell would want that job?

I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Me too if I could help turn it around. People just don't know how amazing Detroit is; well ok was.