Detroit Mayor Election

[Dave from Michigan]

Sorry if this was posted elsewhere.

The Detroit Mayor election is heating up Kwame "the crook" Kilpatrick is way down in the polls.  The primary is Aug 2nd where the top 2 candidates face each other in the general election in Nov.  the latest one releasted today are

All Candidates

Kwame Kilpatrick (Mayor)
Freman hendrix (former Deputy Mayor under Archer)
Sharon McPhail  (crazy city commissioner)
Hansen Clarke (state Senator)

All Candidates   May 24th-31st    mar 30th-apr 3rd
Kilpatrick                 24%                      31%         
Hendrix                   33%                       31%
McPhail                    22%                      29%
Clarke                       4%                    not running yet

Head to Head matchups against Kilpatrick (although kilpatrick could lose in the primary.)

              current poll                  Mar 30th-Apr 3rd

Hendrix    56%                                 49%
Kilpatrick  29%                                 37%

McPhail     41%                                 42%
Kilpatrick   36%                                 41%

Clarke        44%
Kilpatrick     36%                Clarke was not a candidate

if you don't follow Detroit city politics i will fill you in
the city is facing a 230 million dollar deficit and laying off 700 employees which is necessary but at the same time Kilpatrick leased a brand new Lincoln navigator SUV for his wife at the city's expense which he at first denied.  Also he charged $210,000 on city credit cards.  Also there are allegations of wild parties but they have been unfounded. The news media has been all over these scandals it also didn't help when one of Kilpatrick's large security team assulted and pushed a news reporter on live TV.  Lots of people view Kilpatrick as a thug. There has been some other smaller scandals too.

Personally I hope hendrix wins and it looks like he could
he seems like a decent candidate he has reached out to the suburbs for help since Detroit needs there help and money if Detroit wants to make a comback (to and is reciveing a nice amount of campaign funds from them.)

Of course Kilpatrick is down but not out and it if history has shown us anything it looks  like the us vs. them (city vs. suburbs) and the race card will likely come up.  If fact Kilpatrick already has one of his political advisors out on the radio and TV decrying the racist suburbanites that are trying to ouster Kilpatrick.  hendrix will most likely be attacked for taking campaign money from people in the suburbs.

[Dave from Michigan]

the city is facing a 230 million dollar deficit and laying off 700 employees which is necessary but at the same time Kilpatrick leased a brand new Lincoln navigator SUV for his wife at the city's expense which he at first denied.  Also he charged $210,000 on city credit cards.

Whoa! I did not know that. Could he be the reason Detroit has hit hard financial times?

Detroit has hard financial times due to years amd years of mismanagement and not cutting government services as the city lost population.  Census 2000 numbers show 951,000 people in 2000
right now projections show 890,000 people, the city of Detroit is running as if it still had 2 million people.  There are very high taxes in the city both property and income.

[Dave from Michigan]

If anyone cares the Detroit Free press has endorsed Freman Hendrix for mayor (which was expected).

http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/emayor5e_20050705.htm

[Dave from Michigan]

The runoff is tommorrow  (top 2 candidates advance)

the last poll  (four way primary race)

Hendrix  38%
Kipatrick 23%
McPhail  14%
Hansen   88%

Kilpatrick job approval  36%

46% of Detroiters would leave the city if they could

By Race (Kilpatrick vs. Hendrix only)

White voters   78% Hendrix  2% Kilpatrick
Black voters    53% Hendrix  31% Kilpatrick

The suburbs poll (Wayne without Detroit, Macomb, Oakland)

Kilpatrick approval  9% approve  80% disapprove
37% embarrassed to be from the Detroit area
59% support state takeover if Detroit can't solve it's budget crisis.

So it looks like hendrix and Kilpatrick willmove to the general election.  Although If I'm not mistaken if Kilpatrick comes in second in the runoff it would be the fist time in like 50 years the incumbent mayor came in second.

after tommorrow the election will get interesting.

[Dave from Michigan]

Detroit is pretty bad but Hendrix appears to be much better, everyone I know is hoping he wins. this race will get ugly though Kilpatrick will use the race card and Us vs. them.  Downtown Detroit is improving but the rest of the city is very bad.  Don't underestimate Kilpatrick remember Detroit is 82% Black his strongest support is among blacks.

[Dave from Michigan]

early projections

Hendrix 45%
Kilpatrick  34%
McPhail  11%
Clarke 10%

[Dave from Michigan]

sweet, no one cares about Detroit

[Dave from Michigan]

This was the runoff the top 2 candidates (Hendrix and Kilpatrick) move on and will face each other in November.

[Dave from Michigan]

Kilpatrick will most likely bring up the race card and Detroit vs. the suburbs just like Coleman Young did.  Hopefully L. Brooks Patterson will tell him to shut the hell up. This race could get close but I think hendrix will win with around 54-55%.

[Dave from Michigan]

The Mayor Debate was a few weeks ago. it wasn't on TV but from the paper was very interesting.

the latest poll   Sept 27th
Hendrix    51%
Kilpatrick  32%
undecided  17%
margin of error 4.9%


Some of what Kilpatrick said that caused a controversy

But what drew the lowest, loudest "ooh" from a packed noontime session of the Detroit Economic Club was when Kilpatrick ended the debate by saying that no one in his family, himself included, has ever gotten into trouble with the law. Then he added: "I just wonder if Mr. Hendrix can say the same thing."

The Detroit News researched this and found

Regarding Kilpatrick's remark about Hendrix and his family, The Detroit News checked records in 36th District Court in Detroit and Wayne County Circuit Courts for four immediate Hendrix family members and found none were ever arrested or charged with any criminal activity.

At the same time, The News ran the names of Mayor Kilpatrick's family members through the same process with negative results for all but a Kilpatrick step-brother, Ajene Johnson.

Johnson was charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault in Detroit in an incident involving a girlfriend on May 5, 2003. Details of the incident were not available in 36th District Court because the file could not be located on Friday. The court's docket sheet showed Johnson pleaded guilty in August 2003. He was to return to court a year later, in August 2004 but failed to show up and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

The warrant is still outstanding and Johnson forfeited the $3,000 bond he had posted.

and

But Kilpatrick called that a "canned answer" and said the recipe for improving schools is to prepare students for the working world.

"If you want to teach someone character you don't teach them character class," Kilpatrick said. "If you want to show somebody dignity, you don't set up dignity class. I know it sounds good because these savages need it.
But in Birmingham and Bloomfield and all these places, they do more meth, more ecstasy, and they do more acid than all the schools in the city of Detroit put together," he said, triggering gasps from the audience.

which pissed of L. Brooks Patterson and continues the never ending City vs. Suburbs infighting which has plagued regional politics for 30 years

Oakland county executive L. Brooks Patterson's response


"I was insulted by the remarks," said Patterson. "I think this is a candidate who is behind in the polls who will do anything to gain the edge in the debate."

That statement is irresponsible. It is slanderous," Patterson said. "We got a clarification, but that's not good enough. That's not an apology."

The comments were politically motivated, Patterson said, and appear to be an attempt to pull the suburbs into the contentious mayoral race

the second debate is Oct 17th

[Dave from Michigan]

here are the links I had them in with the orginal post but they screwed up the post

the poll
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/27/AR2005092700365.html

overview of the debate
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0509/16/A01-317145.htm

Patterson and hendrix response
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0509/17/01-317620.htm

[Dave from Michigan]

sweet I wrote that really long post and no one even cares about Detroit

[Dave from Michigan]

UPDATE!!!!!

the second mayor debate is tonight (for those of you in the Detroit area it's at 8pm on channel 4 NBC)

Also starting last night local channel 4 NBC has been running a special investigation on the alleged infamous Manoogian Mansion (the mayor's residence) wild Party, apparently some new people have come forward with information about the party even though the Attorney General investigation turned up nothing.

[Dave from Michigan]

Freeman hendrix son was just arrested

http://www.clickondetroit.com/politics/5080555/detail.html

[Dave from Michigan]

where is the detroit airport in relation to the city itself?

ive flown in and out of there several times.  it appears to be a suburban area.

i will be in the mi tomorrow evening, en route to the bay state.

yes it is in the city of Romulus (see map in my post)

[Dave from Michigan]

the election is tuesday Kilpatrick has cut Hendrix lead to 10% from 19%.
Hendrix has been running attack ad's for the last 2 weeks.  Kilpatrick's ads have been split between postive and negative.  One of his ads is of concern and could help Kilpatrick shows Hendrix having the police throw out of a school board meeting, a woman who is outraged because the state is taking over the schools.  When the state took over the schools this was a huge issue opposed by most people in the city.

Also Full-page ads in two weekly newspapers targeting the black community depict a historic lynching while contending that Kilpatrick is "the most recent victim of media lynching in Detroit." They show photographs of three white newspaper columnists, including Brian Dickerson of the Free Press, and a radio talk-show host, who have criticized some of the mayor's actions. The ad is headlined "Lynching is still legal in America."

and a group supporting kilpatrick has been handing out pictures of Coleman Young (Detroit's first black mayor who was  very popular) and on the back shows endorsements fro each candidate but it says that Oakland county (suburban upper middle class and white) executive L. Brooks patterson has endorsed hendrix which is false.

 The latest exclusive Local 4-Survey USA poll found challenger Freman Hendrix leading incumbent Kwame Kilpatrick 49 to 46 percent.

[Dave from Michigan]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

the dumbass voters of Detroit have spoken

Kilpatrick  53%

Hendrix 47%

[Dave from Michigan]

How much fraud was there?

I really don't know but some good news is the corrupt city clerk which was mishandling absentee ballots lost reelection.

[Dave from Michigan]

 Granholm will not go near Kilpatrick it would be nothing but trouble.  The last thing she needs is a nother "memo" to come out.   I also doubt she will help Detroit bailing them out would be very very unpopular in the suburbs which most have their own financal problems.  She also won't let the state takeover Detroit which would be very unpopular in Detroit which she needs to win reelection.   If things get worse in Detroit she could be in some trouble.

[Dave from Michigan]

as I said in the other thread

Kilpatrick stole a page out of the coleman young playbook and used the race card and us (Detroit)  vs. them (suburbs) to win

I don't think Hendrix son getting  arrested had that much of an effect on the race.  Kilpatrick had some very effective ads.