Next Mayor Will Have Great Opporunities

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"That's a question I get asked all the time, because some people do wonder why they [[the candidates) would want the job," said Bill Ballenger, publisher of Inside Michigan Politics. "But there is an opportunity here to achieve things that no mayor has been able to do for the past 30 years."

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from NYTimes/Reuters

I think the next mayor has the greatest opportunity ever to remake Detroit, and will have more power than any mayor in recent memory -- because they'll actually be able to do things.

Wholeheartedly agree. Downtown is growing nicely; a lot of the corruption has been exposed; the em/bankruptcy is helping square budgetary issues; the governor is hands on and eager to help; big business is doing many good things in both business and charity; we'll have a new county exec in a year. All positive things.

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Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

Wholeheartedly agree. Downtown is growing nicely; a lot of the corruption has been exposed; the em/bankruptcy is helping square budgetary issues; the governor is hands on and eager to help; big business is doing many good things in both business and charity; we'll have a new county exec in a year. All positive things.

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Until they get a handle on the vicious crime problem, it will all be for not. It seems to me crime has risen since Police Chief Craig [[and his $225,000 salary) has been in office.

As long as the new mayor makes public safety and transportation top priorities, Detroit will continue it's revival.

As much as Benny Napoleon keeps touting his neighborhood plan, it is transportation and public safety that remain paramount to their revival. Nobody will want to live in the neighborhoods that aren't safe, and there's no point to paying the city's high property and income taxes if they don't have a reliable way to get there that doesn't involve driving. Moreover, no private sector company will invest the kind of money he proposes they do without a reliable way to get there, and with crime levels. They go hand in hand to rebuilding the neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are merely a low-cost extension of the denser areas, which is why they had transit all over at one point.

I can't stress how important it is to connect the job centers to the neighborhoods with transit. Young people especially, want to live in a city to be near amenities, but will only pay the premium if they can give up the unnecessary expense of a car.

Public safety speaks for itself.

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Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

Until they get a handle on the vicious crime problem, it will all be for not. It seems to me crime has risen since Police Chief Craig [[and his $225,000 salary) has been in office.

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When you say "it seems to me", are you just talking about your personal experience or anecdotal evidence? Or are you referring to specific crime statistics?

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Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

Until they get a handle on the vicious crime problem, it will all be for not. It seems to me crime has risen since Police Chief Craig [[and his $225,000 salary) has been in office.

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Improvements in crime occur over time. Chief Craig didn't arrive with the 82nd Airborne. He [[or anyone else) will require time to get a handle on the narcotic-gang complex ruining so many lives.

Fighting crime really needs to be the focus, then education, and finally transit.

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Originally Posted by D_Town

Fighting crime really needs to be the focus, then education, and finally transit.

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Before you can fight crime, you have to fix your budget issues. Money isn't everything. You need a lot more -- like leadership, knowledge, competence, willingness to try new methods, and the ability to ignore those who say that the old ways are working just fine. Orr's job is to fix the budget first and foremost -- crime fighting is the mayor's job. Good news is that Duggan is competent, and Napoleon is a police officer. Both should do as well as anyone can is addressing crime given resources -- and that's Orr's job. To divert the money from stupidity to productivity.

Free Press is calling Duggan the winner. Not a surprise. Kind of a moot point when the city is in court everyday battling with bankruptcy.

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Originally Posted by Cliffy

Free Press is calling Duggan the winner. Not a surprise. Kind of a moot point when the city is in court everyday battling with bankruptcy.

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No, this is an opportunity here. Orr will be the one fighting the bankruptcy case and will be taking the blame for stuff going on. Instead of lurching from crisis to crisis, Duggan [[if he is good) has a real chance here to put in place some long range strategic planning for the after-bankruptcy/after-Orr running of the city.

Duggan has a chance to partner with Gilbert, Karmanos, and others into bringing good quality businesses and retail into downtown Detroit and other areas. He could have a think tank and come up with solutions for reducing crime in the city.

Here's hoping your new mayor will be willing to work as hard as our mayor here in Toronto. He's going into the neighborhoods and eliminating crack by smoking it all until there's none left.:o