Who were the best and worst Mayors in Detroit History/

[Detroitnerd]

I've never heard anyone call the xways cobo canals 'cept you.

I heard it from an old-timer and I just love repeating it. Were you there in the 1950s?

Yeah, Al Cobo's great achievements in business for himself were running a few candy stores. Then he worked as a bean counter. He may have understood many things, but never seemed to understand what we have come to call "urban design." Seriously. Cobo made Orville Hubbard look like Jane Jacobs.

[Hypestyles]

what was the mayor like who immediately preceded Young? What happened positive/negative during his tenure..

[kryptonite]

My personal thinking is that Coleman Young was the worst. Nothing much seemed to go right in Detroit during his time in office. He seemed to cover up for a lack of competence by inflammatory rhetoric. He created enemies in city council, the county, neighboring counties, at the state level, the federal level, etc. We just watched Detroit continue to deteriorate without any noticeable concern on his part.

In some ways I did admire him, but not as a leader with a vision and the skill to accomplish parts of the vision. Kwame at least seemed to be able to get along well with suburban leaders and state and federal government. It was sad to see his demise by his own doing. But Young never seemed to show any political skill other than getting himself re-elected.

[Detroitnerd]

My personal thinking is that Coleman Young was the worst. Nothing much seemed to go right in Detroit during his time in office. He seemed to cover up for a lack of competence by inflammatory rhetoric. He created enemies in city council, the county, neighboring counties, at the state level, the federal level, etc. We just watched Detroit continue to deteriorate without any noticeable concern on his part.

That's the consensus of a younger cohort. The oldsters remember STRESS and how FINALLY a mayor reformed the police. Young would have been a great two-term mayor, if he'd decided to just ... let go.

[EMG]

That's the consensus of a younger cohort. The oldsters remember STRESS and how FINALLY a mayor reformed the police. Young would have been a great two-term mayor, if he'd decided to just ... let go.

Um...no.

Coleman Young's so-called "reform" meant criminals could now get away with murder - literally. He "fixed" STRESS by rendering the police department worthless and impotent. [[And the corruption which followed within the department under Young's tenure is legendary).

Young's term was the turning point beween the days when Detroit was actually a good livable city and when it became what it is today.

[softailrider]

Um...no.

Coleman Young's so-called "reform" meant criminals could now get away with murder - literally. He "fixed" STRESS by rendering the police department worthless and impotent. [[And the corruption which followed within the department under Young's tenure is legendary).

Young's term was the turning point beween the days when Detroit was actually a good livable city and when it became what it is today.

I absolutely agree with the above, Young's tenure destroyed the city.

[Fnemecek]

Best
Hazen Pingree

Worst
Dave Bing

[mikefmich]

I absolutely agree with the above, Young's tenure destroyed the city.

I am no fan of CAY, but that's a broad brush. The city started imploding years before he came along, though in earlier years it was hard for most folks to see.
But he did squat for the cake that was already baking except to put the icing on it.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Um...no.

Coleman Young's so-called "reform" meant criminals could now get away with murder - literally. He "fixed" STRESS by rendering the police department worthless and impotent. [[And the corruption which followed within the department under Young's tenure is legendary).

Young's term was the turning point beween the days when Detroit was actually a good livable city and when it became what it is today.

I disagree. Something had to be done with a police force that was 95% white and racist. How do you think the riots of 67 got started?. Whites were leaving the city before Young got in office. A young black person couldn't even walk to the store without being intimidated by the "Big Four" and STRESS. " Where you goin Boy" ? I'm not blaming everything bad that happened to Detroit on Young. Detroit was starting to decline when Jerome Cavanagh was Mayor.

[mikefmich]

I disagree. Something had to be done with a police force that was 95% white and racist. How do you think the riots of 67 got started?. Whites were leaving the city before Young got in office. A young black person couldn't even walk to the store without being intimidated by the "Big Four" and STRESS. " Where you goin Boy" ? I'm not blaming everything bad that happened to Detroit on Young. Detroit was starting to decline when Jerome Cavanagh was Mayor.

Perhaps Cobo & Miriani? After the war years, the automakers started building a ton of new auto plants in s.e. Michigan....at least 20 or more. Not one of them were built in Detroit. Couple that with the freeway construction that cut a wide swath thru PV, and the redlining of blacks vis a vis the housing/mortgage industry, IMHO the death rattle started in the early 1950's....but few if any realized it at the time.

While the riots accelerated the white flight to the burbs, it was well under way in the mid to late1950's when Oakland & Macomb started sprouting housing developments like weeds.

I thought Cavanaugh wasn't a bad mayor....perhaps his biggest mistake was a half-hearted attempt at fixing the budget with the income tax. Well meant, but it wasn't the fix he hoped for. I was coming of age in that era, and I full well remember many resident taxpayers who were friends, relatives, fellow church goers say screw this noise, I'm outta here.

He also embraced the emerging civil rights movement, which I thought was ballsy on his part. Others wouldn't have touched that with a ten foot pole in that era.

Pretty personable guy, I met him a couple of times when my dad was on the New Detroit Committee for a couple of years after the riots. I think he gave it his best shot.

Seriously by the time he arrived in office in the early 60's, I don't think anyone could've slowed down what was the chugging locomotive that was the fall of Detroit.

[Detroitnerd]

Um...no.

Coleman Young's so-called "reform" meant criminals could now get away with murder - literally. He "fixed" STRESS by rendering the police department worthless and impotent. [[And the corruption which followed within the department under Young's tenure is legendary).

Young's term was the turning point beween the days when Detroit was actually a good livable city and when it became what it is today.

That is a minority view, and those who cling to it are usually old, racist police. Perhaps you should read "The Algiers Motel Incident," and consider if you would like to be a black person with Detroit police such as those covered in the book?

[Ray1936]

That is a minority view, and those who cling to it are usually old, racist police.

Yeah, that's me, if it will make you happy.

[Gistok]

what was the mayor like who immediately preceded Young? What happened positive/negative during his tenure..

That would be Roman S. Gribbs... who's still alive. The major thing of his 1973-77 tenure... was the announcement and building of the Renaissance Center. By the time it opened, Young was in office to cut the ribbon with Henry Ford II.

Gribbs later became a State Court of Appeals judge, and is currently retired in a Detroit suburb at the age of 85.

[bartock]

That would be Roman S. Gribbs... who's still alive. The major thing of his 1973-77 tenure... was the announcement and building of the Renaissance Center. By the time it opened, Young was in office to cut the ribbon with Henry Ford II.

Gribbs later became a State Court of Appeals judge, and is currently retired in a Detroit suburb at the age of 85.

I was in front of a panel that included Roman Gribbs in a Case Evaluation in Oakland County two years ago [[which is something a retired attorney can do for a few bucks). Couldn't believe it.

[buildingsofdetroit]

My vote for worst, at least in the modern era: Louis Miriani, who succeeded Cobo after Cobo died in office.
Not only was Miriani heavy-handed and went against the people's wishes [[especially in his push to tear down Old City Hall: Only 21% of Detroiters wanted it razed, according to a poll at the time), he also was a crook. No text messages, but the IRS caught up to him anyway. He went to prison.

[Fury13]

Bowles and Reading were probably the worst, besides Kilpatrick. Miriani was slightly below average as a mayor... we don't understand his [[and Cobo's) view of "progress" these days, but building freeways and razing obsolete buildings were considered "looking to the future" in the '50s. The crooked stuff for Miriani came later, when he was back to being a council member. Still, a drop in the bucket compared to what Kilpatrick did. I'd rate Murphy and Pingree the best. Maybury was above average, as were James Couzens and John W. Smith. And I think Jerry Cavanagh gets a bad rap... he was way above average but was swept aside with the tide, post-1967.

[rb336]

That would be Roman S. Gribbs... who's still alive. The major thing of his 1973-77 tenure... was the announcement and building of the Renaissance Center. By the time it opened, Young was in office to cut the ribbon with Henry Ford II.

Gribbs later became a State Court of Appeals judge, and is currently retired in a Detroit suburb at the age of 85.

Gribbs was mayor from 70-74 and my dad's tennis partner from 80-92. I don't think he had much of an impact, except for setting the stage for CAY's reign of blame [[everything bad was caused by those people north of 8 mile!)

Archer is the best mayor in MY memory, which essentially stretches from Roman to now

[Gistok]

Gribbs was mayor from 70-74 and my dad's tennis partner from 80-92. I don't think he had much of an impact, except for setting the stage for CAY's reign of blame [[everything bad was caused by those people north of 8 mile!)

Archer is the best mayor in MY memory, which essentially stretches from Roman to now

You're right... that's what happens when you depend on your memory ... but CAY was mayor for 20 years [[74-94). But the RenCen was announced under Gribbs tenure...

[EastsideAl]

CAY's reign of being blamed [[everything bad was caused by those people south of 8 mile!)

Fixed to reflect the view from this side of 8 Mile.

[EMG]

Archer is the best mayor in MY memory, which essentially stretches from Roman to now

Agreed. And the difference between Archer and Young was that Archer wasn't a racist who went around blaming everything wrong with the world on the white man.

[Bearinabox]

Gribbs was mayor from 70-74 and my dad's tennis partner from 80-92. I don't think he had much of an impact, except for setting the stage for CAY's reign of blame [[everything bad was caused by those people north of 8 mile!)

STRESS was started on Gribbs' watch, wasn't it? I'd say that's a pretty significant occurrence, although I don't know how much he personally had to do with its implementation.