Bing wins!

[Crumbled_pavement]

How did the City Charter proposal work out?

It passed overwhelmingly by a 4 to 1 margin.

[Gistok]

No, Cockrel goes back to being City Council president once Bing is sworn in. He was only "acting" mayor until this election. They announced that on the 11PM newscasts.

[leland_palmer]

No, Cockrel goes back to being City Council president once Bing is sworn in. He was only "acting" mayor until this election. They announced that on the 11PM newscasts.

I wonder if Monica will try to block Cockrel from taking his title back.

[Crumbled_pavement]

I wonder if Monica will try to block Cockrel from taking his title back.

It's going to be fireworks for sure . . .

[Gistok]

Monica Conyers having to give up her City Council Presidency conjures up one word.... Schadenfreude!!

[g-dub]

Awesome. MonCon has to step back, and let Shrek resume his post, Detroit finally gets a businessman who is not out for personal gain. The voters of Detroit have restored my faith in the wisdom of the voters of Detroit. Talk about a 'comeback.' This is the great leap forward that Detroit needed to start cooperation between all the counties that rely on each other regardless of race. Bing can make it happen. Regional leaders now need to step up and get to business.

[Gistok]

I wonder who will be running in the August primary? If Hendrix supported Bing, then maybe Hendrix will be a Bing appointee [[just a guess)?

Think Cockrel will give it another try in August? He didn't risk anything this time since he'll be falling back to his old job as Council President in this election... but he would if he ran again in August/November.

Bing is old enough that he may end up a 1 term mayor. It might be enough of an enticement for Hendrix [[Deputy Mayor?) to work with Bing, and possibly get a run in 4 years.

These next 6 months will be interesting...

[MDoyle]

So with this news I must ask. Can the Cobo Deal be put back on the table? Will KC's vote FOR the deal help? I forgot by what ratio it was defeated. Can he return to council and change minds there? It seemed like the council quickly turned on KC when he became "The Man"

Reading earlier Freep articles most included something about ousting the entire council and/or getting rid of ar large voting.

[Gistok]

So with this news I must ask. Can the Cobo Deal be put back on the table? Will KC's vote FOR the deal help? I forgot by what ratio it was defeated. Can he return to council and change minds there? It seemed like the council quickly turned on KC when he became "The Man"

Reading earlier Freep articles most included something about ousting the entire council and/or getting rid of at large voting.

MDoyle, I was wondering the same thing...

The vote on Cobo originally was a 4-4 tie [[in which case it would have passed), but then they had a re-vote with Talibi changing her mind to make it 5-3 against.

So with Cockrel back as Council President it would only make it 5-4 against... unless someone can get Talibi to change her vote again.

[Lloyd]

Less than 94,000 votes... how many people are in Detroit now? or, more relevant, how many registered voters? Pretty sad when you think of it. This election was so important for the city yet only a very small portion of the people cared enough to vote. Detroit might as well just fold their tents and let nature continue to retake the landscape if that's the best the people of the city can do.

[GREENTROIT]

Someone give Talibi $1,000. I'm sure she'll change her vote...

[Novine]

"Bing can make it happen. Regional leaders now need to step up and get to business."

I expect that a lot less will happen under Bing in the next 7 months than what people want. It's easy to stand on the outside and talk about a lot of change. But there are a lot of entrenched interests who aren't going to be interested in change or at least Bing's kind of change, that will fight him every step of the way. What kind of accomplishments has Bing promised over the next 7 months? That would be the score card for determining whether he's been successful or not.

[R8RBOB]

Less than 94,000 votes... how many people are in Detroit now? or, more relevant, how many registered voters? Pretty sad when you think of it. This election was so important for the city yet only a very small portion of the people cared enough to vote. Detroit might as well just fold their tents and let nature continue to retake the landscape if that's the best the people of the city can do.

You act surprised.....did you expect hundreds of thousands going to the polls for a special election?

People like yourself need to get over the numbers. The fact that nearly 94,000 people, myself included went to the polls is a good thing. It showed that there are still people in this city that care for the future of Detroit. All it takes is one voice, one vote to make change.

[Lloyd]

You act surprised.....did you expect hundreds of thousands going to the polls for a special election?

People like yourself need to get over the numbers. The fact that nearly 94,000 people, myself included went to the polls is a good thing. It showed that there are still people in this city that care for the future of Detroit. All it takes is one voice, one vote to make change.

You can act like a 10% turnout is a good thing if you want but the simple fact is that it means that 90% didn't care enough to take the time to vote. Face the facts, this is just another sign that Detroit is finished.

Before you call me a hater again... I love the city Detroit used to be. It is no longer that city however and no amount of crying will bring it back.

[kraig]

Pretty sure his departure from CC counts as a resignation.

You normally can't work for two branches of government at the same time, so any time an executive succession scheme calls for a member of another branch of government to fill an executive vacancy, the law would require that the member officially resign from his old position prior to being sworn into his new position. Not sure how this is precisely spelled out in the city's charter, but that's a pretty standard concept whenever a government consists of various co-equal branches .

But all that would mean is that Ken would have to run for CC again in the fall.

He'll go back to Council as soon as the vote is certified, which will take about a week, and Bing is swon in as Mayor.

[R8RBOB]

You can act like a 10% turnout is a good thing if you want but the simple fact is that it means that 90% didn't care enough to take the time to vote. Face the facts, this is just another sign that Detroit is finished.

Before you call me a hater again... I love the city Detroit used to be. It is no longer that city however and no amount of crying will bring it back.

Hmm, hopefully the Detroit that was and is now can finally be finished. My friend, NOTHING LAST FOREVER. Cities rise and fall. Detroit is no different. Detroit needs to fall so that it can get a rebirth. You can't build a new city on the rubble of a crumbing foundation which was the old city. And BTW, I'm not crying....

[professorscott]

Where does this "10%" come from? About 94,000 people voted. Detroit does not have 940,000 residents. In addition, a great many Detroiters are children [[who can't vote); a significant number are noncitizens [[who can't vote); and a small number are ex-cons [[who can't vote).

It's possible that of the people who are eligible to vote, quite a few of them realized whoever won that election is only going to be mayor for a very short time and won't be able to get very much done. I don't think the turnout is anything to get agitated about here.

[Retroit]

I'm glad to see that Detroiters were willing to elect a Suburbanite!

...a little "regional cooperation."

[Lowell]

Bing is old enough that he may end up a 1 term mayor. It might be enough of an enticement for Hendrix [[Deputy Mayor?) to work with Bing, and possibly get a run in 4 years. These next 6 months will be interesting...

Bing is young for his age. Having been an athlete his heart is likely strong. He is visibly appears in great condition. [Bring proves the saying, "You can never be to rich or too thin."] I don't think two or even three terms is out of the question but that job has to beat down even the most energetic.

Low voter turnout can have many reasons. One can be that the electorate considers the choices equal [for better or worse] and therefore alternately content or helpless with either choice, so why bother. Absence of charismatic or controversial candidates can be another factor -- both fit that.

In this case there was also the factor that the it was an off cycle election for a short term. A November election for the full term should be more attended unless, let's day, Bing soars in the polls and is seen as unbeatable. There are many political science studies on this topic and low voter turn-out turnout is not always as hand-wringing as it is made out to be.

One thing it does is leave the door open for an energetic challenger who can unlock even 20% of the stay-at-homes and Bing will have to guard against that.

[lilpup]

Where does this "10%" come from? About 94,000 people voted. Detroit does not have 940,000 residents. In addition, a great many Detroiters are children [[who can't vote); a significant number are noncitizens [[who can't vote); and a small number are ex-cons [[who can't vote).

Also, the voter rolls are inflated due to the law that requires a cycle or two before someone can be removed from them.

[jcole]

Last night the news outlets kept saying it was a 15% turnout. Whatever, 10 or 15 percent is not a good turnout for any city, special election or not.

[exdetroiter]

Pretty sure his departure from CC counts as a resignation.

You normally can't work for two branches of government at the same time, so any time an executive succession scheme calls for a member of another branch of government to fill an executive vacancy, the law would require that the member officially resign from his old position prior to being sworn into his new position. Not sure how this is precisely spelled out in the city's charter, but that's a pretty standard concept whenever a government consists of various co-equal branches .

But all that would mean is that Ken would have to run for CC again in the fall.

Crockrel goes back to being City Counsel President immediately.

[lilpup]

Last night the news outlets kept saying it was a 15% turnout. Whatever, 10 or 15 percent is not a good turnout for any city, special election or not.

A 15% turnout based on what? The artificially high voter rolls? It's entirely possible that, with the rapid population loss the city has been enduring that the real, cleaned up voter roll turnout was 25% or more. It's impossible to say other than whatever number they give is lower than the real percentage of eligible, active voters getting to the polls.

[texorama]

I wasn't impressed by Bing during the campaign, but his speeches last night weren't bad. My prediction: he pulls off a backroom deal for the Cobo renovation, with cosmetic changes to both sides' positions, and is hailed [[for a while at least), as the savior driving the lane toward the city's revival.

You heard it here first!

[GREENTROIT]

I'm pretty sure I heard months ago Bing saying he would serve one business like term and get out. Obviously it would be a full term, not this 8 month test run.

I think the quote was something like: "Detroit needs a mayor to come in, not make any friends, make some tough decisions, straighten the city out, and then leave office." This was a long time ago and he may have changed his tune but this is what I remember.