The recent elections in Detroit represent a tectonic shift in the political will of the Motor City.
Dave Bing was elected to a 4 year term and has survived a gauntlet of primaries, a special election, and the recent general election. His selection to this position represents a reassertion of the corporate will on the positive image of Detroit. Since the dissolution of the Kilpatrick government, Detroit has lost ground on the world stage as a place of investment and business opportunity. With the collapse of the auto industry, the global market place has found other areas to place its interests. Indeed, “Shutting Detroit Down”, the popular song by John Rich, has gone from a country tune to a worldwide saying in a matter of months.
But Mayor Bing’s election has not been a smoothly honed mandate. At best, it is an uneasy test of wills with a bruised and bewildered electorate. At worst, it is the beginning of a long 4 year battle with unions and community activists. The Mayor will have to have an All Star performance, in order to be seen as a champion for Detroit.
If the mayoral election represents a reassertion of the corporate will, the City Council election is a course correction for the times. The polity elected a new council, with 5 new members and 4 returning ones, which will be seated in January. But this legislature finds itself seated in a new modality of governance.
When there are shifts in communication methods, governance in that new era is often a phase behind, exposing weaknesses of that system. Before Guttenberg invented the printing press, the divine right of kings and the hegemony of the church were the order of the day. After his invention, and the development of news papers and leaflets, revolutions, self determination, and the separation of church and state became the preferred expressions of governance. Indeed, Marie Antoinette, Martin Luther, and Thomas Paine were creatures of this shift, and became icons of the new world of the printed word, where the common man could challenge the order of the day.
A shift happened again at the turn of the millennium, where the evolution of the 24 hour news cycle, the internet, and the expansion of other electronic media occurred.
Many have categorized the Detroit City Council as “incompetent”, “ineffective”, and “useless”. This perception persists, even though this council, headed by Cockrel, does nothing measurably different than the councils headed by Mahaffey, Hill, or Henderson. Indeed the approval of grants and gifts, approval of the budget, oversight of the mayor’s actions, and ceremonial activities, have not changed since this charter was enacted. Colorful personalities were apart of those councils as well, but they didn’t exist in such a media intensive environment. Detroiters were looking for persons who could articulate policy and sentiment-in a manner professional, effectual, cogent, and expressive of community thought.
The citizenry, weary from the international news stories of Kilpatrick and Monica Conyers, were very sensitive to media savvy persons and those who could articulate policy, and selected a field of 18 candidates with a phenomenal scatter plot of people with public venue experience. A former news anchor [[Pugh), a former press secretary [[Tate), a former newspaper man [[Cockrel), a former communications worker [[Jones), an IT business owner [[Hall) two former radio talk show hosts [[Talabi and Watson), two motivational speakers [[Howze and Johnson), a blogger [[Bennett), and author [[Kenyatta) a celebrated police spokesman [[Foy), the subject of an international news story [[Brown), and an orator and pastor [[Spivey). The remaining candidates [[Jenkins, Oakdie, Dearing, and Cross) are experienced policy veterans with great skills and notable resumes.
Ironically, this may pose a test for the Mayor, as the new council is decidedly savvier in communication than Mayor Bing, or his current communications team. He must be the Mayor on TV, the internet, and all other forms of the media. No Detroit Mayor has done this successfully yet as Kilpatrick failed at it, will Bing be the first? Can he govern in the new modality effectively?
Given that Pugh is the voice of the common people, the media stakes have been vastly raised for the Bing government- they must rise to the occasion in this arena. Especially as the community begins its debate on the new charter, and the proper balance of power between the executive and legislative oversight is evaluated. Indeed the seasoned voices of Hendrix, Teola Hunter and Ken Coleman will provide ample debate and possible criticism of the actions of the Mayor, on whom the region rises and falls.
The new norm is almost established, and the mayor is the last piece that needs to be seen. Stay tuned for more updates.