Bingo!
I've never lived in Detroit. But I've lived all around it.
Northern suburbs. Western suburbs. And now, just a few miles north of its famous 8 Mile Road border.
I've worked in Detroit. For several years.
Hell, it doesn't matter. I'm a Detroiter! I grew up here and have spent my whole life living within 30 miles of the city limits.
Which is why I care, very much, about who becomes the next mayor of the city.
Ken Cockrel Jr., the current, interim mayor, is a fine man. His dad, who might have been mayor had he not died so young, ought to be proud of his kid.
Kenny Jr., and his stable, free-from-scandal administration, is a breath of fresh air after the stench left over from Kwame Kilpatrick and his corrupt Cass Tech crew.
There really aren't too many people I'd endorse over Ken Cockrel Jr., who in a different time, under different circumstances, might have made one hell of a mayor.
But this isn't the time, and these aren't the circumstances.
It doesn't mean a hill of beans, really, coming from someone who couldn't vote even with the most clue-free city clerk in office, but it says here that David Bing should be the next mayor of Detroit.
It's a premise that somehow gets lost on the bozos on City Council and their supporters, but we suburbanites would like nothing better than to see a bright, prosperous Detroit. Because a healthy Detroit can only make the rest of the region healthier.
Bing has my phantom support because I believe he's a bona fide expert in the one thing that would help Detroit the best, and quickest.
Dave Bing knows how to create jobs. He's been doing it for damn near all of his post-basketball playing life. He built Bing Steel from scratch, and has some experience in building housing, too.
I've written before that Bing could have been mayor, if he wanted it, some 12, 16 years ago. Maybe even earlier than that. He just didn't care to be.
And now, at age 65, I think Bing has the sense of urgency that's so badly needed in the mayor's chair.
He's not a spring chicken anymore, and he knows it.
Bing has said that he would only serve one term; that may not be enough
If he's going to see this through, and, as he told the Detroit Free Press editorial board recently, "make a difference in people's lives", then he'd better get cracking. Because he'll be damn near 70 at the end of his first term.
Bing, I believe, is bolder, willing to take more risks, and would play with more desperation than Cockrel.
The good news is, Detroit really can't go too wrong this time. The choices for mayor aren't, for a change, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Nor are they between an incumbent with a war chest and a machine behind him (Coleman Young), and a bright young man who doesn't stand a chance (Tom Barrow).
If Ken Cockrel Jr. manages to upset Bing--and it would be considered an upset at this juncture--then I won't be devastated. Maybe without the interim tag, and with some more time on the job before the November election, Ken Jr. can grow into the role even more than he has so far.
But Dave Bing is, in my eyes, ready to hit the ground running. He's 65 and impatient. And, frankly, a little pissed off at what he sees.
Now, more than ever, the good folks of Detroit need someone like that.
Northern suburbs. Western suburbs. And now, just a few miles north of its famous 8 Mile Road border.
I've worked in Detroit. For several years.
Hell, it doesn't matter. I'm a Detroiter! I grew up here and have spent my whole life living within 30 miles of the city limits.
Which is why I care, very much, about who becomes the next mayor of the city.
Ken Cockrel Jr., the current, interim mayor, is a fine man. His dad, who might have been mayor had he not died so young, ought to be proud of his kid.
Kenny Jr., and his stable, free-from-scandal administration, is a breath of fresh air after the stench left over from Kwame Kilpatrick and his corrupt Cass Tech crew.
There really aren't too many people I'd endorse over Ken Cockrel Jr., who in a different time, under different circumstances, might have made one hell of a mayor.
But this isn't the time, and these aren't the circumstances.
It doesn't mean a hill of beans, really, coming from someone who couldn't vote even with the most clue-free city clerk in office, but it says here that David Bing should be the next mayor of Detroit.
It's a premise that somehow gets lost on the bozos on City Council and their supporters, but we suburbanites would like nothing better than to see a bright, prosperous Detroit. Because a healthy Detroit can only make the rest of the region healthier.
Bing has my phantom support because I believe he's a bona fide expert in the one thing that would help Detroit the best, and quickest.
Dave Bing knows how to create jobs. He's been doing it for damn near all of his post-basketball playing life. He built Bing Steel from scratch, and has some experience in building housing, too.
I've written before that Bing could have been mayor, if he wanted it, some 12, 16 years ago. Maybe even earlier than that. He just didn't care to be.
And now, at age 65, I think Bing has the sense of urgency that's so badly needed in the mayor's chair.
He's not a spring chicken anymore, and he knows it.
Bing has said that he would only serve one term; that may not be enough
If he's going to see this through, and, as he told the Detroit Free Press editorial board recently, "make a difference in people's lives", then he'd better get cracking. Because he'll be damn near 70 at the end of his first term.
Bing, I believe, is bolder, willing to take more risks, and would play with more desperation than Cockrel.
The good news is, Detroit really can't go too wrong this time. The choices for mayor aren't, for a change, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Nor are they between an incumbent with a war chest and a machine behind him (Coleman Young), and a bright young man who doesn't stand a chance (Tom Barrow).
If Ken Cockrel Jr. manages to upset Bing--and it would be considered an upset at this juncture--then I won't be devastated. Maybe without the interim tag, and with some more time on the job before the November election, Ken Jr. can grow into the role even more than he has so far.
But Dave Bing is, in my eyes, ready to hit the ground running. He's 65 and impatient. And, frankly, a little pissed off at what he sees.
Now, more than ever, the good folks of Detroit need someone like that.
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