Detroit Mayoral Election - Back to the Future

The Detroit News seems to provide much better blog-on than the Free Press. This poll is much in the News tradition of generating their own statistics.

The horse race poll gives Freeman Hendrix close to a majority v. Kilpatrick and McPhail 3-way, and says Hendrix romps them both head to head. Probably the head to head would narrow a lot, as either of the others would attack Hendrix as a tool of "suburban" [white, corporate] interests.

Suburban voters say Detroit's biggest problem is Kwame Kilpatrick. Detroiters say is budget/management issues, which may be the same thing.

Hendrix visibility comes as Dennis Archer's deputy. Archer's administration floated on Clinton prosperity weighed down by an Englerized Michigan environment. Kilpatrick's administration is sinking with a Bush economy, weighed down by a Republican legislature which can't be floated by a Granholm governorship.

Archer returned to his corporate roots after leaving politics, president of the American Bar Association and architect of asbestos litigation deform legislative campaign. Archer also declined to endorse the Democratic candidate for governor against Engler in the last election.

Kilpatrick was certainly more attractive than Gil Hill in the last run off. Michigan Senate Majority leader, good speaker, progressive connections [spoke at the Michigan ACLU annual dinner.] But the party hearty stuff wouldn't go away. More important, his budget ideas for Detroit were all b-school outsourcing and privatization.

Detroit will go no where if the mayor is viewed incompetant or worse by the rest of the state.

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Detroit Voters

4. What do you think is the most important problem facing the City of Detroit at the present
time?

(PROBE FOR ONE - MOST IMPORTANT)

Budget/Management Issues 24%
Jobs/Economy 18
Crime/Drugs 14
Government/Leadership 12
Education/Schools 8
Neighborhood Decline/Housing 3
2
Roads/Transportation 3
Basic City Services 3
Police 2
Taxes 1
Other 6
DK/Refused 8

5. What do you think is the most important problem facing your local area or neighborhood at
the present time?
(PROBE FOR ONE - MOST IMPORTANT)
Crime/Drugs 23%
Jobs/Economy 12
Neighborhood Decline/Housing 12
Basic City Services 11
Roads/Transportation 10
Education/Schools 5
Police 5
Government/Leadership 2
Need More Business 1
Budget/Management Issues 1
Taxes 1
Other 7
DK/Refused 10

Suburban Voters

3. What do you think is the most important problem facing the City of Detroit at the
present time? (PROBE FOR ONE - MOST IMPORTANT)
Kwame Kilpatrick 20%
Budget/Management 13
Government 11
Crime/Drugs 11
Jobs/Economy 10
Neighborhood Decline 5
Education/Schools 4
Taxes 3
City Services 2
Security/Terrorism 2
City of Detroit 2
Roads/Transportation 1
Other 5
Unsure 14


4. What do you think is the most important problem facing your local area or
neighborhood at the present time? (PROBE FOR ONE - MOST IMPORTANT)
Jobs/Economy 12%
Roads/Transportation 9
Taxes 8
Education/Schools 7
Neighborhood Decline 5
Budget/Management 5
Crime/Drugs 5
City Services 3
City of Detroit 2
Government 2
Security/Terrorism 1
Kwame Kilpatrick 1
Other 4
Unsure 38