Fantastic news out of the Motor City today
Hendrix, who turned 58 today, said he plans to run in February’s special primary election for Detroit mayor, joining a half-dozen well-known candidates interested in leading Detroit after Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation and criminal plea.
Hendrix said he will focus on three core issues: bringing integrity back to the office, beefing up the police force to thwart crime and re-establishing long-defunct community block clubs.
The man should have been elected mayor in 2005. He had the qualifications, the demeanor and the right attitude to lead the city.
He was one of the few in 2005 to stand up and call out Kwame on all of his shortcomings.
Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for Ken Cockrel and how he has handled the situation with Kwame. But he is not a strong enough or experienced enough figure to lead the city right now. His place should be on the city council as president, and quickly before Monica Conyers can screw things up.
Right now I’d say the other major candidate is David Bing, businessman and a NBA star for the Pistons from 1966-1975. The man is out for his own interests. He lives in the Western Suburbs but bought an apartment in Detroit last year with the idea to run for mayor against Kwame in 2009. He sees February’s special election as his chance to get in office.
UW on Detroit fully endorses Freman Hendrix in 09, and hopes he doesn’t lost in the muddled field of candidates.
On an even more personal note, I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting Hendrix. It was at the state capitol in Lansing in the spring of 2006–I was there for a journalism conference and he spoke with me and a few friends about the effect the Super Bowl had on Detroit.
He was funny, intelligent and well-spoken–he practically demanded respect, something, I have to say, Kwame Kilpatrick never did in the handful of times I’ve seen him speak or seen him rolling into Starbucks with his entourage.
Remember, whoever is elected to office in February will have to run again in the November 2009 general election due to a mix-up with the city charter, so in theory, Detroit could have 4 different mayors (Kilpatrick, Cockrel, February winner and November winner) in a 16 month period.
Welcome to Detroit politics.
