Bing wins Detroit mayoral race

DETROIT — Businessman and former NBA star David Bing became the new mayor of Detroit Tuesday night with a 52-48 percent victory over interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. in a special election to fill the remaining months of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s term.

For most Bing supporters who gathered at the victory party at the Doubletree hotel downtown, the businessman’s lack of political experience is not a problem. “He’s not a politician,” said supporter Dwayne Cooper who saw Bing’s newness to the civic arena as a good sign. “We’ve had politicians before and look at the mess we’re in now.”

Bing, who’s a rookie to the rough-and-tumble Detroit political scene, said he’s up for the challenge. “I’m not a novice to this. I’m not a novice to controversy,” he said at the press conference, adding that moving into the mayoral seat was a transition that he was prepared for.

A unique situation awaits Bing at his new job: He will be working with his former opponent, Cockrel, who will go back to serving as the Detroit City Council’s president. When asked how he felt about working with his former campaign rival, Bing said he didn’t think there would be a problem. “He’s a professional. I’m a professional. We’re adults,” Bing said. “As long as we want to do what’s right for the citizens of Detroit we ought to be able to work together.

For Bing the next 24 hours will be more about transition than making any major decision on where to take the city. “I wanna wait until the certification process is done and all of my key team members are in agreement,” he said.

To prevent future conflicts of interest with his business interests, Bing said he plans to turn the Bing Automotive Group over to one of his daughters and a “key manager.” But he said the auto supplier will continue regular operations. “As long as there’s GM and Ford and Chrysler I think I’ll be OK,” he said during a press conference following his victory speech.

‘This is just the second quarter’

While Bing was victorious in Tuesday’s special election, the battle for the top spot is far from over. Bing and Cockrel, along with a new list of mayoral hopefuls, will hit the ground campaigning again for the next full mayoral term, which starts in January — a primary is scheduled for Aug. 4 and the general election for Nov. 3.

Wendall Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP compared the election marathon to a four-quarter basketball game: “This is just the second quarter,” he said when Bing was announced winner. But Bing said he will not let the upcoming elections take away from his leadership. “I will focus my attention on running the city, not necessarily campaigning,” he said.

One pressing issue that played out during the heated campaign, the future of Detroit’s Cobo Convention Center, will likely loom large over his administration. There is an increasing risk that Detroit could lose the North American International Auto Show because the city can’t afford to renovate and expand its aging showplace.

A carefully negotiated deal between state, city and county leaders to create a five-member regional board to control Cobo and fund its renovations fell apart earlier this winter. The failed agreement was drawn into a protracted fight between the Detroit City Council, which rejected it, and Cockrel, who as interim mayor supported it and tried to veto the council’s rejection of the deal.

Now, the prospect of Detroit losing the auto show may be more of an increasing worry for city leaders and the new mayor.

The Detroit Free Press reports that auto show organizers have been in discussions with Oakland County officials and the owner of Novi’s Rock Financial Showplace over the possible expansion of that facility for the 2011 auto show.

Bing said during his press conference that he will connect with local and regional leaders to renegotiate the deal to have Cobo controlled by a regional board.

“I will convene all stakeholders and fix the agreement so all parties benefit form the transfer,” he said. Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was instrumental in forging the original transfer plan, has said she is not interested in renegotiating a resurrected plan to put Cobo under the control of a regional board.

And Cobo may not be the worst of Bing’s worries. As mayor, Bing faces countless challenges including a high crime rate, a $300 million deficit, spreading urban blight and a failing public school system to name a few.

After the election was called for Bing, Monica Conyers, who served as the city council’s president when Cockrel was interim mayor, appeared wearing a blue baseball cap with her name across the front. Conyers husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, supported Cockrel. According to the Free Press, the congressman said: “Bing has run a very excellent stealth campaign. … I thought Bing was exhibiting campaign fatigue. I may have misread that.”