COLEMAN A. YOUNG (1918 - 1997)
Young's machine unable to garner the votes
by Morris Gleicher
originally published 6/12/91Detroit voters on June 4 did more than elect a replacement for former City Council member--now Congress woman--Barbara-Rose Collins. They expressed once again their dissatisfaction with the Coleman Young political organization.
Kay Everett's easy win over the Young-endorsed candidate, state Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, weakens significantly the influence of the mayor has over council's decisions. For several years, Young had the support of at least five of the nine members. With the seating of newly elected Everett, the balance will shift. Moreover, recognizing that the Young coattails no longer extend to issues or candidates the mayor endorses, at least two Young supporters are already loudly proclaiming their newly discovered "independence."
Voter rejection of the mayor's choice for council is one more in a series of election setbacks for the administration. Beginning with disapproval of his casino gambling proposals, these included Proposal N, which lowered the number of votes required by council to overturn a mayoral budget veto, the election of Maryann Mahaffey as council president, and the successful petition campaign and vote to overturn the mayor's Ford Auditorium/Comerica Bank plan.
The campaigns of both candidates for council failed to generate interest among all but the most confirmed pro- and anti-Young voters, with only one of every seven voters even bothering to go to the polls. Whether out of frustration, apathy or general disgust with the political system, low turnouts have the effect of leaving decision making in the hands of older, more educated and more conservative elements.
The candidates, unfortunately, seemed to be judged primarily on their position vis-a-vis the mayor instead of on their position records facing the city. Declaring at the start that she was "on a mission from God," Kilpatrick proceeded to outspend her opponent substantially. (The exact margin is unknown as her financial reports have not yet been filed.) In the pre-election edition of the Michigan Chronicle, for example, she spent $7,500 for eight 1/3-page ads.
Everett's campaign centered on grassroots community mailings and appearances,. and she was aided considerably by endorsements from the two Detroit dailies.
With a new voice at the council table, the challenge confronting that legislative body will be whether it can now assert more authority in running the city. As for the mayor, his coattails may not carry many votes, but his clout is still mighty powerful.
At the time this was published, Morris Gleicher was a veteran Detroit political consultant whose column appeared regularly in the Metro Times.