Tom Barrow, Detroit Mayor Candidate, Moves To Disqualify Mike Duggan From Election

Kate Abbey-Lambertz and Ashley Woods/Huffington Post Detroit

For Detroit mayoral contender Mike Duggan, who just moved to the city last year and has gained attention as a white candidate in a majority African-American city, getting called an outsider is nothing new. In January, fellow candidate Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon went on the offensive, criticizing his opponent's choice to move to upscale Palmer Woods, a neighborhood he said wouldn't give Duggan an experience of city life that mirrored those of Detroit voters.

Now, another contender for the mayor's job says Duggan's residency status should get him disqualified from the race.

Tom Barrow, an accountant who has announced his fourth campaign for Detroit's mayoral office, sent a formal complaint to City Clerk Janice Winfrey Monday, alleging Duggan had failed to meet the City Charter's residency requirement and calling on the Detroit Elections Commission to not certify him. To comply with the charter, Barrow argues, Duggan would need to have registered to vote in his community a year before filing for office, which he did on April 2. Duggan did not register to vote until April 16, 2012. (Read Barrow's full letter here.)

"I would have thought everybody would have read the law," Barrow told The Huffington Post. "It's just sloppiness."

Butch Hollowell is general counsel for the Detroit NAACP and a Duggan campaign supporter. He told The Huffington Post he believes Barrow's accusations are baseless.

"This is just another a series of challenges by Tom Barrow to keep Mike and Benny Napoleon off the ballot," he said. "My views are that these challenges don't have any more merit than any of the others."

Hollowell confirmed that Duggan registered to vote on April 16, 2012. He is "very confident" that the Clerk's office will side with Duggan.

"The filing deadline was May 13. That's 13 months of residency," he said. "It's obvious from the charter and the commentary under the charter provision that the intent is to make certain that the candidate is a bonafide resident. There is no question as to whether Duggan met that one year requirement."

Detroit's 1997 charter didn't include a stated residency requirement for elected officials. The revised charter, which was approved by voters in 2011, calls for any candidate for political office to be a "resident and a qualified and registered voter of the City of Detroit for one year at the time for filing for office." The commentary notes that residency requirements make it "more likely that elected officials will be intimately familiar with the unique issues impacting their communities."

Winfrey told The Huffington Post the City Clerk's office received a copy of Barrow's letter Tuesday and forwarded it to the Law Department.

Three candidates for City Council have so far been disqualified for failing to meet residency requirements. Three mayoral candidates were disqualified after failing to submit petitions with 500 valid signatures.

Barrow's campaign made its first complaint against Duggan, last week, in addition to complaints against Napoleon and another candidate, state Rep. John Olumba. He asserts that the three candidates failed to file mandated campaign finance reports and pay late fees, and also claims Duggan violated proper procedure when he dissolved his campaign committee following his successful election as Wayne County Prosecutor in 2001.

According to the Detroit News, a spokesman for Duggan's campaign said the candidate received a waiver to exempt him from annual filings after clearing the campaign funds and no longer raising money.

Barrow said the two complaints points to a pattern of a lack of attention to the detail.

"I think there's just a fundamental feeling that [Duggan] is above [the law]," he said."What concerns me is there is this sense of entitlement."

But Hollowell, like Napoleon's campaign before him, questioned Barrow's motives.

"I think that he's made wild assertions before ... none of them have any merit," Hollowell said.

Detroit's primary elections take place in August. The two mayoral candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election. Current Mayor Dave Bing announced last week he would not run for re-election.

'We can now put Detroit back on the right path,' Bing says

BY JOHN WISELY, SUZETTE HACKNEY and CECIL ANGEL

As results poured in Tuesday evening giving Mayor Dave Bing a full 4-year term, the basketball Hall of Famer sat on a couch with his wife watching the HBO documentary about President Barack Obama's ascension to the White House.

The two sat close and whispered, with their two daughters and some close friends nearby. The quiet time was a respite for Bing after a campaign that covered four elections in eight months. He defeated his challenger 58% to 42%.

He now moves on to try to steer the city through its most difficult financial crisis since the Great Depression.

"Together we can now put Detroit back on the right path," Bing said Tuesday night in his victory speech at the Fort Shelby Doubletree Hotel downtown. "Thank you for your confidence. I see progress and I know we are headed in the right direction."

Bing's victory was widely predicted before Tuesday but still brought hope and support from leaders across the state.

"He's taken a job that ain't gonna be easy," House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, told the crowd. "The change is coming and residents of the city are going to benefit."

Former Mayor Dennis Archer touted Bing's relationship with elected officials in Washington, D.C. Archer said those alliances are key to helping Detroit rebuild.

"We've got some real challenges out there," Archer said, "But they can be met."

The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, just proclaimed that Detroit's best days are now in front of it with Bing as the captain.

"We can be fixed, we can be nourished and we can be transformed, and we have the right man at the right time to move it," Anthony said of Bing.

Bing supporters took turns speaking as election results rolled in.

"It's been a long haul, and as the mayor has stated this is the fourth quarter," said Emmett Moten, an owner of the Doubletree Hotel where Bing's party was held. "As of 8 o'clock tonight the ball crossed the goal line, and it's in for the next four years."

Moten said the Bing administration is business friendly because Bing, a longtime Detroit business owner himself, understands the needs of those willing to invest in the city.

At a party in a loft in Corktown, challenger Tom Barrow entered with his family shortly after 11 p.m. He shook hands with supporters as he made his way through the building to the stage. As he neared the stage, he paused and cheers broke out. He continued shaking hands, then began his concession speech.

"We're going to fall short and I'm happy though, that we fought the good fight," Barrow said.

As his supporters applauded, he pulled out notes.

"I didn't write a prepared speech," he said. "I'm going to talk from the heart."

He thanked God for the election and told his supporters he knelt down to pray this morning.

"Now is the time we can leave our mark on this city in a positive way," Barrow said.

He said: "We offered Detroit hope. We said there's a difference between despair and hope. People said, 'Are you sad, Tom?' I'm not. I'm only sad we're not able to make the changes."

He later went on to say that he'd accepted the will of the people of Detroit.

"I said it was wrong to have someone who's never lived in Detroit to be our mayor. The people of Detroit said that's OK," Barrow said.

He told his supporters he didn't want them to second-guess anything they'd done.

"We had an opportunity to change and we decided not to, and I accept that," Barrow said.

He addressed part of his speech to Bing, urging him to be sensitive to the residents.

"This is not a business. It's not a steel business. It's a municipality," he said.

Barrow ended his speech by saying: "For those in Detroit who didn't vote for me, I accept your will." Then, he went on to say, "I thank all 50,000 of you who left a good name for my son."

WXYZ Detroit mayor race poll Mayor's Race Tightening

From WXYZ As we close in on the November Election, an exclusive Action News poll shows that Detroit Mayor Dave Bing still holds a sizable lead in the race for Mayor. However, the latest poll numbers show that race has tightened. We asked 400 Detroiters for their take on the mayor's race. If the election were held today, current mayor Dave Bing would come out on top with 47% of the vote compared to just 26% for candidate Tom Barrow. When asked why Mayor Bing would be their pick, 13% say they would choose him because of his business background. Eleven percent of voters polled say he should be given the chance to finish the job. Out of the 26% of people who said they would vote for Tom Barrow, one out of five say they would vote for Barrow just because they don't like Dave Bing. As far as Mayor Bing's job performance, most Detroiters think he's doing pretty good with only 15% giving him a poor grade. When asked what the mayor's biggest accomplishment in office is so far, 25% of voters polled said "nothing at all." Nine percent gave Bing credit for balancing the budget. Four percent gave him credit just for getting elected. The controversial DDOT bus cuts top the list for Mayor Bing's biggest failure. Twelve percent say he hasn't done anything wrong. The rest are split between his relationship with the unions and his communication with the residents of Detroit. Results carry a margin of error of +/- 4.9%. All polling was done between October 18 and October 20, 2009. Read the Poll Below: What are the chances that you will be voting in the upcoming November 3rd general election for Mayor of Detroit and City Council -- are you very certain to vote, somewhat certain, will you probably vote, are the chances only 50-50, have you already voted by absentee ballot, or, will you not likely vote? 79% Very certain to vote 14% Already voted by absentee ballot 5% Fairly certain 2% If the November 3rd general election for Mayor were held today, would you vote for Dave Bing or Tom Barrow? 44% Dave Bing 23% Undecided/Don’t know /Refused 22% Tom Barrow 3% Lean toward Bing 4% Lean toward Tom Barrow 4% Other candidate (VOLUNTEERED) 3% Lean toward Bing What is the main reason why you plan to vote for Dave Bing? 13% Business Background 12% Best Choice of the Two Candidates 11% Give Him a Chance to Finish the Job 8% Done a Good Job So Far 7% Dislike Barrow 5% His Integrity 5% Vision for the City 5% Most Qualified Candidate 4% Agree With His Positions 4% Making Progress 3% Christian 3% Committed to the City 3% Most Familiar With Him 2% Like – In General 2% Makes the Tough Decisions 2% Needed Change 2% Strong Leader 2% Understands the City’s Needs 1% Brings Jobs to the City 1% Conservative 1% Improving the Neighborhoods 1% Other (less than 0.5% each) 3% Undecided/Don’t Know/Refused What is the main reason why you plan to vote for Tom Barrow? 21% Dislike Bing 10% Against Bing’s Policies 8% Best Choice of the Two Candidates 7% Agree With His Positions 6% He is a Detroit City Resident 6% Most Qualified Candidate 6% Understands the City’s Needs 5% Against Bing’s Budget Cuts 5% Needed Change 4% Pro Union 3% Vision for the City 2% Against Bing’s Bus Cuts 2% Against Bing’s Privatization 2% Communicates with People in Community 2% Supported Him Before 1% Against Bing’s Administration Choices 1% Against Bing’s Wage Concessions 1% Bing is Tied to Kilpatrick 1% Christian 1% Democrat 1% Give Him a Chance 1% Integrity 1% Progressive 3% Undecided/Don’t Know/Refused Overall, How would you rate the job that Dave Bing has done as Mayor of Detroit? Would you give him a positive rating of excellent or pretty good, or a negative rating of only fair or poor? 38% Pretty good 36% Only fair 15% Poor 8% Excellent 4% Undecided/Don’t know/Refused Specifically, how would you rate the job Dave Bing has done cutting government spending and balancing the City budget? Would you give him a positive rating of excellent or pretty good, or a negative rating of only fair or poor? 30% Pretty good 33% Only fair 23% Poor 6% Excellent 8% Undecided/Don’t know/Refused Specifically, how would you rate the job Dave Bing has done working with the unions in seeking wage concessions and making budget cuts? Would you give him a positive rating of excellent or pretty good, or a negative rating of only fair or poor? 34% Only fair 27% Pretty good 28% Poor 6% Undecided/Don’t know/Refused 5% Excellent What would you say is the single biggest accomplishment Dave Bing has had as Mayor of Detroit? 25% Nothing At All 9% Balancing the City Budget 4% Getting Elected as Mayor 3% COBO Agreement 3% Cutting Government Spending 3% Getting the City On the Right Track 3% Integrity in His Position 2% Communicates the City’s Needs 2% Less Negative Press 1% Added Police 1% Bring Order to the City 1% New Police Chief 1% No Legal Troubles 1% Run the City Like a Business 1% Strong Leader 1% Too Early to Tell 1% Took No Salary 1% Union Relations 6% Other (less than 0.5% each) 31% Undecided/Don’t Know/Refused Would you say is the single biggest failure that Dave Bing has had as Mayor of Detroit? 14% Cuts to Bus Service 12% Nothing at All 9% Union Relations 4% Communication with City Residents 3% Cut City Employees 3% Not Involved in the Communities 3% Selecting His Administration 2% Budget Cuts 2% Cut City Services 2% He’s Unfamiliar with Detroit 2% Wage Concessions 1% Attempted School Takeover 1% Close Minded 1% False Promises 1% Failed – Overall 1% Hard Line with Young People 1% No Balance Budget 1% No Improvement in Crime 1% No Leadership 1% Rapid Job Loss in the City 1% Taking the New Car 3% Other (less than 0.5% each) 31% Undecided/Don’t Know/Refused