CHICAGO -- Slamming Michigan, the Detroit City Council, and the media for its lack of cooperation with the city, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election.
But he is eying a run for Wayne County Executive.
“The city was in pain when we came on board, and it pained me to see it in this condition,” Bing told a crowded room at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. “There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done, and all our plans will not be completed by the end of our term.”
Despite that, Bing said he would not seek another term as mayor, a largely powerless post while the city is under state emergency management.
Instead he will form an exploratory committee to seek another political office, including Wayne County Executive. Detroit is located in Wayne County.
“As we have seen with the creation of regional authorities, cooperation across the counties is vital to Detroit’s success,” Bing said.
Bing, 69, listed his successes since taking office in 2009, and slammed the state and other groups for not helping the city, which came under state control in March.
He said his administration had been making strong progress when the state took over, and that so far the emergency manager has unveiled no new actions or insights.
“We were making progress, however, when it became clear the governor planned to appoint an emergency manager anyway, I made the decision not to fight it, since fighting doesn’t fix anything,” Bing said. “I’ve been a team player all my life, and Lansing described this action as a partnership designed to finally stabilize Detroit’s actions.
“Today, after nearly two months after the emergency manager’s appointment, I find myself wondering how the state defines the word partnership.”
Examples of recent blows include the move by a southeast Michigan transit council to shift the transportation funding formula in a way that means a significant loss in dollars to the cash-strapped Detroit Department of Transportation, and the decision by Flint to join Genesee County to build its own water and sewerage system, dealing a blow to the Detroit-owned water and sewer department.
The state could have easily prevented either move, Bing said. “Considering these types of actions, I have to wonder if the state is truly interested in a partnership.”
Bing also said the media should be “held accountable” for negative and inaccurate portraits of the city’s condition. He called the city council, with which he battled often over the years, a “stumbling block for progress.”
Even the citizens, Bing said, should be held accountable, noting that only 17% of voters showed up in the most recent mayoral and city council election.
Recent polls showed Bing behind Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon and former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan.
Current Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano is facing his own set of challenges amid persistent budget shortfalls and a federal corruption probe.
