The Detroit Pistons still played there when he arrived in town as a rangy 22-year-old who would soon become the NBA rookie of the year. He would go on to Hall of Fame status, but last year, he set a record few would have envisioned: He won four elections for Mayor of Detroit.
All that voting was due to an odd quirk in the city charter, and the resignation of the disgraced and convicted Kwame Kilpatrick.
The irony was that this came after Bing spent a lifetime trying to avoid politics.
At 66, however, he felt he had no choice. 鈥淚 have never seen so many people in pain and hurting. If you love the city, you can鈥檛 just leave it in misery. So I decided to run, against the wishes of my family and friends.
鈥淭hey said it鈥檚 time to enjoy life. I said, 鈥楴o, this is what I need to do. This is my calling right now, and I鈥檓 going to give it everything we鈥檝e got.鈥欌夆
He knows that, this month, out-of-towners will flood in for the North American International Auto Show, people whose knowledge of his city is based on the image of devastation in a recent Time cover story.
Bing knows he can鈥檛 change that overnight. Yet he also knows that despair isn鈥檛 all there is to the Motor City. He has a message he wants to send to people in the city, the state, and beyond: Detroit is open for business.
鈥淲e have our problems, and we aren鈥檛 going to shy away from those problems, but there are a lot of good things going on, also. And we want to make sure people know about the good things happening in Detroit; it鈥檚 not all bad.鈥
Detroit鈥檚 new mayor recently shared his assessment of the real state of the city, his biggest problems, and how he plans to lay the foundation for Detroit鈥檚 turnaround.
Kwame Kilpatrick was back in town this fall after being accused of violating the terms of his probation. Do you feel you have to do a certain amount of damage control?
Absolutely. It is unfortunate, but I am a realist. You know, we went through, and are still going through, a yearlong fallout from him personally, and his administration. He let a lot of people down, and we鈥檙e paying for that. So you have to work harder than you normally would to change the perception of folks.
How do you change Detroit鈥檚 image?
It鈥檚 personal. It鈥檚 about touching people, it鈥檚 about communicating with people, it鈥檚 about being honest with people 鈥 good, bad, or indifferent. You鈥檝e got to let people know what鈥檚 really happening. And a lot of folks obviously lost confidence in the leadership here in the city. And that鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 easy to overcome, but I think I bring a certain amount of maturity, I think I bring a certain amount of honesty, a certain amount of credibility. All those things help, but it鈥檚 going to take time.
Could you rank your top three to five goals?
No. 1 would be financial stability. No. 2 would be safety. No. 3 would be education. No. 4 would be job creation. No. 5 would be both right-sizing city government and the size of the city.
Back when he was Detroit鈥檚 auditor general, Joe Harris said he thought it was inevitable that, sooner or later, the city would fall into receivership. Was he wrong?
I can鈥檛 say that he was wrong. I鈥檓 not going to sit here and try to predict the future, but we鈥檝e got a financial crisis that鈥檚 been going on for some time. I think the past administration, and so far this administration, have been able to push that back. We鈥檙e going to do everything we can to keep us out of bankruptcy and having an [emergency] financial manager come in. But based on what鈥檚 happening in the national economy and the Michigan economy and surely in Detroit, it鈥檚 not going to be easy.
How bad is the city鈥檚 economic situation?
I knew that I inherited somewhere between a $280- and a $300-million deficit. That鈥檚 huge, no doubt about it. The thing that I really wanted to focus on is not adding to the deficit. And if the economy wasn鈥檛 so bad, and there was a revenue stream I could count on, I think I could manage 鈥 but every day, the revenue stream is going south. And until we stabilize that, we鈥檙e not going to be able to grow the economy, and without growth, you鈥檙e looking at a disaster.
What do you do to stimulate that growth?
What I think we have to do is change attitudes. We can鈥檛 change the business climate. We have to change the way we do business in the City of Detroit, because, for years, business people who have tried to do business with the city have always said it was very difficult.
A one-stop shop in Detroit where you could apply for permits, etc., has been suggested.
We鈥檙e working on it as we speak. Permits are a big issue. And I鈥檝e heard a lot of small-business people in particular complain vociferously about how complicated it is. Another thing that鈥檚 a problem: The city owns or leases a lot of real estate. We鈥檝e got people all over the place. And it makes it very difficult for anyone to get anything done, without going to one centralized location. We鈥檙e going to make sure we do that, also.
Detroit has had mayors who campaigned against the suburbs. What kinds of signals do you want to send to the region?
Frankly, we need to be supportive 鈥 and supported by 鈥 other areas within the state, all the way up to Lansing. I鈥檝e been fortunate in the 43 years I鈥檝e been here to have established relationships with people outside of Detroit. And that鈥檚 to our benefit right now, because I think I鈥檝e built up trust, I鈥檝e built up relationships. They鈥檙e coming to the table, and we need all of that right now.
What kind of reception have you gotten from Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson?
Brooks and I have known each other for a long time. I have great respect for Brooks. We don鈥檛 always agree, but I respect him as a manager; I think he鈥檚 done a good job managing Oakland County, and there鈥檚 things I might be able to learn from him. So I don鈥檛 look at him with a negative viewpoint at all.
The city schools are now under an emergency financial manager. Do you think they should be run by the mayor?
I鈥檓 not afraid of responsibility. And a big responsibility in this city, if we鈥檙e going to come back, is having the right kind of education system. I鈥檓 supportive of mayoral control. But how we get there is the issue. There are other big urban [school systems] that are under mayoral control that are doing well, so there鈥檚 a model out there that works: Chicago, Boston, New York, now New Orleans.
So we wouldn鈥檛 be out there on an island all by ourselves. I鈥檓 not pushing for mayoral control. I don鈥檛 know how receptive our population would be to that. I do think, however, that one person having the responsibility and being accountable for what happens in our schools is very important.
The state has been going through a very difficult budget process, and this hasn鈥檛 been great for cities.
We鈥檝e been dependent upon the state for different things. And the state being where they are financially 鈥 I understand that they can鈥檛 give us the kind of support that we鈥檝e traditionally gotten. But, once again, I think that this is where leadership is important. If this city is as important to the state as most people think, then we鈥檝e got to find a way to make sure we get the kind of support we need from the state to sustain ourselves. Because if Detroit doesn鈥檛 make it, if Detroit fails, if Detroit goes into receivership or whatever the case may be 鈥 it鈥檚 a black eye, not only for Detroit but for the state. And they鈥檝e got to, I think, go beyond the call of duty to see what they can do outside of what has been done traditionally to help the city.
You talked about right-sizing the size of the city.
We still have approximately 139 square miles in the city of Detroit. We may be using 50 percent of that as livable space. So all of a sudden, you鈥檝e got something close to 70 miles of vacant land. Instead of looking at that as a negative always, we have to turn it into a positive. Instead of us crying and lamenting how bad things are, let鈥檚 start asking: What can we do with this land that we aren鈥檛 doing today? People talk about urban farming. That has potential.
People talk about creating more green space. I think that鈥檚 reasonable. But I think the biggest problem I鈥檓 going to have is where we鈥檝e got communities, where there鈥檚 scarcity in terms of homes, where there aren鈥檛 a lot of people living. Trying to get people to leave and come into a more populated area is going to be very difficult. But that鈥檚 what I think I鈥檝e got to do.
Do you think you might use some method, such as eminent domain, to make that happen?
Legally, I don鈥檛 know if I can. I think that鈥檚 something I鈥檓 going to have to look at. Now that I am in for four years, I don鈥檛 have to rush and maybe make a stupid decision. I want to sit down. I want a clearer understanding. There are a lot of people who have been in the planning process for a long time. I want to try and utilize their experience and expertise as I fashion a vision for the city.
After the September primary, you took some very difficult stands and caused some city unions to switch and support your opponent. Was that designed to give you a mandate for the tough calls ahead?
I think it was the right thing to do. I think the problem with the city and some of the prior politicians is that they were worried about getting re-elected and not doing some of the right things. They didn鈥檛 make the tough decisions when they were there, because they were worried about a political career. I鈥檓 at a point in my life where that鈥檚 not the most important thing to me. If I do what鈥檚 right, I know I can feel good about myself from a public-service standpoint.
Are you saying you are not going to run for a second term?
No, I鈥檓 not saying that at all. But you can only get elected one term at a time. If you do what鈥檚 right and things are going in the right direction, it鈥檚 up to the citizens to reject or vote you back in. I know I could have gotten a much higher percentage in the elections than I got. But I would have had to lie to people. And I wasn鈥檛 about to do that. We鈥檝e had enough of that.
Have you decided where you are going to live?
No, I haven鈥檛. At this point, I鈥檓 living in Grayhaven [a gated community on the city鈥檚 east side]. I鈥檓 leasing a home. The economy is horrendous, so at this point I can鈥檛 sell my home in Franklin. People have asked me whether I will move into the [Manoogian] mansion. That鈥檚 not an option right now. It鈥檚 really low [priority]. First of all, it鈥檚 not in any kind of condition to move into. It鈥檚 going to be a major investment to get it fixed up.
I鈥檓 getting some feedback from different people in the community who said we need to bring back some credibility to that address; they would like to see me move in. But once again, I鈥檝e got much bigger problems to deal with.
What do you think is the most important part of the job?
Building the team. I can鈥檛 do this alone. I inherited some capable people. We鈥檙e not finished yet. I鈥檓 going to continue to look at the talent that I have, the talent that I don鈥檛 have and need. And it鈥檚 a tough sell, because it鈥檚 not like everybody鈥檚 knocking the doors down, wanting to work for the City of Detroit. So it鈥檚 a lot of selling, but I want to be honest and up front. I want people to know what they鈥檙e getting into. If you鈥檙e weak-kneed, if you don鈥檛 have the heart and stamina, then this isn鈥檛 the right place for you.
What would you like history to say about your administration?
That it was the beginning of Detroit鈥檚 turnaround, and that they weren鈥檛 afraid to make hard decisions. They were sensitive, but they were fair. And I think if we can achieve that, the format we leave for whoever comes afterwards is one they can take and build upon.
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