State - Detroit Race for Governor GOP gubernatorial hopefuls talking up Detroit Decades of tension between city and party seem to be easing

By Jeff Karoub Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) -- The five Republicans running for Michigan governor are hitting all the usual themes: lower taxes, smaller government, less regulation. They're also are talking about a staple in past Democratic platforms: how best to fix Detroit, the state's largest city. It's an unusual twist. For decades, the Democratic stronghold wasn't high on Republicans' radar screen. Republicans still are unlikely to secure many votes in the city, which is more than 80 percent black. But with a businessman-turned-mayor at the helm and a recognition that Michigan won't succeed unless the city does better, decades of tension between Detroit and the Grand Old Party seem to be easing. There's a growing sense that suburbanites who fled in decades past are interested in seeing the city's fortunes improve. Detroit resident Robert Peeples, 60, said it's no coincidence that candidates and suburbanites are talking about saving the Motor City, as unemployment, foreclosures and dwindling tax revenues spread through the entire region. "The state of Michigan goes as Detroit goes," said Peeples, a General Motors retiree. "If the people in Detroit ain't got no money, how long before people in Oakland County ain't got none?" Detroit has been hammered with high unemployment, shrinking budgets and a federal probe into public corruption. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick went to jail in 2008 for obstructing justice and assault in a text-messaging sex scandal with his top aide and now faces federal fraud and tax charges. So, why now the attraction to a city that Republicans once held at arm's length? "The situation has gotten so dire ... there's probably more of a willingness now to search for more creative solutions," said John Truscott, campaign spokesman for U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who represents a conservative west Michigan district. Even if a Republican isn't trying to win Detroit residents' votes, suburbanites still want to know what the candidate plans to do about Detroit, Truscott said. GOP strategist Tom Shields of Lansing-based Marketing Resource Group said Kilpatrick "was an impediment to open and frank discussion by Republicans about what they could do" for Detroit, as was Coleman Young, the city's first black mayor whose combative style in the 1970s and '80s antagonized white conservatives. In between was Dennis Archer, a black lawyer who left his seat on the Michigan Supreme Court to run for mayor. He was respected by most Republicans but loath to get too close to Engler, so the Detroit-Lansing relationship suffered, Shields said. The last strong bond between mayor and GOP governor goes back to the 1970s, when moderate Republican Gov. William Milliken won over Young by supporting state assistance to the city as it struggled with racial strife and an auto industry hit hard by the energy crisis. That relationship earned Milliken political support in Detroit no Republican has seen since then. Shields said Milliken, who has endorsed Snyder, received about 30 percent of the Detroit vote. Republican candidates in recent years have had to work hard to get just 10 percent. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson says it's not bad politics for a Republican to pay attention to Detroit. The outspoken Republican leader of Detroit's neighbor to the north said talking up the city could offer a slight edge to a candidate in a tight race for the GOP nomination. In recruiting businesses, he'd like to be able to sell Detroit but he said he's forced "to explain my core city away." "For selfish reasons, I want to see my core city recover," said Patterson, born and raised in Detroit. Shields said having Bing as mayor rather than Kilpatrick, coupled with greater support among suburbanites for Detroit and its leaders, is enticing Republican candidates to speak more about helping Detroit and other struggling cities such as Saginaw and Flint. "It's not a political liability to have an urban agenda," Shields said. That's reflected by the GOP candidates, who are talking more about helping the struggling city. Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder's "Reinventing Michigan" urban plan calls for controlling sprawl, offering tax credits for young professionals who live and work in major cities and continuing efforts to root out corruption and waste. Attorney General Mike Cox worries that perceptions painting Detroit as a dangerous, poverty-ridden place hurt both the city and the state. He wants to consolidate green space to increase density in declining urban areas. Hoekstra, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and state Sen. Tom George are the other Republicans in the Aug. 3 primary race. Two Democrats -- Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and House Speaker Andy Dillon -- also are running to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Brenda Alston, 52, a Detroit Democrat, said she doesn't limit her choices to just one party. But she warns she won't fall for a candidate just because he talks about helping the city where she lives. "The proof is always after the election," she said. One test could come if a Republican wins and embraces an idea floated in May by Republican Newt Gingrich, the former U.S. House speaker whose "Contract with America" helped Republicans regain the House. During a speech last month at the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference, Gingrich called for making Detroit a tax-free enterprise zone for the next decade to encourage job growth. Hoekstra said he's optimistic plans like these now stand a chance of being discussed. "With the leadership and attitudes I sense from people in Detroit, they're ready to be challenged with some bold ideas," he said. Published: Tue, Jul 27, 2010

––––––––––––––––––––
 Subscribe to the Legal News!
 https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available