City Council member Kwame Kenyatta says he is quitting Friday
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit City Council member Kwame Kenyatta says he’s quitting Friday.
Kenyatta didn’t give a specific reason to radio station WWJ, but he says the council is virtually powerless now that Detroit is being run by an emergency manager.
Kenyatta also has been dealing with health problems that he hasn’t publicly discussed in detail. After two terms, he didn’t plan to run for re-election this year.
Kenyatta has been critical of Mayor Dave Bing and the state’s intervention in Detroit’s poor finances. He made headlines in 2008 when he gave up on his foreclosed home, one of a handful of council members who had financial problems.
Mike Duggan: No more appeals will be made in mayoral ballot fight
DETROIT (AP) — Former prosecutor and hospital executive Mike Duggan dropped out of the Detroit mayoral race on Wednesday, surrendering after two courts said he submitted his petition signatures too early to get on the ballot.
Duggan, who had been considered a leading candidate to become Detroit’s next mayor, said a prolonged fight would be too distracting in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 6 primary. Polls showed Duggan had strong name recognition and support.
Duggan, who served as Wayne County prosecutor from 2001 to 2003, became president and chief executive of the Detroit Medical Center in 2004 before recently stepping down.
Two courts have said Duggan doesn’t qualify for the ballot because he submitted petitions less than a year after becoming a registered voter in the city, a violation of the Detroit City Charter. He moved to Detroit from Livonia, a suburb, in 2012.
Duggan said it never occurred to him “in my wildest dreams” that he could be kicked off the ballot for turning in signatures too early. He submitted petitions on April 2, 10 days short of the 1-year anniversary of his voter registration.
Duggan actually had even more time to submit petitions because the deadline to sign up for mayoral primary was May 14.
His place on the ballot was challenged by another candidate, Tom Barrow, who has run for mayor many times and lost. Other candidates include Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon and former Detroit city attorney Krystal Crittendon.
Barrow said Tuesday that removing Duggan’s name from the ballot “is the best solution for the city of Detroit.”
“The court in upholding the new Detroit City Charter restores Detroiters’ faith in the objective rule of law and in treating all citizens the same regardless of wealth and stature,” Barrow said in a written statement.
Detroit — with a budget deficit approaching $380 million — is now operating under a state-appointed emergency manager, Kevyn Orr. That means Orr, not the city’s mayor or elected City Council, has final say on all of Detroit’s financial decisions.
Orr, a bankruptcy attorney, is trying to get concessions from creditors and bond holders, as well as current and retired city employees to reduce about $17 billion in long-term debt.
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