Duggan says next year will be his last in office; mum on his plans afterward
DETROIT (AP) — Mike Duggan says the coming year will be his last as Detroit mayor, amid growing speculation he’s among the Democrats likely to launch a gubernatorial campaign to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Duggan declined to discuss his political future ahead of Wednesday’s public announcement on not seeking reelection to a fourth four-year term, telling The Associated Press that he’s “going to talk about what’s next later” and that this week he was “going to focus on the city and people in the city.”
His current term ends in January 2026.
When Duggan stepped into Detroit City Hall as mayor about 11 years ago, he took on a city challenged by monumental blight, high crime and finances controlled by the state. Half the street lights didn’t even come on at night. Since then, his administration routinely has balanced city budgets and surpluses. Violent crime is down and neighborhoods mostly are cleaner.
“I feel like I did what I set out to do,” Duggan told The AP on Tuesday. “I was born here. I grew up here. I watched the decline and I felt like I could help. Today, we’re in a very different place in the city. I think it’s time for the next mayor to take the recovery further and faster.”
“People in this city have just been enormously kind and supportive,” he added. “That’s the part that I’m going to miss.”
Before becoming mayor, Duggan spent about eight years as chief executive of the Detroit Medical Center. He served three years as Wayne County prosecutor and 14 years as deputy county executive.
Once elected in November 2013, Duggan had to find ways to start fixing a very badly broken city. Earlier that year, a state-appointed manager had taken Detroit into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Duggan took office in January 2014. He ran the city but initially had no control over spending. By that December, Detroit had emerged from bankruptcy with about $7 billion in debt erased or restructured.
“The bankruptcy fixed the balance sheet,” he said Tuesday. “The bankruptcy gave us a fresh start. We still had to get the streetlights fixed. We still had to rebuild the police department to get the violence down. We still had to get the grass cut in parks.”
“We had 47,000 abandoned houses when I started,” Duggan continued. “Today, we have 3,000. I want to get it (as) close to gone as I can over the next year.”
The U.S. Census reported earlier this year that the city’s population rose to 633,218 in 2023 from 631,366 the year before. That staunched population losses of about 1.2 million people since the 1950s.
“I set out in the beginning to say my goal was to have Detroit growing in population,” Duggan said. “You got more people moving in than moving out for the first time since 1957.”
He said property values also have doubled and tripled in neighborhoods across Detroit.
Duggan declined to discuss his political future ahead of Wednesday’s public announcement on not seeking reelection to a fourth four-year term, telling The Associated Press that he’s “going to talk about what’s next later” and that this week he was “going to focus on the city and people in the city.”
His current term ends in January 2026.
When Duggan stepped into Detroit City Hall as mayor about 11 years ago, he took on a city challenged by monumental blight, high crime and finances controlled by the state. Half the street lights didn’t even come on at night. Since then, his administration routinely has balanced city budgets and surpluses. Violent crime is down and neighborhoods mostly are cleaner.
“I feel like I did what I set out to do,” Duggan told The AP on Tuesday. “I was born here. I grew up here. I watched the decline and I felt like I could help. Today, we’re in a very different place in the city. I think it’s time for the next mayor to take the recovery further and faster.”
“People in this city have just been enormously kind and supportive,” he added. “That’s the part that I’m going to miss.”
Before becoming mayor, Duggan spent about eight years as chief executive of the Detroit Medical Center. He served three years as Wayne County prosecutor and 14 years as deputy county executive.
Once elected in November 2013, Duggan had to find ways to start fixing a very badly broken city. Earlier that year, a state-appointed manager had taken Detroit into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Duggan took office in January 2014. He ran the city but initially had no control over spending. By that December, Detroit had emerged from bankruptcy with about $7 billion in debt erased or restructured.
“The bankruptcy fixed the balance sheet,” he said Tuesday. “The bankruptcy gave us a fresh start. We still had to get the streetlights fixed. We still had to rebuild the police department to get the violence down. We still had to get the grass cut in parks.”
“We had 47,000 abandoned houses when I started,” Duggan continued. “Today, we have 3,000. I want to get it (as) close to gone as I can over the next year.”
The U.S. Census reported earlier this year that the city’s population rose to 633,218 in 2023 from 631,366 the year before. That staunched population losses of about 1.2 million people since the 1950s.
“I set out in the beginning to say my goal was to have Detroit growing in population,” Duggan said. “You got more people moving in than moving out for the first time since 1957.”
He said property values also have doubled and tripled in neighborhoods across Detroit.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://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
