The 2013 Detroit mayoral election was held on November 5, 2013, to elect the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Incumbent Mayor

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring a ...

chose to retire rather than seek re-election. The Mayor of Detroit is elected on a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

basis, where the candidates are not listed by political party. A non-partisan primary election was held on August 6, 2013. The top two finishers, businessman

Mike Duggan Michael Edward Duggan (born July 15, 1958) is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician serving as the 75th mayor of Detroit, Michigan since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Duggan previously served as the Wayne County Prosecutor ...

, who ran a write-in campaign and received 46% of the vote, and Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon, who won 30% of the vote, advanced to the November general election. In the general election, Duggan was elected mayor with 55% of the vote. Duggan became the city's first

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

mayor since

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, when

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...

was first elected.

Background

The Mayor of Detroit was

, who was first elected in May 2009 in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

following the resignation of

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Represen ...

, then re-elected to full term in November 2009. Bing announced on May 14, 2013, that he would not seek a second full term as Mayor, but would instead form an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

to run for position of Wayne County Executive in the 2014 mid-term elections. The filing deadline for the race was May 14, 2013, at 4 p.m. Candidates were required to submit petitions with signatures from 500 registered voters in the city of Detroit to qualify for the August primary ballot. On May 23, 2013, the Detroit Election Commission officially certified the names of 15 candidates that had qualified for the Primary Ballot.

Primary election

Candidates

There were officially 15 candidates on the ballot. The top two candidates faced off in the November general election.

On the Ballot

* Tom Barrow, businessman, Mayoral candidate in 1985 and 1989 and runner-up in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

* Angelo Brown * D'Artagnan M. Collier, city worker and member of the Socialist Equality Party * Krystal A. Crittendon, former Corporation Counsel * Fred Durhal, Jr.,

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

* Herman Griffin *

Lisa Howze Lisa Howze (born August 5, 1973) is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Early life Howze was born on August 5, 1973, in Detroit. Education Howze graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1991, from Ross School of Busine ...

, former

* Willie Lipscomb * Mark Murphy, Community Advocate * Benny N. Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff and former Detroit Chief of Police *

John Olumba John Olumba (born July 12, 1981) is an American attorney, politician and Democrat who served two terms as a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented the 3rd house district located in Wayne County, which comprises the ...

* Sigmunt Szczepkowski * John Telford, Educator and

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist * Jean Vortkamp, Community volunteer

Write-ins

* Mike Dugeon, barber *

, former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center and Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor

Declined

* Dave Bing, Mayor of Detroit * Geoffrey Feiger, attorney and Democratic nominee for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Charlie LeDuff Charles Royal LeDuff (born April 1, 1966) is an American journalist, writer, and media personality. He is the host of the ''No BS News Hour with Charlie LeDuff''. LeDuff was employed by ''The New York Times'' for 12 years, then employed by ''Th ...

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

journalist, writer and

WJBK WJBK (channel 2) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government o ...

-TV media personality * Charles Pugh, former

-TV anchor and former

Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...

President *

Sixto Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (born July 10, 1942), known professionally as Rodriguez, is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Afric ...

, American folk musician and former Detroit Mayoral Candidate * Andrae Townsel

Controversy

In May, 2013 Barrow filed formal complains with the Detroit City Clerk's Office against several of his competitors. Barrow first filed a complaint against Duggan, Napoleon, and Olumba, alleging that all three had failed to file campaign finance reports regarding previous campaigns that the three men had used to seek previous political office. On May 21, 2013, Barrow filed a formal complaint challenging the residency qualifications of Duggan. Barrow's complaint alleges that Duggan wasn’t a city resident for a year when, on April 2, he was the first candidate to turn in signatures to make the August ballot. Duggan legally became a Detroit resident on April 16, 2012, after moving to the city’s Palmer Woods neighborhood. The Detroit City Charter, which was adopted on January 1, 2012, states ""All candidates for elective office and elected officials shall be bona fide residents of the City of Detroit and must maintain their principal residence in the City of Detroit for one (1) year at the time of filing for office or appointment to office. " Labor activist and Barrow supporter Robert Davis sent a formal letter requesting

Michigan Secretary of State The Michigan Department of State is administered by the Secretary of State, who is elected on a partisan ballot for a term of four years in gubernatorial elections. The Secretary of State is the third-highest official in the State of Michigan. A ...

Ruth Johnson Ruth Johnson (born January 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of Michigan and is a current member of the Michigan Senate for State Senate District 14. She is a former member of the Michigan House of Represe ...

intervene in the matter. After Benson refused to intervene, the Detroit Election Commission voted 2-1 on May 23, 2013, to keep Duggan on the ballot. On May 31, 2013, Barrow filed a complaint against the Detroit Election Commission in Wayne County Circuit Court asking the Court to order the Election Commission to remove Duggan from the Mayoral Ballot. On June 12, 2013 Wayne County Circuit Judge Lita Popke ordered that Duggan's name be removed from the ballot. On June 18, 2013 The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in a 2-1 decision and on June 19 Mike Duggan officially bowed out of the race. Political analysts predicted that Benny Napoleon would take over as the front runner for the election, and Barrow would still likely be eliminated in the August elections. On June 28, 2013, Mike Duggan officially declared he was re-entering the mayoral race as a write-in candidate. As a write-in, Duggan won a plurality of the votes. He was on the ballot for the November election against second place Benny Napoleon.

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

, former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center and Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor * Benny N. Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff and former Detroit Chief of Police

Polling

Results

References

External links

Tom BarrowD'Artagnan CollierKrystal A. CrittendonMichael E. DugganFred Durhal Jr.Herman GriffinLisa HowzeM3 , Mark Murphy for MayorBenny NapoleonJean Vortkamp
{{2013 United States elections

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

mayoral election