Freman Hendrix (born October 12, 1950) is an American politician from the state of

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 ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Hendrix served as Deputy Mayor for former Detroit Mayor

Dennis Archer Dennis Wayne Archer (born January 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, jurist and former politician from Michigan. A Democrat, Archer served as Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit. He later served as president of the America ...

from 1997 to 2001. He ran twice, unsuccessfully, as a mayoral candidate in the city of

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 ...

: in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

against Mayor

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 ...

, and for the 2009 special election called to replace the ousted Kilpatrick.

History

The son of a black Army veteran, Emmanuel Freman Hendrix, and an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n-born woman, Rudolfine Ernegger, Hendrix was born in Inkster, Michigan, graduated from Inkster High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Eastern Michigan University in 1982, became a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity, and was initiated into the Delta Nu chapter at EMU; Hendrix served in the U.S. Navy for four years. He later worked in the administration of former Wayne County Executive

Edward H. McNamara Edward Howard McNamara (1926–2006) served as Wayne County, Michigan County Executive from 1987–2002, and also served as mayor of Livonia, Michigan, from 1970–1986, and as a member of Livonia City Council from 1962 to 1970. He is probably ...

, and was himself elected to a two-year term as Assistant County Executive for Wayne County in 1991. He worked for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's presidential campaign in

and managed

's successful mayoral campaign in 1994, serving as chief of staff from 1994 to 1997 and as deputy mayor of Detroit during Archer's second term. Mayor Archer concurrently named Hendrix chairman of the appointed Detroit School Board in 1999. He was among the 18

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

s chosen to cast Michigan's votes in the Electoral College for Democratic Party nominee

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2005 Campaign

The city's major daily papers, the '' Detroit News'' and the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'', endorsed Hendrix. The alternative weekly, ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...

'', somewhat reluctantly endorsed Hendrix. Its editors deem Hendrix "has served the public without the taint of scandal, although soiled somewhat by his associations," and claims that as Archer's deputy, Hendrix bears some responsibility for the problems of the city that were still unsolved at the end of Archer's term. Interviewers from '' The South End'' asked Hendrix if he would consider a partnership of the city with the colleges of Detroit, to which he answered, "The short answer to that is yes, of course." Hendrix won the August 2 primary election by a comfortable margin, with incumbent Mayor

coming in second. After a successful campaign by incumbent Kwame Kilpatrick, in which commercials that exposed Hendrix support of a state takeover of the Detroit Public Schools were run, Hendrix lost support throughout the Detroit Community. He ultimately lost to Kilpatrick in the controversial November 8, 2005, election by a margin of 47% to 53%. Hendrix was named chief operating officer of Strategic Staffing Solutions and joined EMU in August 2006 as chief government relations officer, focusing on strengthening relationships with legislators in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

2009 Campaign

Hendrix officially announced a second formal campaign for mayor of Detroit at the EMU Student Government meeting on October 7, 2008. After an inquiry by Student Body Vice-President Robert Philip Kull about his plans, Hendrix revealed his plans as a way of pushing for "honesty, transparency, and accountability".² Others who announced their candidacy were interim Mayor

Ken Cockrel Jr. Kenneth Vern Cockrel Jr. (born October 29, 1965) is an American journalist, nonprofit executive, businessman, and former politician who served as the 73rd mayor of Detroit, Michigan from September 2008 to May 2009. A member of the Democratic Par ...

, Sharon McPhail,

Coleman Young II Coleman Alexander Young II (born October 18, 1982) is a former Democratic member of the Michigan Senate, who represented the 1st district, which includes the municipalities of Ecorse, Gibraltar, River Rouge, Riverview, Trenton, Woodhaven, ...

, Nicholas Hood III, and

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 ...

; Hendrix ultimately came in third in the February 24, 2009, primary behind Cockrel and Bing (who was elected mayor). Hendrix was the top vote getter in the August 4, 2009 primary for a post in the Charter Revision Commission, receiving 11% of the vote.Gina Damron, Naomi R. Patton, and Suzette Hackney
Hendrix tops list for charter candidates: Top 9 in November to steer city changes
''

'' August 5, 2009 He resigned, however, from the commission on September 14, 2010, to join the

Greektown Casino Hotel Hollywood Casino at Greektown, formerly Greektown Casino-Hotel, is a casino hotel in the Greektown neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment. The casino opened in 2000, under the major ...

Board of Directors.

Electoral history

*2009 Election for Charter Revision Commission (Detroit) **Freman Hendrix (D), 11% **

Teola Pearl Hunter Teola Pearl Hunter (born February 5, 1933) is an American educator and politician. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Hunter graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1949. She received her bachelor's degree in education in 1958 from University of Detr ...

(D), 8% **Ken Coleman (D), 8% **Jenice Mitchell Ford (D), 7% **Reggie 'Reg' Davis (D), 6% **Rose Mary C. Robinson (D), 6% **Ken Harris (D), 6% **John Johnson (D), 6% **Cara J. Blount (D), 5% *2009 Special Election for Mayor (Detroit) (Primary Election) **

(D), 28.82% ** Kenneth Cockrel, Jr (D), 27.00% **Freman Hendrix (D), 23.21% **Warren Evans (D), 10.06% ** Coleman A. Young II (D), 4.10% *2005 Race for Mayor (Detroit) **

(D), 53% **Freman Hendrix (D), 47% *2005 Race for Mayor (Detroit) (Primary Election) **Freman Hendrix (D), 45% **

(D), 34% ** Sharon McPhail (D), 12% **

Hansen Clarke Hansen Clarke (born March 2, 1957) is an American politician and former U.S. Congressman. A Democrat, he was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2013. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the Michigan House of Represe ...

(D), 8%

External links

Freman Hendrix campaign web site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Freman 1950 births Living people Politicians from Detroit American people of Austrian descent African-American people in Michigan politics Eastern Michigan University alumni 2000 United States presidential electors Michigan Democrats People from Inkster, Michigan 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians