Story by Yvette Caslin and Roz Edward
Photos Courtesy of the Mayor’s Office and Eric Hobson for Steed Media Service
Detroiters finally received a much warranted reprieve from all of the unseemly headlines and embarrassing political missteps of the past year, when on May 5, 2009, citizens took to the ballot box to resuscitate an impaired administration and breathe new life into a deflated economy. The Motor City’s citizens selected a new ambassador to represent the city they love so dearly and have fought so valiantly to save. Dave Bing, the high-flying basketball Hall of Famer turned ultra-savvy and successful entrepreneur is the third man to hold the title of mayor in Detroit in the last year. But as they say, the third time is the charm, and the low-key businessman is the right man to pull the city back from teetering on the verge of bankruptcy and virtual extinction.
Since taking office, Mayor Bing has made some tough and sometimes unpopular fiscal decisions to fix the city’s $300 million deficit. Transparency is becoming the trademark of his administration and he openly and honestly keeps the public abreast of his intentions to eliminate staff positions, enforce furloughs in various departments and adopt a new business model that is congruent with the city’s economy.
In a recent New York Times article, Bing stated, “We’ve got to focus on being the best 900,000 populated city that we can be and stop thinking about ‘We can turn the clock back to the 1950s and ’60s,’ ” he said. “That era is gone.”
That “era” he references was a time when a thriving Detroit was twice as big and had more resources. Today, the global economy is weak and the local economy has suffered much harsher repercussions than perhaps any other city in the nation. First the recession rained down on Detroit years before the rest of the country even got wet and by the time they did, Detroit was deep in the throes of the worst confluence of events since the Great Depression. Detroit’s biggest cash cow, the auto industry, was the hardest hit, with the banking industry running a close second.
Mayor Bing’s decision to terminate city jobs seemed drastic to those who were obviously unaware of the big picture — the city is in big trouble. Bigger trouble than the shame spawned from former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s waywardness. Nonunion workers have taken a 10 percent pay cut, bus service has been reduced, non-vital positions in city government are being eliminated by the day, and, of course, unions are the mayor’s harshest critics. It’s unfortunate that Detroiters have been misguided for so long. But the consequences of the former administration’s see-no-evil approach to governing has resulted in a catastrophic dirge of crippling social and economic outcomes. The school system is completely broken, neighborhood are littered with open and hazardous abandoned structures and the business community has been neutered by racial tensions, city-suburban politics and deepening economic troubles.
When Mayor Bing first came to Detroit in 1966 after he was selected as the Pistons No. 1 draft pick and the second overall pick in the NBA draft, it was love at first sight for him and basketball fans. When he decided to make Detroit his permanent home the love affair continued. Following his retirement in 1978, when he was selected one of the top 50 basketball players of all time, and later inducted into the Michigan Hall of Fame and the Naismith Hall of Fame, we were even more smitten. And when he established the Bing Enterprises, a leading automotive supplier and major employer, the flames of love were rekindled.
Voters must take his outstanding credentials into account. Within a decade, the company he founded, the Bing Group, which he started with only four employees, was recognized as one of the nation’s top Minority-Owned Companies by Black Enterprise magazine. In the summer of 1999, he partnered with Ford Motor Company to build the Detroit Manufacturing Training Center, a nonprofit facility to help prepare unemployed and underemployed workers to obtain jobs in the auto supply industry. In his role as president and chairman, Bing received a plethora of recognitions and awards, including being selected as the National Minority Small Business Person of the Year, which was presented by President Ronald Reagan in 1984; GM Supplier of the Year in 1992, 1997, and 2001-2004; Crain’s Detroit, Business Newsmaker of the Year in 1994; Black Enterprise magazine’s Company of the Year in 1998; Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003; and the recipient of Michigan Minority Business Development Council’s Diamond Award in 2003.
Improving the city’s bottom line is Bing’s key objective, in addition to improving education; police, fire and EMS services; and collaborating interests between the city and suburbs. In a meeting with Wayne County commissioners he pulled no punches. “Detroit, from a structural standpoint, is broke,” he said in calling for regional cooperation. “I think it’s difficult for people to accept the pain that we have to go through. But there is no other way, unless we want to go bankrupt.”
In one of his latest and shrewdest budget moves to date, Mayor Bing announced his intention to end the city’s longstanding practice of paying the full-time salaries of union officials, saying it’s outdated and “doesn’t make sense.” Bing said, “It’s hard for me to trust union leadership with what they’re doing now. They’re scaring the hell out of people.”
The annual cost to taxpayers — $1.7 million, according to data released to The Detroit News.
Past practices of managing the city’s operating budget are outdated and will not ensure Detroit’s return to being one of the nation’s leading cities. Bing, who has been mayor for the past five months, knows how fiscally vulnerable Detroit is to a state takeover, unlike his speculating opponents who don’t share his business acumen or even seek access to accurate and comprehensive information on the city’s finances.
There’s another bright spot on the city’s horizon: The city and the mayor have Washington and President Obama’s full attention. Team Obama is nothing if not aggressively willing to cut the bureaucratic red tape to effect political and economic change. Add Bing’s chief administrative officer, political adviser and friend, Charlie Beckham, to the lineup and we’ve got the makings of a dream team.
It’s going to require more than a Band-Aid for Detroit to fix the problem of economic hemorrhaging that is at the root of the city’s social anemia. So even in the chaos of the auto industry’s insolvency, a dwindling population and dysfunctional city systems, Bing has emerged as a leader with the proper perspective and the political clout to force the kind of change Detroit needs. Detroiters can help spur the impending rebirth of the city that is highly likely to begin during his tenure, by keeping the current mayor in office and working. Recognizing that there’s too much history in this once great and vital city for its economic viability to remain strained. Mayor Bing has a proven track record and more than 30 years of investment in the city on the straits of the Great Lakes. His almost bigger than life love for the city of Detroit is real. The nation is watching with baited breath to see if Detroit gets it right this time. Don’t let them underestimate Detroit once again. Our beloved Pistons rarely let us down, and it follows that Detroiters can’t go wrong with a man at the helm as sharp, prudent and successful as Bing.
Excerpt from Detroit Mayor-Elect Bing’s
Acceptance Speech,
May 5, 2009:
“The real work starts now. My team and I … bring to city government efficiency, transparency, honesty and integrity back to the mayor’s office. We will start immediately in trying to attract jobs back into the City of Detroit. We will start immediately in trying to make sure our neighborhoods are safe. We will start immediately to make sure our kids get the best education that they can possibly get. We are going to have to work as Detroiters to make this a better place for all of us, but we must be able to understand that we won’t be able to do it by ourselves. We are going to have to reach out and get as much support as we can from the surrounding areas. I have been blessed that I have relationships with people in the city, outside of the city, outside of the state and across the country. This is what I think I bring to the office of Mayor. This is what Detroit needs and I am ready for the job.”
