Hundreds eye run for City Council

Interest high in winning seat on nine-member board

Leonard N. Fleming and Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Using words like unprecedented and incredible, city election officials are bracing for what may be the biggest City Council race in memory.

Now that the mayor's race is over -- for the time being -- focus is shifting to the council campaign, which has prompted nearly 500 people to pull petitions to vie for nine seats up in August and November. That's one would-be candidate for every 200 Detroiters who voted in Tuesday's mayor election.

"This is astronomical as far as I know. I've never seen the interest so high as with City Council," said Daniel Baxter, the city's elections director.

The filing deadline is Tuesday to appear on the ballot. One who won't be on the list: Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel, who announced Thursday she won't seek re-election, saying she's stepping aside after nearly 16 years to make room for new leaders. She acknowledged that scandals encircling City Hall were hard to take.

"This term has been a challenge for which there is no prior training or set of experiences," Cockrel said. "It gets hard to read about all of the crooks downtown."

Council ballots in Detroit have been growing for a decade. In 1993, 64 candidates vied for the four-year posts. There were 97 in 2001 and 120 in 2005. Council members earn $81,000 a year.

So far, 83 candidates have returned petitions with at least the required 453 signatures, but scores more are expected to do so in the coming days. It's customary for many to return them right before the deadline.

The interest has been driven in large part by outrage at the behavior and decisions of some council members and the looming federal investigation over City Hall that includes council.

Last month, more than 200 would-be candidates showed up for a boot-camp-style workshop at the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel to learn about fundraising, campaign literature, public messages and working with the media.

Eighteen candidates advance from the Aug. 4 primary to the Nov. 3 general election. Even with a large pool of candidates, it's unlikely voters will sweep out all incumbents, said William Rustem, president of Public Sector Consultants in Lansing.

"If everyone lost, that would surprise me," Rustem said. "You would need people to raise their profile through money and attention high enough to win. And that's hard to do."

The list of wannabe council members is as eclectic as it is large: Charles Pugh, a former TV anchor; James Tate, who recently resigned as spokesman for the Detroit Police Department; Gary Brown, a one-time deputy police chief; Annivory Calvert, the mother of state Rep. Coleman A. Young II; and Joan Gist, the mother of the first African-American Miss USA, Carole Gist.

At least one candidate slate already has formed: Brown, the Rev. Andre Spivey, Detroit police officer John Bennett, who operates the Detroituncovered.com Web site, and former council staffer Saunteel Jenkins.

Brown, who filed a whistle-blower lawsuit that helped bring down former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, said he expects only about 150 would-be candidates to return their petitions so they can be on the ballot.

"What's going to make the difference is you're going to have to be organized with a team, not just a husband or wife or a good friend that's helping you out," Brown said. "You need a team of volunteers that understand the political landscape in Detroit."

The field includes T. Pharoah Muhammad, 38, a political unknown who left his job with Chrysler. The Boston Edison resident said he realizes he faces tough odds.

"Our city is hurting and we need a new direction, fresh ideas," said Muhammad, who turned in his petitions Thursday afternoon. "This is not an overnight thing we are trying to correct. This is for the long haul. This is for the survival of our citizens, our city and region. Change is inevitable."

And with the election Tuesday of first-time politician Dave Bing as mayor, candidates are beginning to believe upsets are possible.

"There is a real thirst for a change in city leadership on the council," said D. Etta Wilcoxon, a council candidate who also ran for mayor in February. "People are saying quite consistently that they want a clean sweep; they want a new slate of people running the city council."

Cockrel said other "talented people" are "ready to stand up and come and serve" on the council and restore dignity to it.

She said she has no immediate plans to run for public office.

lfleming@detnews.com (313) 222-2072