Editorial: Detroit's fine day

Bing's victory, new City Council members should upgrade the quality of leadership at City Hall

The Detroit News

It took the better part of a year to get here, but Dave Bing is at last confirmed as the next mayor of Detroit. He won all four of this year's mayoral elections, including Tuesday's general election for the next term. The wide margin of victory he enjoyed in this latest contest validates him as a Detroiter and puts the people's stamp of approval on his vision for the city.

This victory is particularly significant because Bing did not run away from the city's problems or the painful steps necessary to solve them. He leveled with the citizens of Detroit about the enormity of the fiscal crisis, telling them up front that erasing the deficit will require deep service cuts.

Bing also was straight with the city's public employees, continuing to engage in hardball negotiations even as the unions rallied to his opponent, Tom Barrow, with votes and financial support.

But it was to no avail. The people once again chose Bing.

He begins his full term as mayor with a mandate to implement his strategy for balancing the budget by reducing spending and the cost of government.

Barrow and many council candidates attempted to mislead Detroiters into believing that there is a painless way out of this emergency.

They raised hopes that audits and crackdowns on contractors might turn up enough hidden money to avoid layoffs and pay cuts for employees and a loss of services for residents.

Give credit to Detroit voters for not buying those false promises.

This electorate has been much maligned in the past for its choice of leaders.

But this year, Detroiters went to the polls four times and did the right thing for their city.

Along with Bing's election, voters also built a new council best described as "not bad."

It will be led by former newscaster Charles Pugh, who ran into controversy during the campaign for his personal financial difficulties, but campaigned hard and is generally right on the issues.

Other newcomers include Saunteel Jenkins and Gary Brown, who will sharply upgrade the quality of the council, and James Tate, a bright young man who ran an impressive campaign, and the Rev. Andre Spivey, a strong advocate for responsible government.

This council should be more professional, more open to reform and more cooperative with Bing than the one it replaces.

Detroit voters also approved the $500 million bond proposal for school renovations, a ringing endorsement for Robert Bobb, the emergency fiscal manager.

In all, a pretty good day for Detroit.