The Fall of Detroit: Freep.com: Bing to become mayor today

Freep.com: Bing to become mayor today

Suzette Hackney - May 11, 2009

http://freep.com/article/20090511/NEWS01/90511035/Bing+to+become+mayor+today

Mayor-elect Dave Bing will be sworn in this afternoon as Detroit’s 62nd mayor at the city’s Department of Elections office.

Bing, 65, is expected to take the oath of office at about 3:30 p.m. in a private ceremony following the official election certification. Bing defeated Ken Cockrel Jr. in last week’s special mayoral election.

Family members, including Bing’s wife, Yvette, and his daughters and grandchildren are expected to be present at the low-key swearing in.

Bing is also expected today to announce additional members of his Crisis Turnaround Management Team — 31 individuals who will help him assess how the city is run during his first 100 days in office — and members of his cabinet. Bing has already vowed to keep Detroit Police Chief James Barren on the job.

The first special mayoral election in 79 years was triggered by the September resignation of Kwame Kilpatrick amid the text message scandal that landed the former mayor in jail. Cockrel, 43, who was City Council president, became mayor, under the city charter, after Kilpatrick's exit.

Bing will serve the rest of Kilpatrick's term through Dec. 31. Cockrel returns to the City Council as its president.

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The Detroit city space is in the process of becoming a modern day Rome filled with ruins and relics of once prosperous and powerful places. The sporadic areas of abandoned buildings and empty lots that plague most inner cities have turned into full-length blocks of desolation. Places that used to be providers of income and employment for the city and its inhabitants are becoming more and more scarce as time goes on.

The city of Detroit has become a tragic example of place deteriorating into space. Detroit was once a booming metropolis with an economy that supported millions. However, in recent history, everyone has been helpless to watch as the city crumbles before them. These desolate spaces that fill the city used to be hold shops, schools, and thriving businesses. Detroit has become not only the butt of many jokes in the national media, but also a tragic figure and cautionary tale for other cities facing the same problems.

The job market and overall economy in Detroit used to be something that people took notes on. The thriving automobile industry gave the city its nickname, the Motor City. However, nowadays, the only thing motoring these days are jobs and families out of town. After the riots in the 1960s, Detroit experienced a catastrophic effect in the economy. The violence alone was enough for the “white flight” of many families to the neighboring suburbs. The effect the riots had on jobs is still felt today. With the loss of jobs and a dramatic decline in the central economy, thousands of homes were lost and great deals of schools in the inner city have closed as well. Instead of receiving sympathy from the neighboring states, Detroit has become a constant joke in the media.

The problems with the city of Detroit are not just abandoned buildings and a handful of people being out of a job. These problems are felt on the home front everyday for those who cannot provide for their families and are losing homes. There are tons of kids in the city that are not getting the proper education they should be receiving. There are even some who are not getting any education whatsoever and choose to run the streets. The fall from grace that Detroit has experienced is something that will forever change the city. This is just a glimpse into the tragic desolation of the city space. The city that used to be one of the most powerful and influential in the nation is now nothing more than a shell of its former self.

- Mo Traylor

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