Detroit Free Press Editorial Board

On Nov. 7, Detroit voters will decide who will serve on Detroit City Council. They'll choose two at-large members and one council member for each of the city's seven districts to serve four-year terms. Here are the Free Press Editorial Board's endorsements in those races.

AT LARGE

(Voters choose two)

Voters should elect Detroit City Council President BRENDA JONES to another term as one of Detroit’s two at-large council members. Jones has proved capable of building coalitions on a council that’s been fractious in previous terms. She’s worked with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, but has shown willing to scrutinize the mayor’s agenda.

JANEÉ AYERS should win re-election as Detroit’s other at-large council member. Ayers was appointed in 2014 to fill the seat of departing Detroit City Council member Saunteel Jenkins, and won the seat in a special election last year. Ayers has been a thoughtful and collegial council member, but we hope Ayers will use this term to become a sharper critic of the status quo.

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District 1

Detroiters should return JAMES TATE to the District 1 council seat. Tate is active in his district, visiting neighborhood groups and forums, convening leaders and residents in his district and highlighting and supporting small businesses. Tate has been the force behind quality-of-life ordinances like the one regulating marijuana dispensaries within city limits, a gap left when the state legalized medical marijuana. Tate understands both the nitty-gritty of policy and the big picture wins policy should drive, and he will continue to serve District 1 well.

District 2

Voters in Detroit’s August primary wisely chose to place candidate Roy McCalister Jr. on the November ballot. Now, District 2 should seal the deal by electing McCalister to a seat on the Detroit City Council. McCalister is a former Detroit police commander and an Iraq war veteran, whose institutional knowledge and commitment to neighborhood services will benefit his constituents. ROY McCALISTER JR. is the right choice for the District 2 seat.

District 3

SCOTT BENSON is the right choice for the District 3 seat on the Detroit City Council. Benson is smart and capable. His educational and professional background are exactly what you’d want in a council member. He has a deep and nuanced understanding of policy, and he’s taken the lead on hugely important subjects like environmental sustainability.

This newspaper enthusiastically endorsed Benson in 2013, his first run for office. But Benson’s personal troubles – shortly after taking office, he served seven days in jail for driving under the influence – are concerning, the kind of behavior that opens the door to outsiders eager to mock Detroit and Detroiters. But Benson says he’s been sober for 40 months, becoming the kind of council member his constituents deserve. We take him at his word, and will hold him to his pledge.

In this race, he’s the clear choice and should win a second term.

District 4

For District 4, ANDRÉ SPIVEY is the right choice. Over two terms, Spivey has been a thoughtful voice on council, and deserves election to a third. An ordinance proposed by Spivey to require cameras at gas stations was the precursor to anti-crime initiative to Project Greenlight, a successful Detroit Police Department initiative. His latest is an ordinance that would require landlords to register with the city, a requirement that would make real strides toward improving quality of life for Detroiters.

In a Detroit Free Press candidate forum, Spivey said he doesn’t believe in the “two Detroits” narrative – the take that development in Midtown and downtown has left the city’s largely black neighborhoods behind. Spivey’s rejection of the two-Detroits trope seems centered on a message of unity – that prosperity will move the city forward, together. It’s a noble notion, but one that belies the reality of Detroit’s spotty success. Spivey should be careful to recognize the real challenges many of his constituents face.

District 5

Detroiters should re-elect MARY SHEFFIELD to a second term on the Detroit City Council. Sheffield has ably represented her diverse district, and has developed a focus on constituent services that well behooves a council member. A noteworthy effort by Sheffield is an ordinance that would require new developments to include affordable housing. Sheffield’s district includes portions of Detroit that are growing rapidly, where rents and property values are soaring. Taking steps to ensure that Detroit remains accessible to Detroiters is important work.

District 6

Among the current crop of council members, many of whom first won elective office in 2013, RAQUEL CASTAÑEDA-LÓPEZ is a stand-out, and Detroiters in District 6 should re-elect her to a second term. Castañeda-Lõpez represents a district that sprawls from booming downtown to southwest Detroit, where pollution and poverty are high. She has cast a principled vote against public funding for the Pistons move to the new Little Caesars Arena, a development that failed to meet promised targets for hiring Detroiters.

District 7

GABE LELAND is the strongest candidate in the District 7 race, and voters should elect him to a second term in office. But Leland will enter his second term with an incredibly high bar to meet. Earlier this summer, Fox 2 Detroit reported that Leland had cast yes-votes on contracts the Detroit City Council awarded to the family of his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Fiore, daughter of towing magnate Gaspar Fiore and an executive in the company’s firms. While there is no suggestion that the Fiores influenced Leland’s vote, it’s a clear ethical lapse and one Leland must not repeat. Since then, Fiore was indicted by the federal government for allegedly bribing officials in connection with garbage contracts in Macomb County; the City of Detroit has also accused Fiore of tax malfeasance. To participate in decision-making around such contracts is both an abdication of the proper priorities of a council member, and opens Detroit to criticism from outsiders eager to paint the city in a negative light. Leland must do better.

Leland has advocated for blight removal in District 7, and supports the creation of affordability-based water service fees, the kind of thinking required to ensure that impoverished residents retain access to necessary infrastructure in a city with an aggressive shutoff policy. Leland should continue his advocacy for Detroiters most in need, and recuse himself from any votes connected to his personal relationships.



