DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is in campaign mode. But not for himself.
The mayor, who has already served three terms and is being discussed as a possible Democratic candidate for governor of Michigan, knows how valuable the support of his city and his majority-black city is for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election in November.
Duggan, like several other mayors of major cities across the country, is using his political influence to mobilize voters in his city as Harris is scheduled to visit on Monday as part of a series of Labor Day events hosted by the Democrat and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Mayors are typically elected along party lines, with their policies reflecting the views of the majority of voters in their city. Of the 20 most populous cities in the United States, only Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, have a Republican mayor.
Mayors “know what’s at stake,” said Democrat Andrew J. Ginther of Columbus, Ohio, adding that he is “fully committed to the vice president.”
For Duggan, the main thing is to get Harris and Walz into office.
Michigan is one of the key swing states Harris and Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump are vying for this fall, conscious of the fact that Trump won the state by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016 before losing it to President Joe Biden by about 150,000 votes in 2020.
Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, is one of the most significant Democratic strongholds in the country. According to city officials, turnout in the general election is expected to be over 50 percent of registered voters.
Shortly after Biden dropped out of this year’s presidential race, Duggan endorsed Harris. An August rally in the Detroit area drew 15,000 people, according to Harris’ campaign. Trump later falsely claimed that an image of thousands of people waiting at the airport for the rally was fabricated using artificial intelligence.
City Clerk Janice Winfrey said 55 percent or more of Detroit’s registered voters will be able to cast their ballots in November. About 51 percent of registered voters voted for Barack Obama when he first ran for president, Winfrey said.
“Everyone wants to get involved,” Winfrey said, adding that Duggan’s commitment to voter outreach has extended to his support for a 40 percent enhance in her budget.
But it’s not just popularity that drives mayors to curry favor with the current and future president. Municipalities rely on millions in federal funds for everything from infrastructure projects to hiring additional police officers.
“We have to get things done,” said Ginther, who also serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “There is no way for Republicans or Democrats to pick up trash, clear streets or keep people safe. One of the most important issues is housing. It is by far the most important issue that mayors in this country have to deal with, whether Donald Trump or the vice president is elected president.”
Over the past five years, Detroit has invested about $1 billion to create more than 4,600 affordable housing units in the city, with funding for these projects secured through federal, state and city funds.
“Every mayor makes his own decision,” Duggan said. “The cities have done tremendously well under Biden/Harris.”
Detroit received about $706.5 million in federal grants under Trump’s presidency. Biden’s administration has awarded and pledged more than $2 billion to the city, according to Duggan’s office.
The American Rescue Plan, a 2021 federal coronavirus relief measure signed by Biden that included funds for state, city and tribal governments, “probably accelerated Detroit’s recovery by 10 years,” Duggan said.
The city, heavily indebted and running millions of dollars in annual budget deficits, was led into and out of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history a decade ago by a manager appointed by Michigan’s then-Republican governor. Under Duggan, the city’s finances have stabilized and budget surpluses are now the norm.
“The American Rescue Plan gave us the opportunity to rebuild our cities faster,” Duggan said. “When Donald Trump ran for president, he promised great infrastructure but never delivered.”
Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of the nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy, said the country’s housing crisis should be the biggest concern for mayors – Democrats and Republicans alike.
“I think we’re not only going to see mayors doing the right and smart thing when it comes to engaging their constituents and informing them about what’s in their best interest,” Mejia said.
Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, is also urging voters to vote for Harris. Giles, a Republican who is no longer fond of Trump, was one of several GOP politicians who spoke in support of Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month. Giles said he has had more contact with the Biden administration than with Trump’s administration, a difference he attributes to Trump working more closely with governors.
“Mayors seem to be more involved in party politics around election time than usual,” Giles said. “We want to have good relations with the new administration. That’s in the best interest of our cities.”
But Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a fellow Republican, sees things differently. The former Democrat, who focuses on the Republicans’ tough approach to crime, told attendees at the Republican convention in Milwaukee in July that he wants to bring Trump back to the White House.
Kwame Kilpatrick, who served five years in the Michigan House of Representatives and seven years as mayor of Detroit, said all mayors hope only to win the White House.
Kilpatrick also served more than seven years of a 28-year federal prison sentence for corruption during his tenure as mayor. Kilpatrick, whose sentence was commuted to probation by Trump in 2021, now works as a political consultant. Kilpatrick, a lifelong Democrat, said he supports Trump’s re-election and will register as an independent.
“Mayors rarely have to pick up the phone and call Washington, but when they do, they want to be able to contact the government in Washington if necessary,” says Kilpatrick, who resigned as mayor of Detroit in 2008 after a sex scandal involving text messages.
For his part, Milwaukee’s Democratic mayor, Cavalier Johnson, said he is working to engage his city’s voters this election cycle and is “100 percent, without a shadow of a doubt” behind the Harris/Walz platform.
“I’ve challenged the people in our community who can vote, who should vote and who don’t vote,” Johnson said. “I’m talking to people on the ground about what’s at stake. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It’s a contact sport.”
