FEBRUARY 2009

chaldeans and the city
Detroit mayoral hopefuls answer our questions
Barack Obama is the new president,
but election season is not
yet over – this month marks
an important primary for mayor of
Detroit to replace Kwame Kilpatrick.
The top two vote-getters of the February
24 primary will square off in a
May 5 election – but the winner only
gets to keep the seat until December
31, 2009, when Kilpatrick’s term expires.
Meanwhile, another primary
will take place in August for the full
four-year term.
The Chaldean News asked leading
mayoral candidates to answer
some questions of importance to the
community. Candidates were given
a strict 75-word limit per answer.
Answers that exceed that limit are
marked by a … .
Dave Bing
Dave Bing, 64, is president of the Bing
Group auto supply company and a Detroit
Pistons Hall of Famer.
1. Given Detroit’s many difficulties,
why do you want to be the person
in charge?
Most of the problems facing our
city were not developed overnight.
They were caused by poor decisions
made by career politicians. I am not
a career politician.
I have been not only a survivor,
but a leader in the automobile supplier
industry. I want to take those
skills and apply them to the city. I
am the only candidate with experience
in creating jobs in the City of
Detroit.
2. What is your perception of
the Chaldean community, and how
do you feel they have contributed
to the city?
The Chaldean community in Detroit
is one of our fastest-growing and
important constituencies from both
a civic perspective as well as a business
perspective. Beyond the cultural
diversity, this community’s contributions
are countless, including numerous
charitable contributions, as well
as being the principal local retailers
for Detroiters.
3. Many Chaldeans had a tumultuous
relationship with former
mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, particularly
store owners. How will you
better this relationship?
The Chaldean Community, particularly
the “store owners and retailers,”
have issues that are distinct to
your community and as such know
that I will provide special opportunities
to receive your feedback. I will
also assign one of my appointees as
liaison to the Chaldean community
who will report directly to me to assure
that issues impacting your community
are heard and addressed.
4. Is it important to you to have
Chaldeans appointed to your administration?
Yes. My administration would definitely
seek to have qualified Chaldean
employees at the appointee and
civil service levels. The Chaldean
population in Detroit is one of the
fastest-growing segments in the city.
I need everyone’s best and brightest
to move us forward.
5. What are your specific plans
to improve police response times,
especially emergency calls from
store owners?
I will order the police to identify
areas of the city that are the most
vulnerable to specific types of crime
and their occurrence. After the identification
of crime “hot spots,” officers
would be deployed in these specified
areas during precise areas to quell
crime before it happens. This plan
would be to stop crime at its source;
akin to a doctor who identified a cancerous
spot on the body and removes
it before it spreads.
6. What are your top three priorities
for the City of Detroit?
I will concentrate on crime, jobs
and restoring integrity to city government.
The first priority will be
getting a handle of the city’s budget
situation, which is out of control. I
will prioritize getting more officers
on the streets to improve dismal response
times. Additionally, I will
utilize my job-creating experience to
grow the city’s job base. Finally, I will
have a zero tolerance for anyone who
is ethically challenged in my administration.
Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr.
Kenneth Cockrel Jr., 42, is currently
Detroit’s interim mayor. He has been
a council member since 1997 and was
elected its president in 2005.
1. Given Detroit’s many difficulties,
why do you want to be the person
in charge?
As the current acting Mayor of
the City of Detroit, I am already the
person in charge. I want to stay in
that position because I believe my
experience as a County Commissioner,
City Councilmember, and
more recently current Mayor qualifies
me to lead this city during these
tough times. I have a proven track
record of leadership and a vision for
where this city must go.
2. What is your perception of
the Chaldean community, and how
do you feel they have contributed
to the city?
I have always had a good relationship
with members of the Chaldean
community and believe they
contribute richly to the lifeblood of
Detroit by providing quality shopping
options for groceries and other
services.
3. Many Chaldeans had a tumultuous
relationship with former
mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, particularly
store owners. How will you
better this relationship?
I have already taken strides to improve
this relationship by introducing
my choice for Chief of Police to
key business leaders in the Chaldean
community and having him attend a
meeting of the Chaldean Chamber
with me in the fall of last year.
4. Is it important to you to have
Chaldeans appointed to your administration?
Yes. I am currently looking for
members of the Chaldean community
to serve in my administration.
5. What are your specific plans
to improve police response times,
especially emergency calls from
store owners?
The priority must be on improving
police response time in general,
not for one specific segment of the
community. However, I have directed
the Chief of Police to prepare
a plan for improving police response
time through thorough analysis of
crime data that can be used to make
deployment decisions.
6. What are your top three priorities
for the City of Detroit?
A) Addressing our budget deficit;
B) Crime and Public Safety; C) Economic
Development.
Warren Evans
Warren Evans, 59, has been sheriff of
Wayne County since 2003. He is a former
Wayne County administrator.
1. Given Detroit’s many difficul-
30 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2009