Duggan’s Moment

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is known for taking controversial and independent positions. He is also known as a shrewd and calculating politician who surveys the land before coming to his own conclusions about what his next choice will be. His supporters say he is a tough negotiator. His critics say sometimes he has a bullish approach to things. Whichever side you are on concerning Duggan, he knows how to send a message when he needs to.

He surprised the political class, including some of his supporters, when he came out in full-fledged support of Warren Evans in his bid to become the next county executive instead of Kevin McNamara whose father, Edward McNamara, was Duggan’s political godfather. The late McNamara also mentored a lot of Democratic heavyweights including former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm.

So when Duggan chose Evans instead of the younger McNamara with whom he had a political kinship with, it was stunning. But then again, that is vintage Duggan. He is a man hard to predict sometimes, and he is such a political force unto himself that he can make some decisions without worrying about the political consequences (if any) that would be visited upon him. Not many in politics have the liberty that Duggan has.

So the next big decision for Detroit’s mayor that everyone is waiting on is whether he will campaign for the Democratic ticket, especially the candidacy of the Democratic nominee for governor, Mark Schauer.

This is significant because Duggan was not present at the just ended Michigan Democratic Party Convention in Lansing. Also he was not present at the Democratic Unity Breakfast held Aug. 6, the day after the primary election. The breakfast, which is a party ritual, was attended by the region’s top Democrats including party chair Lon Johnson, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democratic leader Debbie Dingell, Congressmen John Dingell, John Conyers and Gary Peters, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, among others.

Some political insiders in the Democratic Party are a little bit worried about the mayor’s absence both at the unity breakfast and the convention.

Detroit is the largest Democratic constituency in the state. It is the only city that votes almost 90 percent Democrat. The mayor of Detroit plays a major role in Democratic politics.

That is why one party supporter told me on Saturday, “I don’t understand why the mayor is running away from Democrats this year. I understand the emergency manager issue in Detroit, but at the end of the day he is a Democrat.”

This particular individual, who is also involved in Detroit politics, said, “It is not an excuse for the mayor not to be here. This is the Democratic convention. What other schedule should trump this event? Even the president of the United States will not miss the National Democratic Convention if he was not on the ticket.”

On Monday I asked Duggan’s communication director, John Roach, for an explanation about the mayor’s absence at the convention, because in the past Detroit’s mayors have always played an integral role in gubernatorial elections. Roach said this to me in an email: “The mayor had a pre-scheduled trip out of town that started on Saturday and was unable to attend.”

The history of former mayor Coleman Young’s refusal to fully support the Democratic flagbearer and former governor, Jim Blanchard, in Detroit causing the Democrats to lose the election to Republican John Engler is instructive for many political watchers.

Blanchard and Young butted heads a number of times, including the accusation from Young and his administration that Blanchard was not forceful enough in supporting Detroit.

After Duggan’s communication director said the mayor was out of town during the convention, I followed with a question about whether Duggan will campaign for Schauer in Detroit. Roach added this: “I don’t know any specific plans, but he said he will be strongly supporting him.”

Make no mistake, missing the Democratic Convention is a big deal. It is hard to imagine Gov. Snyder, even if he was a lame duck governor, missing the Republican Convention. On Monday evening that was the topic of conversation among many politicos and observers who gathered at the Detroit Seafood Market restaurant in downtown Detroit. It is on top of the minds of all who are following the November election.

In fact, at one point the informal but serious conversation at the Detroit Seafood Market became somewhat of a debate: Will Duggan come out boisterously for Schauer in Detroit or will he tacitly endorse Snyder by sitting on the sidelines of this year’s deciding election?

All the while the conversation was going on, the ghost of the Young-Blanchard saga was still haunting the discussion.

“Even if he had another scheduled appointment, it seems like he could have slightly altered his schedule to stop by. Or he could have sent a high level appointee to speak on his behalf at the convention,” one observer noted.

Another observer said, “In the past the mayor of Detroit was a staple at these high profile Democratic events. Why does this present mayor choose to stand on the sidelines while Democrats are engaged in one of the most important elections in recent memory?”

One campaign veteran said Duggan has been clear in supporting candidates for various state house, Wayne County and congressional races but has yet to formally endorse Schauer.

“We cannot afford to have the top Democrat in Southeast Michigan feel like it’s okay to stand on the sideline during this election,” said the observer.

To his credit, some party insiders told me that Duggan attended the first African-American Democratic leadership meeting in Detroit and pledged to do whatever is necessary to get the Democratic gubernatorial candidate elected. But now some of those individuals want the mayor to start delivering on his own promise.

For those of us closely following politics, this is Duggan’s moment. It is his moment to show how much of a principled politician he is. This is his moment to demonstrate whether he can separate what some of his backers say is an abiding loyalty to the Democratic Party, from his current engagement with Gov. Snyder on Detroit’s issues.

Duggan gave me his word at a town hall style conversation I moderated at Detroit Unity Temple days after his election that no one will stop him from pounding the pavement for Democrats. When I put the question to him about the optics of negotiating with Snyder on emergency management issues in Detroit, and at the same time campaigning against the governor, he told me at the forum organized and sponsored by the Detroit News that he will point blank campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate and expects to have no issue. He indicated that he expects his decision to support his party to be respected.

Months later, when Gov. Snyder came to my office, I asked him a similar question, if he will have any issue with Duggan campaigning against him this fall. The governor quickly brushed off my question and wanted to change the subject.

The reality is that Detroit is still under emergency management at the behest of Gov. Rick Snyder. The state of emergency management is supposed to end in October, one month before the election, to determine whether Snyder will win another term or Schauer will topple the Republican administration in Lansing. According to plans, Duggan and city council are supposed to take full reins of Detroit’s government in October. So the countdown to October requires a delicate dance by both the mayor and the city council.

Snyder has already made it clear a financial review panel will be in place to monitor the city’s finances beyond October. Duggan said he is negotiating the terms of that oversight panel.

Inasmuch as emergency manager Kevyn Orr has given Duggan some authority, including control of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Snyder still holds the cards.

But that does not negate the mayor from expressing his loyalty to the Democratic Party in coming out fully to support Schauer, as some say. One of the mayor’s supporters told me Tuesday morning that Duggan enjoys a good working relationship with Snyder. Does that translate into a no formal endorsement for Schauer? Only the mayor can tell.

Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle and author of a forthcoming book on Detroit. His most recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” deals with the politics of the religious right, Black theology and the president’s faith posture across a myriad of issues with an epilogue written by former White House spokesman Robert S. Weiner. He is a senior political analyst at WDET-101.9FM (Detroit Public Radio) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York. Email bthompson@michronicle.com or visit https://www.bankolethompson.com.