There will be nine Detroiters on the ballot vying to be the next mayor of Detroit when we vote in the August 5 primary. The two highest vote getters move on to the November general election.
How engaged are you in this important mayoral race? Have you read up on the candidates? Have you perused their websites, checked them out on social media, or attended an event to hear them speak?
I hope so because this is an election we cannot afford to ignore. A recent Detroit Free Press analysis of 20 years of voting data showed that while we Detroiters tend to turn out for presidential elections, we struggle to turn out for municipal elections.
Federal issues and local issues are often intertwined. Local government spends time and resources addressing national challenges by creating solutions specific to our communities. It’s not just federal issues we need to be concerned about. We also need to be concerned about who we elect to the offices of mayor, clerk, city council, and police commissioners and how they plan to address the challenges we face here in the City of Detroit. Remember, these offices are responsible for the distribution of your tax dollars — close to $3 billion annually.
How will the new mayor lead a city dealing with the whims of an unserious and chaotic president? How will the new mayor deal with federal funding cuts? How will he or she continue our recent successes with economic development and attracting businesses to the city? How will he or she work to improve our neighborhoods? How will he or she work with the business, philanthropic, community development and faith communities?
These issues and more await the next mayor. I think it’s unfortunate that, if history holds, only 1 in 5 registered voters in our city will turn out to pick the leaders who must address the issues we have and navigate the city through any challenges that arise.
In my opinion, too many segments of Detroit voters tend to be invisible. Running a campaign is expensive and, wisely, candidates tend to focus time and attention on voters most likely to turn out. These voters most likely live in the city’s middle and upper middle-class neighborhoods, and their needs are often different than those in other low to moderate income neighborhoods.
Residents struggling with housing costs, food and transportation insecurity, or safety, often do not have the time or energy to research candidates or keep up with city politics. For them, making ends meet, putting food on the table, or affording childcare is their daily focus. How do we engage this portion of the electorate and keep them engaged?
The correlation between income and voting rates is another reason why generating wealth for Detroit’s Black families is so important to me (Wealth Generation Task Force Report 2023). It’s not merely an economic goal, it is a democratic imperative, as directly evidenced by the strong correlation between income and voter participation. As data from the 2022 U.S. midterm elections demonstrates—where 67% of eligible voters with household incomes above $100,000 voted, compared to only 33% of those below $20,000—greater financial stability provides a crucial “resource advantage” (FairVote) in terms of time, money, information, and transportation, significantly reducing the practical barriers to casting a ballot. This direct link means that a wealthier Detroit electorate is a more engaged electorate, leading to a political system more genuinely responsive to the needs and interests of all its citizens.
By empowering more Detroiters to participate fully in elections, we can foster a more equitable policy landscape, ensuring that the concerns of every neighborhood and every resident are heard, addressed, and reflected in the city’s future, rather than perpetuating a cycle where lower-income voices are marginalized and policy responsiveness is skewed towards the affluent (National Low Income Housing Coalition; Econofact).
I want to find ways to improve voter engagement across all demographics in our city. An engaged electorate is a sign of a healthy democracy. It ensures a balanced and representative city government and would make our community more inclusive. We cannot afford not to do what we can to boost voting in Detroit. Our future depends on it.
Hon. Scott Benson is a Detroit City Councilman who represents the 3rd District on Detroit’s north eastside. Councilman Benson is an Urban Planner by training with a long background in real estate, business and community development in Southeastern Michigan. Scott also serves his community by sitting on numerous boards, is an avid cyclist, and a proud husband and father.
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