2001 Detroit mayoral election
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Elections in Michigan |
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The2001Detroitmayoral electiontook place on November 7, 2001. It saw the election ofKwame Kilpatrick.
At the age of 31, Kilpatrick became the youngest mayor ever elected in the city's history.[1]
Background[edit]
On April 7, 2001,incumbentmayorDennis Archermade the surprise announcement that he would not be running for a third term.[2]
Candidates[edit]
Ran[edit]
Twenty-one candidates ran.[3]
Advanced to general election[edit]
- Gil Hill,Detroit City Council president and former chief of theDetroit Police Department[4]
- Kwame Kilpatrick,minority leader of theMichigan House of Representatives[4]
Eliminated in primary[edit]
- Charles Beckham, former director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and former member of the Detroit Board of Water Commissioners[5][6]
- Thomas E. Binion[5]
- Raymond Edward Boatwright[5]
- Clifford Brookins II[5]
- William C. Brooks, former United States assistant secretary oflaborfor theEmployment Standards Administration,former member of theSocial Security Advisory Board,former chairman of theDetroit Public SchoolsBoard of Education, formerGeneral Motorsexecutive[7]
- Angelo S. Brown[5]
- Delonda A. Browner[5]
- Charles C. Costa[5]
- James Del Rio,[5]former judge of theRecorder's Court[8]
- Freddie L. Fulson[5]
- John E. George Jr.[5]
- Joe Harris, auditor general of Detroit since 1995[9]
- Osborne G. Hart[5]
- Nicholas Hood III,[5][10]former member of theDetroit City Council(1993–2001)
- Raymond Lyle Jr.[5]
- Eileen Martin[5]
- James Thomas III[5]
- Roosevelt Williams[5]
- Leonard Young
Declined to run[edit]
- Geoffrey Feiger,[11]attorney andDemocraticnominee forgovernor of Michiganin1998
- Freman Hendrix,[11]deputy mayor of Detroit
- Sharon McPhail,[11]candidate in the 1993 Detroit mayoral election
- Benny Napoleon,[11]chief of the Detroit Police Department
Primary[edit]
Campaigning[edit]
The nonpartisanprimary electionwas held on September 1, 2001.
Hill had initially supported Kilpatrick for mayor, before reversing and launching his own campaign.[12]
The primary election campaign was regarded to have been largely polite in character.[13]Hill and Kilpatrick, in particular, were noted to be respectful in their regard of each other during the primary, unusually so for a Detroit mayoral election.[12]
Hill was endorsed by theAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal EmployeesandUnited Auto Workers.[13][14]
Outgoing mayor Dennis Archer did not endorse any candidate.[14]Also declining to endorse a candidate was governorJohn Engler.[15]
Kilpatrick made a number of gaffes that were seen as hampering his momentum among parts of the electorate.[14]One gaffe was remarking, while on a religious cable television program, that he did not want his sons exposed to a "homosexuallifestyle ".[14]Kilpatrick also faced some controversy, including reporting by theDetroit Free Pressthat he had solicited a $50,000 contribution to his Kilpatrick Civic Fund from the president of a tax-funded homeless shelter, as well as the management arm of the homeless shelter. The donation was used for voter education in advance of the November 2000 elections.[14]
Hill was better-known than Kilpatrick.[16]
For much of the campaign, Hill had a strong lead in polls.[12]He had held a strong lead in polls as early as May.[14]Polling, for much of the campaign, showed him to have massive leads over his competitors.[14]Hill was regarded as the clearfront-runneruntil the last weeks of the primary campaign.[13]Contrarily, Killpatrick was, earlier in the campaign, seen as a long-shot, registering as low as 16% support in polls at one point.[13]Approximately a week prior to the election, a poll was released showing Kilpatrick with a 10% lead over Hill.[12]By the end of the primary campaign, Hill and Kilpatrick were well-established in recent polls as the front-runners to advance to the general election.[15]
In the lead up to the election, it was seen as the most energized primary since the 1973 mayoral election.[12]The primary, however, was overshadowed by the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, which took place the same day.[12]Turnout for the primary wound up being one of the lowest in the city's history, with just 22% of eligible voters participating.[12][17]
Polls[edit]
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample[a] | Margin of error |
Charles Beckham |
William C. Brooks |
Gil Hill |
Nicholas Hood III |
Kwame Kilpatrick |
Others | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EPIC/MRA[18] | June 19, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 37.4% | 7.8% | 22.5% | – | 23.0% |
EPIC/MRA[18] | May 7–10, 2001 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 3.7% | 2.3% | 49.7% | 11.3% | 16.0% | 17.0% | |
EPIC/MRA[11] | April 17–18, 2001 | 344 LV | ± 5.3% | 3% | 2% | 13% | 9% | 10% | 43%[b] |
Results[edit]
Gil Hill and Kwame Kilpatrick were the top-two finishers, and therefore advanced to the general election.[14]
Kilpatrick received 51% of the vote, while Hill received 34% of the vote.[3]Turnout was 22%.[17]
Exit polling indicated that Kilpatrick ultimately led in support among most demographic groups. Hill, however, did lead with older voters.[12]
Kilpatrick's very strong performance was a surprise, while Hill was seen as underperforming.[17]
General election[edit]
Campaigning[edit]
While, due to his strong performance in the primary, Kilpatrick was initially seen as a very strong front-runner for the general election,[12]later polls began to show a close race in the general election.[3]
As in the primary, outgoing mayor Dennis Archer did not endorse either candidate.[3]
Polls[edit]
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Gil Hill |
Kwame Kilpatrick |
Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SurveyUSA[19] | October 31–November 2, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 47% | 48% | 5% | |
SurveyUSA[19] | October 27–28, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |
SurveyUSA[19] | October 20–21, 2001 | 500 LV | ±4.5% | 42% | 51% | 7% | |
EPIC/MRA[13] | September 11, 2001 | 400 | 39% | 51% | – | 10% |
Results[edit]
Kilpatrick defeated Hill 54% to 46%.[4]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Peters, Jeremy W. (November 10, 2005)."Turnaround Leads Mayor to a Surprising Victory (Published 2005)".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 6,2020.
- ^"CNN - Detroit mayor won't seek re-election - April 17, 2001".cnn.CNN. April 7, 2001.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcd"Kilpatrick appears to have won Detroit mayor's race".The Michigan Daily. The Associated Press. November 7, 2001.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abc"City Mayors: Kwame Kilpatrick - Mayor of Detroit".citymayors.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcdefghijklmnop"DETROIT MAYOR".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press. September 12, 2001.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Massey, Patreice A. (July 31, 2018)."CHARLIE BECKHAM RETIRES AFTER FOUR DECADES OF PUBLIC SERVICE".The Michigan Chronicle.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Ferretti, Christine (October 3, 2018)."Civil rights pioneer, executive William C. Brooks dies at 85".The Detroit News.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Dudar, Hasan; Laitner, Bill (April 12, 2018)."Former Detroit judge, activist James Del Rio dies at age 94".Detroit Free Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Elrick, M.L. (August 20, 2001)."Auditor general is sure he can pull down waste".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Hill, James G. (February 9, 2001). "COUNCIL MEMBER VYING FOR MAYOR".Detroit Free Press– via ProQuest.
- ^abcde"FIRST IMPRESSIONS".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press. April 20, 2001.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcdefghiLessenberry, Jack (September 29, 2001)."Detroit's mayoral primary turned upside down".toledoblade.The Blade.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcdeHill, James G.; Elrick, M.L. (September 13, 2001)."13 Sep 2001".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcdefghMontemurri, Patricia; Hill, James G.; Elrick, M.L. (September 12, 2001)."MAYOR Voters pick Hill, Kilpatrick to face off in the November election".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abPotts, Laura (September 11, 2001)."Detroit mayor not endorsing a candidate".Newspapers.The South Bend Tribune. The Associated Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^Montemurri, Patricia; Hill, James G.; Elrick, M.L. (September 12, 2001)."Somber mood overshadows primary win".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^abcCain, Charlie; McConnell, Darci; Mercer, Tenisha (November 4, 2001)."Hill, Kilpatrick step up pace".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press. The Detroit News.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.
- ^ab"CORRECTED RESULTS".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press. June 21, 2001.
- ^abc"Race tightens".Newspapers.Detroit Free Press. The Detroit News. November 4, 2001.RetrievedJuly 31,2021.