Duggan Plans Announcement Wednesday on 2021 Mayoral Race
By Christine Ferretti and Sarah Rahal
The Detroit News
Detroit — Mike Duggan on Wednesday is expected to be joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, city leaders and residents as he makes an announcement regarding the 2021 mayoral race.
The second-term mayor's announcement will be done virtually, the Duggan for Detroit campaign said in a Monday email, with Duggan noting, "I wish we could all be together in person as we were at the Samaritan Center" four years ago.
Duggan formally declared his second-term bid for the city's top office in February 2017.
"Being mayor of the great City of Detroit has been the honor of my life," Duggan said in a Monday statement from the campaign. "You’ve supported me from the very beginning and for that, I can’t thank you enough."
Alexis Wiley, Duggan's former chief of staff, is now leading his re-election campaign. Wiley said Wednesday that the mayor has been focused on jobs and housing as well as addressing the disparities magnified nationwide by the COVID-19 crisis.
Detroit was hard-hit early on by the virus, which to date has accounted for 1,608 deaths and 22,053 confirmed cases overall in the city.
The city, under Duggan, was among the first in the country to acquire 15-minute rapid testing kits and set up a drive-up testing site, at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds. The site since been relocated to a city recreation center.
In 2017, Duggan sailed to victory over former state Sen. Coleman A. Young II, pulling in over 70% of the vote.
The mayor touted major service improvements in his first term, including the installation of 65,000 new LED street lights, improved police and EMS response times and new city buses. He also launched the Detroit Promise, a program to provide two years of free college to graduates of any city high school.
Detroit, during that time, welcomed several major automotive manufacturing centers and other corporations as well as the Little Caesars Arena.
The city also embarked on a massive federally-funded blight elimination effort. The program, which began in spring of 2014, took down more than 15,000 homes but was plagued with controversy and the focus of federal, state and local investigations and reviews amid concerns over rising costs and bidding practices.
In his most recent years, Duggan has shifted focus to boosting revitalization efforts in city neighborhoods and getting Detroiters back to work.