Talk:List of mayors of Detroit

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I would love to see someone take up the project of researching and posting the political parties all the mayors of Detroit were members of. I think it's kind of an important subject for this article. I would do it myself, just won't have the time for the next few months. Anyway, just a thought... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nadsab (talk • contribs) 13:31, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Detroit elections are non-partisan, that is to say that there is no parties listed on the ballot. So some Detroit mayors have never declared themselves affiliated with any party, and none of them since 1915 have had an official party designation in office.MingusMingus (talk) 17:11, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that the middle name of John C Lodge is "Christian" not "Cabot".

Twohlford 16:14, 28 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think you're right. I moved the article to John C. Lodge and updated the information in the article. older ≠ wiser 17:49, 28 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]


Removed comment about Coleman Young that he was "blamed for the demise of Detroit" which is seriously POV.MingusMingus (talk) 03:02, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the party designations should definitely be removed from all recent mayors, since Detroit elections have been non-partisan since 1915. If no one objects I will do it myself in a few days.MingusMingus (talk) 03:02, 6 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Party Designations?[edit]

Why were the party designations returned to this page for post-1918 mayors? Detroit mayors have been elected on a non-partisan basis since the 1918 Charter and do not serve as officeholders of any party. Parties do not appear on Detroit ballots, and Detroit voters do not vote for Mayors (or any other city officeholders) on a party basis. So, these party designations are deceptive as the the actual history of the electoral process in Detroit, and DO NOT belong on this page for most 20th century, and all 21st century, mayors - several of whom were never actually active in any party. I will remove these designations again, unless someone comes up with a very good reason (and I personally see no good reason) why they should remain. MingusMingus (talk) 00:36, 22 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Running in a non-partisan race does not eliminate candidate's partisan affiliations. It's incorrect to label a person "nonpartisan" when they are, in fact, Democratic or Republican. Andrew Jameson (talk) 11:48, 22 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
No, it's incorrect to label an office-holder by party affiliation when they have no such official status. The City Charter designates city elections and city elected offices as non-partisan. To ignore that is to create a distortion of the facts that ignores the basic character of the office this article is about (although I know it serves a far right-wing POV very well). Of the post-war mayors of Detroit, only Coleman Young and Kwame Kilpatrick had served in a partisan elective office before they were elected mayor. While some mayors, such as Jerry Cavanagh and Dennis Archer, were notably active in the Democratic party in their personal lives, others, like Dave Bing or Louis Miriani, had no notable political party activity before their mayoralty. In no case was any of them elected as a "Democrat" or "Republican," or with the official support of either party during the mayor's race MingusMingus (talk) 19:50, 1 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Kirkland C. Barker[edit]

For some reason, Kirkland C. Barker seems to have been left off the list. From Silas Farmer: "Mr. Barker served as alderman of the First Ward in 1863, and in 1864 was elected Mayor of the city, serving two years." Andrew Jameson (talk) 10:10, 1 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Chairman of the Board of Trustees[edit]

During Detroit's first incorporation in 1802 when the Board of Trustees elected a chairman, was the chairmen simply a first among equals with symbolic value, or did the chairman have actual executive powers apart from the board? --Criticalthinker (talk) 07:33, 27 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can tell, the chairman was empowered to call and run meetings of the Board, and (with agreement of other trustees) call and run general meetings of the populace, and had no further powers beyond that. Why do you ask (just curious)? For reference, check out Corporation of the town of Detroit: Act of incorporation and Journal of the Board of trustees 1802-1805, which includes the original incorporation document as well as meeting minutes from 1802-1805. Andrew Jameson (talk) 13:01, 27 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I asked because I thought maybe someone could clarify with a sentence that the role of the chairman was largely ceremonial since later descriptions of the empowered mayor's office makes note of expanded powers. --Criticalthinker (talk) 14:05, 27 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think the role of the chairman was largely ceremonial, per se. The Board of Trustees had real powers (unlike the appointed mayor under the 1806 charter); it's just that the chairman didn't hold many powers unique from the other trustees. The chairman is probably more analagous to the modern city council president than to the mayor. However, I think they're worth mentioning in this article because there was no seperate executive branch at the time, and so mayoral powers were in some sense held by the Board as a whole. In particular, the 1907 History of Detroit calls the chairmen "the highest dignitaries of the city," drawing a parallel between the Board chairmen and mayors. Still, it would be useful to clarify that the chairmenreally were not mayors. Andrew Jameson (talk) 20:29, 27 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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