DETROIT — The final Detroit mayoral debate between Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon and former Detroit Medical Center (DMC) CEO Mike Duggan ended on a sour note, as both candidates answered questions from a studio audience and engaged in a heated debate over their own qualifications and the future of the City.

The event, held at and broadcast from WXYZ’s studio on Tuesday, Oct. 29, was moderated by Chuck Stokes, the channel’s public affairs director. Residents were able to participate from the Charles H. Wright Museum, where a crowd had gathered to watch the debate on a big screen and also asked the candidates questions of their own.

The first question referenced Detroit as “the most dangerous City in the country,” and asked the candidates how they would initiate a plan to change that.  Duggan said that the City’s police response time is the main problem behind crime rates, stating that he would even put police officers who are currently behind desks out on the streets. 

Napoleon disagreed with Duggan’s approach, stating that he wants to prevent crime so that, in turn, the City wouldn’t have to worry about response time.  He mentioned a square mile initiative that would station a police officer in every neighborhood of the City and claimed that when he served as Detroit Police Chief, he was able to cut crime by 30 percent. 

Napoleon

The two candidates butted heads over a question on how they could improve quality of life in the City. Duggan cited abandoned homes and dead street lights, as a major concern of his. The County recently announced a plan that would restore some of the street lights in the next five years, but Duggan said that isn’t enough. 

“We have got to get the street lights turned on, because we can’t continue living in the dark in this community. We have to hold these repair crews accountable,” Duggan said.

Duggan also said he plans to tackle abandoned homes by having the City buy them out and place families in them. He referenced his time as a Wayne County Deputy Executive from 1987-2001 and said he was able to place over 30,000 families in abandoned homes.

Napoleon, however, fired back at Duggan’s response, stating that a mayor has no authority to be tackling street lights or seizing abandoned homes, as that would be under the County’s duties. In a rebuttal, Duggan said he was “shocked” at Napoleon’s response, saying that the Mayor appoints three people to a five-member lighting authority and went on to promise voters that, as mayor, the issue could be tackled. 

Duggan.

The candidates didn’t disagree on all of the questions, however. Both of them agreed that one of their first priorities would be to try to revoke Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr from his duties by the end of 2014. The two also agreed on a question about how they would assist children in Detroit’s communities, stating that they need more playgrounds and after school activities to keep them off the streets. 

Napoleon made multiple attempts to remind voters that he has a long history with the City, stating that his daughter was a product of Detroit Public Schools and his nieces and nephews all attend the City’s public schools as well. Napoleon said that he interacts with Detroit residents on a daily basis and is familiar with their hardships. 

During a question on whether the candidates would allow Orr to make pension cuts on retirees, Duggan pointed out that, of Detroit’s $18 billion deficit, only about $2 billion of it comes from pensions.  Duggan said he could eliminate the deficit without touching pension plans, claiming he was able to restore DMC in a similar fashion, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. 

But Napoleon quickly went on the offense, calling Duggan’s achievements at DMC a “fallacy” and saying he was involved in loan frauds, thousands of layoffs, paying ‘ghost’ employees and increasing his own salary. Duggan, who seemed appalled by his opponent’s response, stated “I don’t believe you even said that. There are some things you’re going to regret when this campaign is over.” 

Napoleon continued his offense in his closing statements, stating that the media has been unfair to him in the coverage of the campaign, making it seem as if Duggan was a shoe-in for the mayoral position. 

“This media in this town has been grossly unfair. They have forgotten everything they have ever written about Mike Duggan — bribes, fraud, kickbacks, no-bid contracts, ghost employees. Mike’s just not right for Detroit,” Napoleon said. “Big business and big money is now behind this race. They are trying to convince you that this is the best thing for you. The fact is, they can’t buy your vote, and I don’t believe that your vote is for sale. This is all propaganda. They want you to stay home. They want you to not vote.”    

Following the debate, Duggan retaliated to Napoleon’s closing statement during a media briefing, claiming that his opponent’s campaign has become ‘desperate.’

“You get desperate when a campaign’s not going well, and you say things you don’t mean, and I have no doubt that he’s going to feel badly about it in a week or two,” Duggan stated.

But, regardless of the exchanges between  the two candidates, what mattered was what voters thought of their performance during the debate. Many Twitter and Facebook users pointed out that Napoleon had resorted to taking cheap shots, while Duggan focused more on directly answering the questions that were asked. 

But audience member Jackline Ross, 65, seems to disagree. She tells The Arab American News that she came to the debate as an undecided voter, but will now leave supporting Napoleon, because he seems more sincere towards Detroit’s residents, whereas Duggan is just strictly business. 

“I think Napoleon answered all of the questions very sincerely and very specifically. Politicians will say a lot of things, and we know they are not going to be able to do all those things. What I was looking for is, who can I trust? Who is going to deal with Detroit’s residents? Who is going to do something about Detroit’s neighborhoods? And I got my answer.”

In a poll conducted by WXYZ, between Oct. 24-26, residents were asked who they were going to support on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Duggan came in the lead, with 52% of likely voters supporting him, while Napoleon had 26%. Duggan also took the lead with absentee ballot votes, with 50% of the vote compared to 26% for Napoleon, among voters who said they had already voted.