1973 Detroit mayoral election

none January 2025 September 2023 1973 Detroit mayoral election File:Flag of Detroit (1972–1976).png Presidential no 1969 Detroit mayoral election 1969 1977 Detroit mayoral election 1977 1973 11 6 Coleman A. Young c1972.png Coleman Young Nonpartisan candidate 231,789 51.59% File:3x4.svg John Nichols Nonpartisan candidate 217,479 48.41% Mayor Roman Gribbs Democratic Party (United States) Coleman Young Democratic Party (United States) The 1973 Detroit mayoral election took place on November 5, 1973. It saw the election of Coleman Young as the first Black mayor of the city. Background Detroit In the previous 1969, Detroit mayoral election, which saw a narrow victory by Roman Gribbs, runner-up Richard H. Austin was the first Black person to be a major candidate for mayor of Detroit.Gribbs Elected Detroit's Mayor https://www.newspapers.com/image/376872867 Newspapers.com Chicago Tribune 25 November 2021 en subscription November 5, 1969O'Loughlin John Berg Dale A. The Election of Black Mayors, 1969 and 1973 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2561862 Annals of the Association of American Geographers 24 November 2021 223–238 1977 67 2 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1977.tb01135.x 2561862 subscription On December 29, 1972, Mayor Gribbs announced that he would not seek reelection.Flint Jerry M. Detroit Mayor Won't Run Again; White‐Black Contest Is Expected https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/29/archives/detroit-mayor-wont-run-again-whiteblack-contest-is-expected.html The New York Times 25 November 2021 29 December 1972 The New York Times wrote that it was expected that the election to select his successor would mirror 1969's election, in that it would see a Black candidate and a White candidate in the general election. Among the Black individuals seen as potential contenders were Michigan state senator Coleman Young, Judge Edward Bell, Detroit Common Councilor Ernest Browne, Gribbs aide Walter Greene, and Wayne County Sheriff William Lucas. Liberal Detroit Common Council president Mel Ravitz was initially seen as the most prominent potential White candidate for mayor. While Black voter registration had strongly lagged behind White voter registration in 1969, by 1973, the number of Black voters registered was much closer to the number of White voters registered. Previously, ahead of the September 10, 1969 primary, Black voter registration was estimated to be at 42%, compared to White voter registration, which was estimated to be at 58%. Elections of Black mayors in other cities 1967 had seen the historic elections of Carl Stokes in the Cleveland mayoral election and Richard G. Hatcher in the Gary, Indiana, mayoral election, the first elections of Black people as mayors of cities over 100,000.Morial Marc H. 50 Years Of Black Mayors https://www.huffpost.com/entry/50-years-of-black-mayors_b_596fc9abe4b0d72667b05e19 HuffPost 9 May 2019 31 July 2017 In 1970, Newark, New Jersey, joined along as a city of over 100,000 to elect a Black mayor, when it elected Kenneth A. Gibson.Wildstein David Kenneth Gibson, first Black mayor of Newark, dies at 86 https://newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/kenneth-gibson-first-black-mayor-of-newark-dies-at-86/ New Jersey Globe 25 November 2021 29 March 2019 Cincinnati joined along with its 1972 election of Ted Berry. Detroit would not be the only United States city with a population over 100,000 to elect its first Black mayor in 1973. Earlier that year, Atlanta had elected Maynard Jackson and Los Angeles had elected Tom Bradley. The same day that Detroit elected Young, Raleigh, North Carolina, elected Clarence Lightner.Raleigh Elects Black As Mayor https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/07/archives/raleigh-elects-black-as-mayor-democrat-in-philadelphia-beats.html The New York Times 25 November 2021 7 November 1973 Additionally, Dayton, Ohio, elected James H. McGee (who had previously been appointed mayor in 1970) outright to a full term that year.Rickey Lisa James H. McGee, Dayton's First African-American Mayor https://www.libraries.wright.edu/community/outofthebox/2015/02/19/james-h-mcgee-daytons-first-african-american-mayor/ Out of the Box Wright State University 25 November 2021 19 February 2015 The preceding elections in Atlanta and Los Angeles were perhaps good omens for Young's chances in Detroit, as both city's had also seen strong, but unsuccessful, campaigns by Black candidates in 1969, prior to the successful campaigns by Black candidates in 1973. Major candidates In total, nineteen candidates ran.19 in Detroit mayoral race Tuesday; Nichols, Ravitz lead https://www.newspapers.com/image/204663770 Newspapers.com Battle Creek Enquirer The Associated Press 26 November 2021 en subscription September 10, 1973 There were five major candidates. The remaining fourteen candidates were largely unknown. Edward Bell, former Wayne County Circuit Court judge John Nichols, former Detroit Police Commissioner (held this position until after primary election) Mel Ravitz, Detroit Common Council president John Mogk, Wayne State University law professor Coleman Young, Michigan state senator Primary The nonpartisan primary election was held on September 11, 1973. Campaign Two Black candidates ultimately ran, Edward Bell and Coleman Young. Nichols ran a "law-and-order" focused candidacy. Ravitz was a well-established liberal. He received endorsements from most of the city's powerful trade unions, including the Detroit Building Trades Council, Teamsters, and United Auto Workers. Young was considered by the Associated Press to be a threat to Ravitz, as both were seeking similar liberal voters. Bell was a Republican. Since Detroit was considered a Democratic Party stronghold, his party affiliation was seen as a potential liability for him. Mogk campaigned through undertaking a walking tour of the city. He was endorsed in the primary by the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press.In Detroit Mayoral Primary, John Mogk's Our Choice https://www.newspapers.com/image/98167485 Newspapers.com Detroit Free Press 26 November 2021 en subscription August 30, 1973 Shortly before the primary election, strife arose between the two Black candidates running. At the start of early September, at a nonpartisan Colorado conference featuring Black political leaders such as Julian Bond, and Richard Hatcher, it had been decided that the group would host nonpartisan get out the vote rallies in Detroit featuring Black leaders of national prominence in aims of bringing about Black political unity in the city. However, shortly after the conference ended, Young rejected this plan, as the way it had been pitched to him by Republican Inkster, Michigan mayor Edward Bivens, he was led to believe he would be prevented from inviting nationally prominent Black republican Democrats to endorse his candidacy. Bond and Fannie Lou Hamer endorsed Young's candidacy over that of Bell's soon afterwards. Bell criticized Bond and Young as having jeopardized the city's Black political unity, and of having hurt the chances of a Black candidate winning the election. Meanwhile, Young accused Republicans involved in the planned rallies of having been scheming to aid Bell's candidacy.Anderson David Black Political Unity Backfires in Detroit https://www.newspapers.com/image/625402418 Newspapers.com The Miami Herald Knight Newspapers 26 November 2021 en subscription September 3, 1973 On the eve of the primary election, the Associated Press saw Nichols and Ravitz as being the front-runners. It saw the two Black candidates, Bell and Young, as being the next-strongest contenders. It saw Mogk as a dark horse candidate, but believed that he might, "be the only challenger with potential to siphon away Nichols support and negotiate an upset." Results Having placed first and second, Nichols and Young advanced to the general election ballot. 1973 Detroit mayoral primary electionLawman Tops Detroit Race https://www.newspapers.com/image/578045215 Newspapers.com Spokane Chronicle Associated Press 25 November 2021 en subscription September 12, 1973Nonpartisan election John Nichols 96,655 Coleman Young 63,075 Mel Ravitz 52,527 John Mogk 35,458 Edward Bell 25,753 Others General election Campaign While the election was nonpartisan, both Nichols and Young were Democrats.Police Head Frontrunner In Detroit https://www.newspapers.com/image/236820398 Newspapers.com The Orlando Sentinel UPI 25 November 2021 en subscription November 7, 1973 Young was endorsed by the editorial boards of both of the city's two major newspapers, as well as by the major trade unions. Nichols received the endorsements of the city's police groups, white ethnic clubs, and homeowner associations. The campaign chiefly focused on the city's very high crime rate and the operations of the Detroit Police Department. Young ran as an opponent of the Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets (STRESS) unit that the Detroit Police Department had implemented under Mayor Gribbs.STRESS Abolished https://policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu/s/detroitunderfire/page/stress-abolished policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu University of Michigan 26 November 2021 Nichols had been one of the creators of the unit.McGraw Bill DPD's troubled relationship with Black Detroiters spans decades https://www.freep.com/in-depth/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/06/14/detroit-police-department-black-residents/5334470002/ www.freep.com Detroit Free Press 29 November 2021 en June 14, 2020 The campaign also included discussion of the racial makeup of the city's police department,McClear James A. Panel to pick Nichols's successor https://www.newspapers.com/image/100193201 Newspapers.com Detroit Free Press 28 November 2021 en subscription December 20, 1998 with Young putting forth an affirmative action plan. The New York Times characterized the election as a, "vigorous campaign that was free of outright appeals to racial fear by either candidate," and observed that this was in contrast to the races in some of the other cities where a White and a Black candidate had faced each other for mayor that year. However, the campaign was still bitter in character compared to the tenor of the previous 1969 Detroit mayoral election. On September 21, 1973, Mayor Gribbs fired Nichols as police commissioner, after Nichols refused to tenure his requested resignation.Tannian One of Band of Police-Politicians https://www.newspapers.com/image/98067829 Newspapers.com Detroit Free Press 25 November 2021 en subscription September 26, 1973 Gribbs had ousted Nichols out of a desire to separate the city election's politics and the operations of the Detroit Police Department separate.Benjaminson Peter Nichols to Collect Pension https://www.newspapers.com/image/98067776 Newspapers.com en subscription September 25, 1973 He also did so out of the belief that campaigning in a general election would be more demanding of Nichols than running in the primary had been, and that it would take him away from his duties as police commissioner.Nichols Refuses To Quit Police Post https://www.newspapers.com/image/516127907 Newspapers.com The South Bend Tribune UPI 26 November 2021 en subscription September 21, 1973 Results Voter turnout in the mayoral election declined from the record-high of 60.89% reached in the previous 1969 election. Turnout equaled more than 55% of the city's approximately 815,000 registered voters. United Press International attributed the lighter turnout to the cold weather on election day. None of the city's electoral precincts saw an increase in its turnout rate. While all neighborhoods declined in their turnout compared to the preceding election, the greatest decline in turnout was experienced in White neighborhoods on the city's northwest side, along its eastern boundary, and north of its downtown. Most Black precincts experienced only a moderate decrease, with turnout declining between 10% and 20%. The mean turnout in the city's 1,122 precincts was 50.64%, with a standard deviation of 8.23 percentage points. The mean turnout in the 295 precincts that were 90% or more Black was 52.89% with a standard deviation of 6.86%. The mean turnout in the 448 precincts that were 90% or more White was 50.76%, with a standard deviation of 7.08 percentage points. While turnout declined, more individual precincts experienced overwhelming outcomes in which one of the two candidates carried them by over 90%. 1973 Detroit mayoral general electionStevens William Detroit Elects a Black Mayor https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/07/archives/detroit-elects-a-black-mayor-state-senator-young-beats-expolice.html The New York Times 25 November 2021 7 November 1973Nonpartisan election Coleman Young 231,790 51.60 John Nichols 217,478 48.40 449,268 100 Aftermath Young would serve as mayor until 1994. Detroit would not elect a White mayor again until 2013.McLaughlin Eliott C. Detroit elects first white mayor in more than 4 decades CNN Politics https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/06/politics/detroit-elects-white-mayor/index.html CNN 25 November 2021 en 6 November 2013 References Detroit Detroit 1973 mayoral election Detroit mayor 1973