DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is deep in campaign mode. But not his own.
The three-term mayor, whose name is being floated as a possible Democratic candidate for Michigan governor, knows the value of his and his majority Black city's support for Vice President Kamala Harris in November's presidential election.
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Duggan, like some other major city mayors across the country, is using his political pull to help mobilize voters in his city as Harris is set to visit Monday in a Labor Day slate of events by the Democrat and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Mayors tend to be elected along partisan lines with policies reflecting the views of the majority of voters in their cities. Of the largest 20 cities in the United States based on population, only Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, have Republican mayors.
Mayors “know what’s at stake,” said Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, a Democrat who adds that he’s “all in for the vice president.”
For Duggan, it’s all about getting Harris and Walz elected.
Michigan is among the top swing state prizes Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump are vying for this fall, ever aware that Trump won the state by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016 before losing it to President Joe Biden in 2020 by about 150,000 votes.
Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, is one of the top Democratic strongholds in the country, with turnout expected to top 50% of registered voters for the general election, according to its city clerk.
Soon after Biden bowed out of this year's presidential race, Duggan endorsed Harris. An August rally in the Detroit area drew 15,000 people, according to Harris' campaign. Trump later would falsely claim an image of thousands of people waiting at airport for the rally was fabricated with the help of artificial intelligence.
City Clerk Janice Winfrey said 55% or more of Detroit’s registered voters could cast ballots in November. About 51% of registered voters cast ballots for Barack Obama when he first ran for president, Winfrey said.
“Everybody wants to be involved,” said Winfrey, adding that Duggan’s involvement in voter outreach extended to his support for a 40% increase in her budget.
But it's more than popularity driving mayors to cozy up to current and future presidents. Communities rely on millions in federal dollars for anything from infrastructure projects to hiring more police officers.
“We need to get things done,” said Ginther, who also serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “There’s not a Republican or Democrat way to pick up trash, plow the streets or keep people safe. One of the major platforms is housing. By far it’s the No. 1 issue facing mayors around this country, whether Donald Trump is elected or the vice president is elected president.”
Over the past five years, Detroit has invested about $1 billion to create more than 4,600 affordable housing units in the city. Federal, state and city funds helped pay for those projects.
“Every mayor makes their own decision," Duggan said. “The cities have done enormously well under Biden/Harris.”
Detroit was awarded about $706.5 million in federal grant funding under the Trump White House. Biden's administration has awarded and committed more than $2 billion to the city, according to Duggan's office.
The American Rescue Plan, a 2021 federal coronavirus relief measure signed by Biden that included funds for state, city and tribal governments, "probably accelerated Detroit’s recovery by 10 years,” Duggan said.
The city, deeply in debt and with annual budget deficits in the millions of dollars, was steered into and out of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history by a manager appointed by Michigan's then-Republican governor a decade ago. Under Duggan, the city's finances have stabilized and budget surpluses now are the norm.
“What the American Rescue Plan did was give us the ability to rebuild our cities faster," Duggan said. "When Donald Trump ran for president he promised big infrastructure but never delivered on any of it.”
The nation's housing crisis should be foremost on the minds of mayors, both Democrat and Republican, according to Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of the nonprofit Center for Popular Democracy.
“I think that what we’re going to see is not only mayors doing the thing that is right and is smart in terms of engaging their constituents and informing them of what’s in their best interest," Mejia said.
Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles also is pushing for voters to cast ballots for Harris. Giles, a Republican who has soured on Trump, was among several GOP politicians who spoke in favor of Harris at last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Giles said he's had more contact with the Biden administration than Trump's administration, a difference he attributes to Trump working more closely with governors.
“Around election time, it does seem mayors get more engaged in partisan politics than we normally do,” Giles said. “We want to have good relations with the incoming administration. It's in our cities' best interests.”
But Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a fellow Republican, sees things differently. The former Democrat, focusing on the GOP’s tough approach to crime, told attendees in July at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that he wants to help put Trump back in the White House.
Kwame Kilpatrick, who spent five years in the Michigan state House and seven years as Detroit’s mayor, said all mayors simply hope for access to the White House.
Kilpatrick also served more than seven years of a 28-year federal prison sentence for corruption during his time as mayor. Kilpatrick, whose sentence was commuted by Trump in 2021, now works as a political consultant. A lifelong Democrat, Kilpatrick said he supports Trump’s reelection bid and will register as an independent.
“Mayors rarely have to pick up the phone and call Washington for anything, but when they do pick up the phone, they want to be able to access government in Washington when they need to,” said Kilpatrick, who resigned as Detroit’s mayor in 2008 after a text-messaging sex scandal.
For his part, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, a Democrat, said he is working to get voters in his city engaged this election cycle and is "100%, without a shadow of a doubt” behind the Harris/Walz ticket.
“I have challenged people in our community who can vote, should vote and don't vote," Johnson said. “I talk to people on the ground about what the stakes are. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It’s a contact sport.”