DETROIT — NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing and incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. advanced Tuesday to a May 5 runoff election, vying to serve out the remainder of disgraced ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s second term.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Bing received 26,104 votes, or about 29 percent, while 24,500 ballots, or 27 percent, were cast for Cockrel. The Democrats were among 15 candidates vying for the mayor’s job in the nonpartisan special primary.
“I promise to fight for improvements in public safety, education, and most important, employment,” Bing told supporters at a victory rally. “It looks like the people of Detroit agreed with us that we had the right message.”
Cockrel, the former City Council president who became mayor when Kilpatrick resigned, quickly looked to portray himself as the candidate with the right experience to win in May.
“I’ve got a proven track record of political leadership,” he told WXYZ-TV.
Former Deputy Mayor Freman Hendrix was third with 21,036 votes. Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans was fourth with 9,119.
City Clerk Janice Winfrey estimated that only 9 percent of Detroit’s 626,000 registered voters cast ballots.
The regularly scheduled primary is in August, with the runoff in November. The winner in that campaign will serve a regular four-year term starting in January. The four elections will cost $6 million for the already cashed-strapped city.
The once-popular Kilpatrick was released from jail earlier this month. He pleaded guilty in September to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault. He admitted he lied during a civil trial to cover up an affair with his chief of staff.
