Detroit Mayoral Race Looks Like NBA Reunion

He replaces disgraced Kilpatrick

(AP) - Businessman and professional basketball Hall-of-Famer Dave Bing has been elected Detroit's newest mayor and will serve through the end of the year. The 65-year-old Detroit Pistons great defeated incumbent and fellow Democrat Ken Cockrel Jr. today in a special runoff election, 52.3% to 47.7%. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick can't catch a break. Currently serving at least 14 months in prison for parole violations stemming from a 2008 conviction of perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice from the so-called Text Messaging Scandal, he's now been indicted by a grand jury on 19 counts of fraud and tax evasion. According to prosecutors, Kilpatrick failed to report over $640,000 of taxable income that he received while mayor of Detroit, and spent on things like golf lessons, a Cadillac, and summer camp for his kids. More»

Mayor sees shrinking city as way to close massive deficit

(NEWSER) - Battered Detroit wouldn’t have to struggle to pay for services in the vast areas of the city that are essentially abandoned if they didn’t exist—so it’s going to bulldoze them. Mayor Dave Bing did the calculus on a $300 million budget deficit and the 33,500 empty houses and 91,000 empty residential lots and came up with the solution. Over 3 years, a quarter of the city and 10,000 homes will come down, remaining residents will be relocated, and resources will be focused on still-viable neighborhoods. More»

(NEWSER) - If Detroit's ousted mayor hoped to catch a break in court today, he was very much disappointed, the Detroit News reports. After upbraiding Kwame Kilpatrick as "arrogant" and "defiant," the judge told the disgraced politician he'd have to serve his full 4-month sentence for obstructing justice with no hope of early release. Kilpatrick got in hot water for trying to cover up an extramarital affair and for pushing around deputies who served a subpoena. More»

Plea-deal felon apologizes, talks of his 'standards for excellence'

(NEWSER) - Hours after pleading guilty to two felony perjury charges, disgraced Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gave a televised address that the Detroit Free Press called part apology, part campaign speech. "This city always gets up," said Kilpatrick, pointing out the "standards for excellence" he has established. "I want to tell you, Detroit, that you done set me up for a comeback.” He will step down, serve four months in jail and give up his pension as part of a plea deal. More»