Campaign lessons from Detroit

DC Democratic mayoral candidates debate, November 9th, 2005. Taking part in the debate were, from left, Linda W. Cropp, Adrian M. Fenty, Vincent B. Orange Sr., Michael A. Brown and Marie C. Johns. The election is a year away, but more than 700 people turned out. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, also a Democrat, has decided not to seek reelection. Photo Credit: Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post. Related Article: For 5 D.C. Hopefuls, The First Debate.

The results in Detroit, where the young "Hip-Hop" Mayor managed to retain his seat, offers food for thought for the candidates in the 2006 Mayor's Race in DC. (Last night there was the first forum for this campaign. I didn't write about it or go, 'cause it's still early).

From "How mayor turned the tables on Hendrix" (note that Detroit's population is 88% African-American):

Right and wrong

Five things Kwame Kilpatrick did right
1. Kilpatrick's knowledge of the city allowed his campaign to enlist a formidable grassroots, door-to-door campaign that turned out 20,000 more voters than cast ballots in 2000.
2. The mayor's oratorical skills served him well in the three debates.
3. The round-the-clock commercial-free coverage of Rosa Park's funeral was a boon for the mayor, as he delivered a powerful speech and was able to serve in a pivotal city leadership role.
4. The mayor had a strong platform and did well delivering it at private meetings with voters and in speeches.
5. Negative media coverage and Kilpatrick's charisma worked well for him with many city voters, who agreed with the mayor that the stories were part of an outside attempt to slam Detroit.

Five things Freman Hendrix did wrong

1. Hendrix did not do a convincing job of explaining how he would improve the city's financial crisis. He criticized Kilpatrick's budget cuts, and cuts in police and bus service, but did not suggest how he would reinstate such services with a $300 million deficit looming.
2. A Kilpatrick campaign ad last week showed a grandmother and granddaughter and told the story of when Hendrix was the head of Gov. John Engler's appointed Detroit school board. During a meeting, Hendrix had police remove the grandmother. A tape of his voice shows him yelling at the woman in angry tones.
3. He primarily campaigned with the message, "I'm not Kwame Kilpatrick," and "Kwame Kilpatrick is of bad character." That didn't work well with voters.
4. His record was unclear. People are familiar with Kilpatrick's shortcomings and achievements, but they are less familiar with Hendrix's.
5. Because of his mixed-race heritage, he wasn't able to define himself as completely African-American.