Detroit (WWJ)  -- Detroit businessman Dave Bing says he would work to promote harmony between Detroit, the suburbs and the rest of the state, if he is elected mayor.

"There are fences to mend, and people absolutely have to work together," said in an interview on WWJ's Eye On Michigan Politics program. "I just don't think we can work in isolation any more--that's within the city, and outside of the city. I think I bring more, in terms of relationships, than any other candidate, to date."

Bing is a former Detroit Piston basketball player who later became a success as a businessman. The Bing Group supplies steel to the automotive industry, and elsewhere.

He said relations between the Detroit City Council and the mayor's office should be repaired, and quickly.

"City Council and the mayor's office did not seem to be on the same page--way, way too often," he said. "If, in fact, the city is going to work together, you've got to make sure the executive office and the legislative office are working together. You don't have to agree on everything, but you can't fight on everything."

Former City Council member Sharon McPhail said she was running, as well -- but her candidacy has a twist.

"First of all, I'm running for the unexpired term," McPhail explained.

"I think that the people of the City of Detroit have the right to select their mayor.  It should not be somebody who just walks in and sits down in the seat. I think that many, many people are very disturbed about having a mayor they didn't vote for," she said.

She said that she wanted to finish up business that she began in Kilpatrick's second term. "It would allow me to solidify the programs I started," she said.

She says her experience as a City Council member and a key staffer in Kwame Kilpatrick's administration gives her a unique perspective.

The city will hold a primary election in February and a general election in May. The winner will hold office until January. The winner of the November election will hold office for four years.

Later on the show, Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter explained why he voted against his party and the President Bush Wall Street bailout plan.  Does he think Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson should resign?

"Yes. He can no longer play a constructive role in the process." McCotter told the panel. "He was married to his plan. He endeavored to run a leveraged bailout on the U.S. Treasury, and that is not going to be allowed as long as I breathe," McCotter said.

Click here to listen to this week's program.

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