Detroit (WWJ/AP) -- NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing and incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. advanced Tuesday to a runoff election in May, when they will run to serve out the remainder of disgraced ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's second term.
Bing received 26,327 votes with Cockrel a close second tallying 24,665 votes. Former deputy mayor Freman Hendrix finished third and Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans was a distant fourth.
The four Democrats were among 15 candidates vying for the mayor's job.
Detroiters will decide May 5th who will serve as mayor from June 1 thru the end of the year to complete the term of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who was forced out of office last September after pleading guilty to obstruction charges.
Six proposals were also on the ballot. Late Tuesday night, WWJ Newsradio 950's Marie Osborne reported that all except "Proposal M" were expected to pass. To review the proposals, click here.
Four hours earlier, retiree Charles Dunn said he was only the 108th person to vote at Henry Ford High School.
``It's lousy,'' said Dunn, 57. ``It's as if they don't care.''
Fewer than 100 people had voted at her precinct when Claudia Seldon cast her ballot around noon at St. John's Presbyterian Church on the city's east side.
``I'm very upset that more people have not been here,'' said Seldon, 62, a retired registered nurse. ``I don't think it hits people that this is as important as a regular election.''
Kilpatrick resigned in September as he pleaded to criminal charges in the scandal, which involved an affair with a top aide.
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 next January. The four elections will cost $6 million for the city, reeling under the auto industry's difficulties and other problems.
The major candidates in the nonpartisan primary Tuesday were all Democrats.
Cockrel and most of the other candidates lack the business sense that Detroit needs at this time, said Dunn, who voted for Bing, a former Detroit Pistons great and founder of the Bing Group, an automotive supplier.
``Nobody else knows what they are doing or what they are going to do,'' Dunn said. ``You have to have a background in business to deal with the money that could be coming into the city.''
Seldon said she voted for Cockrel ``because I think he's done a good job under hard times at the moment, and I think he needs more time.''
The once-popular Kilpatrick was released from jail earlier this month after serving 99 days of a 120-day sentence. 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, with whom he exchanged sexually explicit text messages.
Despite Cockrel's incumbency, no candidate dominated endorsements.
Cockrel was endorsed by a number of unions. Hendrix was endorsed by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, while Bing was endorsed by The Detroit News. Evans was endorsed by the Detroit Free Press.
The Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit & Vicinity endorsed both Cockrel and Evans. Some other pastors endorsed Hendrix.
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