Bing Wins Four Year Term, Props D And S Approved

Detroit (WWJ/AP)  -- Detroit Mayor Dave Bing will be in office for another four years.  The former Detroit Pistons star beat challenger Tom Barrow in the city's fourth mayoral election of the year.  

With 100% of the precincts reporting Bing had 70,060 votes or 56% of the vote.  Barrow had 50, 757 votes or 41% of the vote. 

Bing was elected in a May runoff to complete the second term of Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008 as part of pleas in two criminal cases.

There were two proposals on the ballot.

Proposal S, which is a 500-million dollar bond issue to build ten new high schools and renovation of 20 others, won approval by an easy margin.   

Proposal D, which would change the way council members are elected, won easy approval.  The proposal calls for seven council members to be elected by district and two others elected at large.   

In the City Council race, former TV anchor Charles Pugh will replace Ken Cockrel Jr. as city council president after receiving the most votes in Detroit's nonpartisan general election.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Pugh had 88,704 votes. Ex-Detroit Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown was second with 80,698 votes.  Saunteel Jenkins was third.  Cockrel was fourth. 

The other members of City Council who will take seats at the table next year are incumbents Brenda Jones, Joann Watson and Kwame Kenyatta, along with Andre Spivey and James Tate. 
  
The top vote-getter automatically wins the council presidency. Pugh also received the most votes in an August primary.

Another incumbent, Alberta Tinsley Talabi, was voted off council.  She finished 11th. 

An FBI probe into City Hall corruption has focused much attention on the council.

For the Charter Commission the top nine right now are Freman Hendrix, Teola Hunter, Ken Coleman, Jenice Mitchell Ford, Reggie Reg Davis, Rose Mary C. Robinson, Ken Harris, John Johnson and Cara Blount.  

Four Detroit School Board members were elected.  They were Lamar Lemmons, Ida C. Short, Reverend David Murray, and Carol Banks.  Incumbent Marie Thorton finished last in the election.