The 2013 Detroit mayoral election was held on November 5, 2013, following a primary election on August 6, 2013. Incumbent Mayor

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring at ...

announced that he would not run for re-election, and instead opted to form an exploratory commission to run for Wayne County Executive in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. A crowded field of candidates emerged to succeed Bing, with

Mike Duggan Michael Edward Duggan (born July 15, 1958) is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician serving as the List of mayors of Detroit, Michigan, 75th mayor of Detroit, Michigan since 2014. An Independent politician, Independent, Duggan previo ...

, the CEO of the

Detroit Medical Center The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) is a for-profit alliance of hospitals that encompasses over 2,000 licensed beds, 3,000 affiliated physicians and over 12,000 employees. Located in Midtown Detroit, the DMC is affiliated with medical schools fr ...

and the former Wayne County Prosecutor, emerging as the frontrunner. However, Duggan was disqualified from the race for failing to meet residency requirements, so he continued his campaign as a write-in candidate. He placed first in the primary election, receiving 52 percent of the vote to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon's 30 percent. In the general election, Duggan defeated Napoleon by a wide margin, 55–45%, becoming the city's first

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mayor since

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, when

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit and has been described as the "single mo ...

was elected.

Primary election

Candidates

''(write-in)'', CEO of the

, former Wayne County Prosecutor * Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff * Krystal A. Crittendon, former Detroit Corporation Counsel * Lisa Howze, former State Representative * Tom Barrow, accountant,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, 1989, and 1985 candidate for Mayor *

John Olumba John Olumba (born July 12, 1981) is an American attorney, politician and Democrat who served two terms as a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented the 3rd house district located in Wayne County, which comprises the ...

, State Representative * Fred Durhal, Jr., State Representative * Willie G. Lipscomb, Jr., retired district court judge * Angelo Scott Brown, community activist * Herman Griffin, community activist * Sigmunt John Szczepkowski, Jr., perennial candidate * Mark Murphy, community advocate * Jean Vortkamp, community volunteer * John Telford, former interim Superintendent of the

Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, ...

* D'Artagnan M. Collier, city employee

Campaign

Barrow challenged the Duggan's eligibility to run for Mayor, arguing that he had not met the city charter's residency requirements. After the city Election Commission voted to allow Duggan to be listed on the ballot, Barrow sued. On June 12, 2013, Wayne County Circuit Judge Lita Pope ordered that Duggan's name be removed from the ballot, and Duggan appealed. Shortly thereafter, on June 18, 2013, the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...

affirmed Duggan's disqualification, striking him from the ballot. Shortly thereafter, Duggan announced that he would continue his campaign as a write-in candidate. Though Barrow once again tried to block Duggan's candidacy, but his campaign continued. A barber with a similar name, Mike Dugeon, announced his own write-in campaign, causing speculation that his campaign was deliberately started to siphon votes from Duggan.

Polling

Key *A – all adults *RV – registered voters *LV – likely voters *V – unclear

Results

General election

Polling

Key *A – all adults *RV – registered voters *LV – likely voters *V – unclear

Results

Aftermath

Barrow joined with the group Citizens United Against Corrupt Government (CUACG) to challenge the results of the election. Barrow appealed the ruling that allowed Duggan to pursue a write-in campaign and sought a recount of the primary election results. Prior to the election, CUACG sought to halt the mailing of absentee ballots, arguing that the city Election Commission did not comply with procedural requirements before approving the ballots. Barrow and CUACG appealed, contesting the validity of the election results. In 2014, the

rejected the claims.

References

{{2013 United States elections

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

mayoral election 2013 controversies in the United States

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...