Could Rodriguez cure Detroit's "Inner City Blues?"
It's been an astonishing year for Sixto Rodriguez. "Searching for Sugar Man," a documentary based on his life, won an Oscar in February for telling the tale of how he became a musical legend in South Africa while living a simple life in his hometown. Rumor has it, he's now decided to make a run for the mayor of the Motor City.
Bridget Volpe, a friend of Rodriguez's who manages a bar in Detroit's Cass Corridor called The Old Miami, said he stopped into the venue earlier this month and asked her to help him collect signatures for a mayoral run.
Rodriguez didn't have much to say to Volpe in terms of a platform at the time, but he did tell her politics were an important part of his music and mentioned he had run for the office in the past.
Perhaps this shouldn't be a total surprise. Political themes figure prominently in a number of the the left-leaning folk rocker's songs like "The Establishment Blues."
According to the Detroit News, Rodriguez has campaigned for Detroit mayor twice. He's also run for spots on Detroit City Council and the Michigan Legislature.
Volpe is handling the signature-gathering right now while he's on tour in Australia and New Zealand. Petitions are available at the Old Miami and the Cass Cafe in Detroit.
"People are very excited about the prospects of him running, even if he doesn't win -- just getting attention from the rest of the country about our city and its problems," she told The Huffington Post.
Proposal E, a ballot measure that was approved by voters last November, requires mayoral candidates to gather between 500 and 1,000 valid signatures on their nominating petitions.
Even if Rodriguez does get the required amount, he'll still have his work cut out for him. The Detroit's mayor's race is crowded with potential candidates and the winner of the election will have to contend with a state-appointed emergency manager whose powers will drastically diminish the role of the city's mayor.
Take a look at some of the possible candidates for Detroit's mayoral race in our slideshow below.
