NBA Legend Dave Bing Will Run For Mayor Of Detroit

Out with horndog high school football star Kwame Kilpatrick; in with thoughtful, seven-time NBA All Star Dave Bing? Sounds like a good bench substitution to me.

Next week the Hall-of-Famer will announce his intention to run for mayor of Detroit, after years and years of listening to Michiganians like me pleading with him to throw his Pistons cap into the ring.

"I've made my decision," Bing told columnist Rochelle Riley in a Detroit Free Press exclusive. "It's time for someone with a clean, fresh outlook to lead the city."

This kickass news would bring me to tears, if I had any left.

HELP WANTED: Mayor of Detroit -- Must Have A Clue

A half dozen others may make a run for the position vacated last week by Kilpatrick, who's leaving to enjoy a respite from his unique brand of mayoral zaniness by spending quality time in jail. All of us who just loved his risque text messages are praying Kilpatrick will remember to bring his BlackBerry with him to the slammer.

"It's going to be a tough situation for anybody to manage through," Bing said in reference to Kilpatrick's embarrassing mayoral mess. Detroit also faces a budget deficit, labor contracts that expired last June, and FBI investigations into City Council shenanigans.

QUALIFICATIONS: Looking For Candidate Willing To Take One For The Team

Bing came to Detroit from Washington, D.C. as a first-round pick of the Pistons in 1966. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year, averaging 20 points a game as a guard. During his sophomore year, Bing led the league in scoring with 2,142 points -- a shocker that marked the emergence of the shooting guard as an NBA threat. Bing served as captain of the Detroit Pistons from 1966 to 1975.

"Mr. Piston" chose to build his life after basketball in the Motor City, using his savings to start The Bing Group, which supplies parts to U.S. automakers. Bing considers it a priority to employ inner-city residents and restore urban communities. The popular businessman is credited with spearheading Kilpatrick's Next Detroit neighborhood initiative that selected six neighborhoods for beautification, economic renewal, and reduction of crime. And when the Detroit public school system was going to cancel team sports, he initiated fundraising efforts to bring the programs back to life.

Alas, Bing will never be as comical as the Hip-Hop Mayor, who kept himself on the down-low while trying to sell America's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to Canada. (Whoops -- Kilpatrick's ankle tether alerted U.S. authorities that he was in Windsor illegally.) But now more than ever, Detroit needs a mayor with a clue.

Of course there's no guarantee Bing will win considering what Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp calls "Detroit's nearsighted propensity for questioning the authenticity of one's blackness because you dress conservatively, dare to speak grammatically correct, or seek suburban allies in helping remedy the city's ills."

But we'll find out soon enough. A special primary election will be held Feb. 24.

Welcome to politics, Dave! Better late than never.

Comments

[BLinCincinnati]

I know little of him but from the credentials you mention he has in regards to his acheivements after leaving the NBA he sounds like someone that would be a good choice as Mayor for a city like Detroit that is struggling with so many inner city problems. Sounds like he has the experience in that area and it is actually showing results.

[IndyReader]

I know that this is a couple of days old, but I am so glad to hear that Dave Bing has decided to run for mayor. While I have nothing against Mr. Cockrel, Detroit most definitely needs someone fresh and new to the City-County Building, and personally I don't know what's wrong with a proven businessman running the city. Of course, the most important thing is that Kwame Kirkpatrick is gone.