Government of Detroit

The flag of Detroit

The government of Detroit, Michigan is run by a mayor, the nine-member Detroit City Council, the eleven-member Board of Police Commissioners, and a clerk. All of these officers are elected on a nonpartisan ballot, with the exception of four of the police commissioners, who are appointed by the mayor. Detroit has a "strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets, but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council.[1]

The 2012 Charter added political bodies to council districts called Community Advisory Councils. They are created by the circulation of petitions by residents.[2] In March 2014 The Detroit City Council passed an ordinance that formalized the directive given in the City Charter.[3][4] Members of the Seventh District CAC were elected in the 2016 general election on November 8.[5] In October 2019 a local activist submitted petitions to make District 4 Detroit's second CAC.[6][7] Members were elected to it in the 2020 general election.[8] In 2022 District 5 residents elected their first Community Advisory Council as well.[9][10]

Municipal elections for Mayor, City Council, City Clerk and Community Advisory Council Members are held in years following presidential elections (such as 2013, 2017 and 2021).[1]

In 2018 the people of Detroit voted to revise the city charter, and elected a Charter Commission for that purpose.[11] The revised charter could have substantially changed the structure of the government of Detroit if it was approved.[12] However voters rejected the revisions in the 2021 primary election.[13]

  1. ^ a b "Charter of the City of Detroit" (PDF). detroitmi.gov. City of Detroit. January 1, 2012. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  2. ^ "The Detroit Charter and City Government ARTICLE 9. CHAPTER 1. COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCILS". detcharter.com. 2012 Detroit Charter Revision Commission. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. ^ "Detroiters Push to Establish Community Advisory Councils in City Districts". wdet.org. WDET 101.9 and Wayne State University. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  4. ^ "Action Alert: City Council Evening Meeting Monday March 3rd". detroitpeoplesplatform.org. Detroit Peoples Platform. March 3, 2012. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  5. ^ "Wayne Co., Mi General Election 11/08/16 Total Results" (PDF). waynecounty.com. County of Wayne. November 23, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  6. ^ Losinski, Brendan (October 15, 2019). "Community Advisory Council approved for Detroit's 4th District". candgnews.com. C & G Publishing. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  7. ^ "Community Activist Files 1,570 Signatures to Create Community Advisory Council". telegramnews.net. Telegram Newspaper. October 3, 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  8. ^ "City of Detroit Community Advisory Council District 4 Partial Term Ending 01/01/2022" (PDF). waynecounty.com. Wayne County Michigan. November 5, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  9. ^ Carter, Piper (October 25, 2022). "Detroit Community Advisory Council {CAC} Candidates Running For District 5 on Nov 8". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  10. ^ "District 5 Community Advisory Council". detroitmi.gov. City of Detroit. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  11. ^ Henderson, Stephen (October 15, 2018). "Detroit Will Elect a Commission to Revise Its Charter… Again". wdet.org. WDET. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  12. ^ Perkins, Tom (November 7, 2018). "Community delivers blow to Duggan-Gilbert axis in Detroit Charter Commission race". metrotimes.com. Metro Times. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  13. ^ Williams, Candice (August 4, 2021). "Detroit's controversial charter revision plan, Proposal P, fails". detroitnews.com. The Detroit News. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-23.