Candidate Profile: Anthony Adams, Detroit Mayor

DETROIT — Detroit residents will vote for their city mayor in November's general elections.

To help readers make informed choices, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Anthony Adams is a Democrat running against Mike Duggan for Detroit mayor. Here's how he filled out his profile:

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Age (as of Election Day)

64

Position Sought

Detroit Mayor

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Family

Lynn Adams

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Jurist doctorate

Occupation

Attorney 45 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

President Detroit Board of Education

Campaign website

anthonyadamsformayor.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

To bring essential improvements to Detroit’s neighborhoods and the underserved.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Inequity in how the city uses resources and tax captures to build downtown and provide corporate welfare to wealthy developers while neglecting neighborhood development. I will redirect those funds to neighborhood development.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My opponents policy of benign neglect to force black and brown long term residents out of Detroit by over taxation, wrongful foreclosures, high drainage fees, violent crimes which are hushed up, inequity in hiring black contractors and preferential treatment for people who don’t live in Detroit to acquire land and other resources. He is neglecting Detroit’s library system, water system and transportation system.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

He has employed a trickle down development philosophy by providing overwhelming fiscal support through tax abatements to the wealthy and neglected small businesses support and neighborhood development

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Detroit has an abysmal vaccination rate because the current mayor neglected to use the appropriate cadre of influencers to promote and encourage vaccinations. I would’ve reached out to millennials and The hip-hop community as well as major influencers to educate and motivate residents to become vaccinated.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

• Reduce crime and reform police.
• Protect our senior citizens.
• Improve Detroiters quality of life.
• Empower black and brown citizens of Detroit.
• Restore home ownership.
• Revisit and improve Community benefit agreements from developers.
• Dismantle the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
• Continue the pause on home foreclosures.
• Support reform measures requiring charter schools operating in Detroit to have boards comprised of city residence exclusively.
• Restore equity to existing businesses with financial support and lending programs.
• Address the issue of over taxation of Detroit residents.
• Enhance the the transportation services and increase mobility options.
• Support environmental justice reforms.
• Establish a chief educational officer who will advocate for children in public and charter schools.
• Advanced the goals of universal basic income so Detroit is who are under employed receive a living wage.Create an income-based water billing system.
• Attack structural racism issues which enabled and restrict investment in working class people and businesses in the city.
• Create programs to reduce poverty in Detroit.
• Expand opportunities for seniors to engage in meaningful activities in the community and utilize inter-generational learning.Restore grant opportunities to protect and stabilize seniors in their homes.
• Adopt a more aggressive approach to enhance early intervention versus surveillance strategies of our residents.Create community intervention specialists who are proactive in addressing the root issues of conflict in our communities.
• Reduce response times and responding to priority calls for police and EMS.Create alternative methodologies for responding to non-violent service calls.
• Include a mandatory training component for police cadets which includes a community service component to facilitate increased understanding of the communities they serve.
• Provide pathways to productivity to assist the over 160,000 citizens who have become discouraged from participating in the labor market as well as those returning citizens who need to flip their scripts.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I was a senior executive in Mayor Coleman Young’s administration and was responsible for many Development projects. I ran the Detroit Water Department and no Floods occurred under my administration. I was deputy mayor under the Kwame KilPatrick’s administration and was responsible for running the city while my colleagues were embroiled in investigations and court hearings.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Always stand up for justice and equity is what my mother embedded in me

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I will work fiercely, consistently and honestly to develop our community, restore our pride, provide opportunities to those who have been left behind and develop a new generation of leaders to serve and champion Detroit.