Mayor Mike Duggan has gained majority control of two authorities overseeing anti-blight and lighting initiatives, helping him fulfill a promise to better fight blight and improve public lighting in Detroit, Darren A. Nichols reports in the Detroit News.
Duggan, who last week asked Detroiters to give him six months before assessing his performance in improving neighborhoods, got his appointments to the Public Lighting and Detroit Land Bank authorities approved Friday by the City Council after negotiating changes with Gov. Rick Snyder.
Convincing Snyder to cede one of his two appointments to the Land Bank Authority, which was awarded $52.3 million in redirected mortgage aid to eliminate blight, and shift two city appointments from council and the economic growth agency to the mayor is Duggan’s biggest coup so far. Friday’s vote culminated an agreement that let Detroit’s mayor to pick four members, while the governor made one.
Duggan also is taking over responsibility of the Public Lighting Authority board formerly appointed by outgoing Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council.Duggan said Orr was not pleased with the direction of the lighting board and was considering replacing the panel. Instead, Duggan said he convinced the emergency manager to allow him to make the appointments since their terms expired Dec. 31.
