Mike Duggan Paints Over Campaign Graffiti
DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit Mayoral candidate Mike Duggan traded in his suit and tie for jeans and a t-shirt — as he and volunteers painted over more than half a dozen graffiti messages urging people to write his name on the ballot in August.
Duggan began painting Thursday afternoon at 7 Mile Road and Wyoming, near his home, and then continued to other locations.
"We are now spending campaign time going around and covering this up. This [graffiti] is not what we want," said Duggan. "... I felt it was so important to deliver a message that we're not going to run a campaign like this, and I wanted to be out here to cover up the first ones myself."
Duggan made it clear that he doesn't want people spray painting his name around the city.
He said he and his volunteers will continue to paint over graffiti urging voters to support his write-in campaign, as his office becomes aware of them.
"We're gonna go out and cover it up as fast as anybody writes it," he said. "I hope that it's not our supporters, but, if it is, I hope they'll stop."
Duggan launched a write-in campaign after an Appeals Court judge ruled he filed his petition signatures too early to get his name on the ballot. Duggan should have waited two weeks — when he then would have been a Detroit resident and registered voter for full year — to meet requirements set in the city charter.
Meantime, efforts continue to push Duggan out of the race. Activist Robert Davis and Tom Barrow, another mayoral candidate, have a pending Wayne County Circuit Court challenge to Duggan's write-in candidacy.
Duggan's campaign expects a ruling on that early next week.
Duggan, former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, has been considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Mayor Dave Bing, who is not seeking re-election. According to polls, he's a front-runner in the race — along with Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon.
