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The1997 Detroit mayoral election took place on November 4, 1997 in the city ofDetroit.[1] It saw the reelection of incumbent mayorDennis Archer to a second term in alandslide victory. The election was preceded by a nonpartisanprimary election held on September 9, 1997.
First-term incumbent mayor Dennis Archer was a strongfront-runner in the election.[2] Archer performed extremely well in the vote in the nonpartisan primary held on September 9, which narrowed the general election down to him and State Representative Ed Vaughn. Archer had received nearly ten times as many votes in the primary as Vaughn had.[1] However, overall turnout was low in the primary.[3] Archer had vastly outspent his opponents. Before the primary, Archer had spent $800,874 on his campaign while Vaughn spent approximately $16,000.[1]
Archer was a popular incumbent. His campaign had a strong amount of funding.[1] Archer's reputation with voters benefited from improvements in the city's economy and a sentiment that the city was making a comeback.[4] He also benefited from a number of new construction projects in the city. These included the start of construction ona new baseball stadium for theDetroit Tigers, plans for threecasinos, and plans fora new football stadium for theDetroit Lions.[1][4] He also benefited from improved municipal services, decreases incrime and new private development in the city.[2] Private investment in the city included theGeneral Motors Corporation's purchase ofRenaissance Center to serve as its newheadquarters.[5] Capitalizing off of a sentiment of optimism about the city's direction, Archer'scampaign slogan was "The hope is real. The pride is back."[6] Archer also benefited from receiving morenewspaper coverage than Vaughn.[7]
Lawyer Reginald Turner served as the head of Archer's campaign. He had previously been generalcounsel to Archers 1993 campaign.[8] Archer's chief of staff,Freeman Hendrix, served as the director of his campaign.[1]
Vaughn sought to cast Archer as a corporatist that was out of touch with the city'sworking class.[6] During the campaign, Vaughn accused Archer of neglecting the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city.[9] He also accused Vaughn of giving corporate interests control of the city, pointing to proposals by Archer of moving the city government's main offices to theGeneral Motors Building and of permitting the Founders Society to manage theDetroit Institute of Arts.[1]
Theeditorial board of theDetroit Free Press endorsed Archer on September 5. They regarded Archer;'s term as having "more pluses than minuses". They wrote,
We recommend a strong vote for giving Dennis Archer a second term. He hasn't been a perfect mayor, and the progress surely isn't coming fast enough. But he, far more than Mr. Vaughn, seems able to lead the city toward better time and solid progress. On that basis, we think he deserve re-election.[10]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample[a] | Margin of error | Dennis Archer | Rosa C. Garmendia | Ed Vaughan | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC/MRA forDetroit Free Press,WDIV-TV,WXYZ-TV[11] | June 19, 2001 | 1,000 | ± 3% | 87% | 1% | 9% | 3% |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Archer (incumbent) | 85,540 | 82.26 | |
| Edward Vaughn | 16,512 | 15.88 | |
| Rosa Garmendia | 1,939 | 1.86 | |
| Total votes | 103,991 | 100 | |
Archer received 83% of the vote, while Vaughn received 17% of the vote.[13] Archer's victory was the largest in a Detroit mayoral election sinceLouis Miriani received 85% of the vote overJohn J. Beck in the 1957 election.[14] Voter turnout was under 30%.[14]
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