Detroit mayoral election: How could it affect Windsor?

Residents of Detroit will head to the polls on Tuesday to choose their new mayor. They decide between incumbent Mike Duggan and Coleman Young Jr. 

Duggan has been mayor of Detroit for one term. Young's name may sound familiar because his father, Coleman Young, was the first black mayor of Detroit in 1974. Young Jr. has held political office, serving two terms as the elected Democratic State Representative, and was also elected to the Michigan House of Representatives.

Speaking over the phone with Young, in between hellos to people on the street, he spoke about how he plans to interact with the City of Windsor should he win the election.

"I think I'll do a better job of reaching out," said Young. "Making sure that we are utilizing economic development with Windsor." 

He wants to make sure the border development between the two countries allows for the neighbours in Detroit to benefit, as well as keep the trade partnership strong between the two border cities. Its success impacts Detroit and the state of Michigan, said Young.

Many Canadians travel to Michigan for work. There's been concern for work visas as NAFTA is being renegotiated and with the addition of travel bans. Young plans to use his position to talk to those in Washington about how these policies have an adverse affect on our borders and the economy on the city of Detroit.

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"Right now it's a burden for people coming over here working as nurses," he said. "That's something we definitely want to be able to fix."

Young highlights the auto and health industry as two important economic drivers for the city. 

"We want to keep that growing, so we'll continue to reach out to those in international trade, the mayor of Windsor and other mayors," said Young.

There are concerns on both sides of the border for the new bridges. For Young, it's the lack of community benefits, specifically that Detroiters are not getting hired to work on the project like "they should."

"I don't think they're represented in their jobs," he said. "There are a whole bunch of folks who have skills, who are hungry, who are unemployed, who need jobs who can't get them."

Environmental issues are on his radar and Young wants the area to be more energy efficient and protect the environment. He's looking to have better air quality along the border with trucks idling on the bridge and waiting to cross.

He wants to see trucks retrofitted to put out less carbon dioxide, homes with better air filter systems, and he's hoping to get a carbon capture program which would turn it into renewable energy.

"A lot of green house gas comes from buildings," said Young. "We need to retrofit our buildings and we need to retrofit to the highest zoning standard possible."

Detroit and Windsor have had a very semiotic relationship for a very long time, said Jerome Vaughn, news director for WDET in Detroit.

"Overall there's a real understanding that the two are stronger together," he said.

Relationships differ from mayor to mayor, but Vaughn said mayor Drew Dilkens and Duggan have worked together.  The international Gordie Howe bridge was also a bi-city accomplishment. 

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"The city along with Windsor is making a real push, putting in a real bid to try to attract Amazon, because that could potentially mean 50,000 jobs for the region and be a big game-changer," Vaughn said.

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As for work visas, that may be difficult to have input on, as the city of Detroit is Democratic and the House, Senate and White House currently have the Republican majority.

"They could reach out to members of congress," he said. "That's something they would be working for, because whether they're inside the city or outside the city, all of Michigan understands the importance of that."

Multiple attempts were made by CBC Windsor for an interview with Duggan, however, none was responded to.