Dave Bing! Come on down!

I don't know that much about Dave Bing and what I do know about him was primarily learned as a kid as I watched him on the hardwood--the best player and an all-star on a Pistons team that was generally outmatched.

But, I like what this man says, and I like the example of his actions. He is a man that has succeeded in Detroit's business community, created hundreds of jobs, operated ethically, and is a man both highly trusted and respected by the businessmen and citizens of Detroit and Michigan.

Oh, incidentally, he has also voiced an interest in running for the office of Mayor of the city of Detroit.

Dave Bing! Come on down!

There is much about this hypothetical match that I like. I don't pretend to be a Detroiter, but like most Michiganders, I see Detroit as the most important city in our state, the sole city within our borders with the capability to breathe life into the rest of our cities, or reversely, to suck up all the oxygen.

I have taken my fair share of shots at Detroit over the past few years too, not because I enjoy seeing it floundering, but because I am aghast at the moral and ethical depths to which its leaders have crashed. Do we even need to talk about the city's economy or the school district?

While Dave Bing might not be the answer to all of the city's problems, he certainly could be the answer for many of them, all the while his steady presence could be the catalyst behind the slow changing of attitudes that needs to take place before Detroit can even come close to regaining its place as A Great American City.

Some things that I like about Bing.

Dave Bing will not have to rely on the old guard. He is well connected enough in this city that he will not have to depend on one corrupt bureaucrat to assist him in the building of his new model. He could gain the election without the endorsement of any sitting member of the tainted city council, the tainted mayor, tainted police chief or any tainted dog catchers for that matter. He is not an insider.

Bing has no desire to feather his nest while in office--in fact he has stated his administration would only be for four years. While I think four years might not be long enough to root out the pervasive corruption that has wormed its way into every level of every department of the city, Bing has said he would want to make the tough decisions and then turn the reins over to the new guard. While I fear that four years will not be long enough for his tough choices to bear fruit or for self-centered attitudes to be tossed aside, the fact that his primary motivation for office is not to bask in the glowing light of power and prestige for the rest of his life is very encouraging.

However, Detroit's problems go much deeper than just corruption. Some of its problems are firmly anchored in poor economic policy and the citizenry's embrace of envy as its principle motivator in voting. Dave Bing is a successful businessman. He knows what it takes for local government to assist in the creation of private sector jobs. He also knows what the burden is on the private sector when high minded bureaucrats enact policies that hobble businesses and home owners, drive them out of town, out of southeast Michigan and out of the state.

Dave Bing, as a businessman, also understands that you do not have jobs without employers, and you do not have employers without profit and wealth. Dave Bing understands that employers are not the enemy of the poor any more than the rich are the enemy of the poor. Dave Bing understands that envy by those who vote, and apathy by those who do not, are the destructive forces behind Detroit's collapse. It is, after all, these emotions that gave rise to the power of Kwame Kilpatrick and an embarrassingly pathetic city council.

All in all, I'm encouraged by Dave Bing's interest in a very thankless job.

I think the man might be just what Detroit needs, and I haven't even talked about his jump shot yet.