Half Of Detroit’s Mayoral Candidates Have This One Shocking Thing In Common

How bad are things in Detroit? They’ve taken to recruiting felons to run for mayor!

That’s right – 4 of the 8 candidates in Detroit’s mayoral primary coming up on Tuesday, August 8, 2017, are convicted felons, according to the Detroit News.

Half of the eight mayoral hopefuls on Detroit’s primary ballot next week have been convicted of felony crimes involving drugs, assault or weapons, a Detroit News analysis shows.

Three were charged with gun crimes and two for assault with intent to commit murder. Some of the offenses date back decades, the earliest to 1977. The most recent was in 2008…

Under state election law, convicted felons can vote and run for office as long as they are not incarcerated or guilty of certain fraud-related offenses, or crimes involving a breach of the public trust. The Detroit News reviewed the backgrounds of all the mayoral contenders.

While some refute circumstances that led to their criminal convictions, three said their past is a motivating factor in their decisions to run.

The two who have polled ahead of the field, incumbent Mayor Mike Duggan and state Sen. Coleman A. Young II, the son of the city’s first black mayor, have no criminal records. Nor do candidates Edward Dean and Angelo Brown.

Here are the rap sheets for the other half of the candidates:

Donna Marie Pitts: receiving and concealing a stolen car, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, two firearm offenses in connection with two separate shooting incidents, fleeing and eluding and operating a vehicle without a license, firearm possession and carrying a concealed weapon.

Danetta L. Simpson: assault with intent to murder.

Articia Bomer: carrying a concealed weapon.

Curtis Christopher Greene:  fourth-degree fleeing and eluding police, delivering and manufacturing marijuana, uttering and publishing a fraudulent check.

They fit right in with former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who is currently serving 28 years in prison for corruption.

After decades of Democrat rule, Detroit is one of the most downtrodden cities in the country. The city has lost more than half its population since 1950. No wonder they’re having trouble attracting good candidates.

It’s going to be another depressing election day for city voters next week.

Do you think convicted felons should be able to run for office? Tell us in the comments below!

Alexa is a freelance writer and communications consultant, with experience working on the Hill, at the RNC, and for... More about Alexa

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