Cities Are Tired Of Being A Political Football In This Election
POLITICO Magazine’s Ben Wofford joins Detroit Today to talk about mayors survey.
Donald Trump painted a dystopian picture of the city of Detroit in front of the Detroit Economic Club in August.
He focused on Detroit’s high unemployment and crime rates, which are both real problems and are clearly fair game in politics.
However, to pin those problems on Hillary Clinton willfully ignores decades of complex issues and decisions that were made. Democrat Bernie Sanders’ campaign did the same thing during the primary process.
The picture Trump paints of Detroit is also at odds with Republican leaders in this state, who hope to take credit for revitalization in some areas of the city.
Now, many city leaders — in Detroit and across the country — say they’re tired of being a political football in this election.
POLITICO Magazine Contributing Editor Ben Wofford recently co-wrote an article about these city leaders, titled, “Mayors to Trump: Enough With the Hellhole Talk, Already.”
Wofford admits that mayors aren’t the most impartial group — most are Democrats. But he says they also have a duty to their residents.
“[Mayors] are on the front lines of dealing with many of the country’s most difficult issues,” he says. “So when Washington is gridlocked, mayors really feel the brunt of that. So… yes, they’re cheer-leading for Hillary Clinton… None of them hold out or seem to hold out particularly high hopes that gridlock in Washington is going to magically disappear once a Clinton occupies the White House. I think, if anything, they’re sort of bracing for the opposite”
To hear the full conversation, click on the audio player above.
