Young radio ad set to take swings at Duggan
Detroit — A group supporting Coleman A. Young II’s bid for mayor is taking a swing at Mayor Mike Duggan in its first radio ad in advance of the November election.
The one-minute spot, which Young’s campaign said will air beginning this weekend, proclaims “Detroit is for sale” and that Mayor Mike Duggan is “auctioning off the city to the highest bidder.”
The ad, funded by the Save Our City Super Political Action Committee, contends thousands of residents have been “forced out” of the city through evictions, gentrification and foreclosures. It also notes thousands “are driving with invalid licenses” due to auto insurance “redlining” and that FBI statistics rank Detroit as the nation’s most violent city.
“...and Duggan says a tale of two Detroits is fiction,” the ad concludes. “Beware. Some people will sell you a dream but deliver a nightmare.”
Young’s campaign manager Adolph Mongo said Wednesday the radio spot is set to launch first on Detroit’s 910AM Superstation.
A television ad is also anticipated and will run on the same stations as a new television ad favoring Duggan that was released earlier this month, Mongo said. Duggan’s ad is airing on all major broadcast stations and cable networks.
That 30-second spot, “Heartbeat,” highlights Duggan’s city service accomplishments over his first term.
On Wednesday, Alexis Wiley, Duggan’s chief of staff, said she isn’t surprised by the tone of the ad.
“This kind of divisive, negative ad is the kind of thing we’ve come to expect,” Wiley said. “Hopefully his next ad will actually outline a real, positive plan for the future of the city.”
The ad comes with less than a month to go until the Nov. 7 general election. In August, the mayor pulled in 68 percent of the vote to Young’s 27 percent. The two will face off at an Oct. 25 debate.
Duggan’s ad, funded and put out by the Turn Around Detroit Political Action Committee, repeats a theme in the mayor’s re-election campaign about improving city services.
CFerretti@detroitnews.com