November 5, 1969
Black candidate wins Detroit mayoral election
Yesterday’s mayoral election in Detroit marked a major milestone for civil rights. Richard Austin will become the first Black mayor of Detroit, and only the second Black mayor of a major American city after Carl Stokes became the mayor of Cleveland two years ago. The election to replace outgoing mayor Jerome Cavanagh featured three candidates: Roman Gribbs [1], Wayne County Sheriff, Richard Austin, an accountant and Wayne County Auditor, [1] and Donald Lobsinger, the leader of the radical right-wing group Breakthrough. Austin won with 49% of the vote, Gribbs with 48% of the vote, and Lobsinger with 3% of the vote. [2]
While Lobsinger won only a small percentage of the vote, his presence in the race prevented Gribbs from receiving an outright majority. As mayor, Lobsinger promised to “crack down on criminals, anarchists, black power and other communist-inspired subversives”, [3] an appeal to whites fearful of riots and increasing crime. However, while Lobsinger’s overtly racist campaign failed to gain a mass following among Detroit voters, it is clear that the election split along racial lines, with Whites overwhelmingly voting for Gribbs and Blacks overwhelmingly voting for Austin.
Mayor-elect Austin comes into office during a tumultuous time in the city’s history. After the city suffered the meltdown of the nearby Fermi plant three years ago, the city is quickly deteriorating. Crime is rising, property values are falling, and GM and the Red Wings are leaving town. One can hope Austin will succeed in what his predecessor failed to do.