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It’s getting hot in HERE! And the political heat that is
being put on incumbent Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson has been
intensified nearly 100 percent. It appears that former Mayor
Michael Bell and current Councilwoman Sandy Spang have
decided to join Sandra Drabik Collins, Opal Covey and Carty
Finkbeiner, in the fray to snatch away her hopes to fill the
remaining two years of the late Mayor Michael D. Collins’
term.
What is behind Hicks-Hudson’s more than fair share of
opposition and competition in a city that has never elected
a black female mayor in its history?
According to some, there have been a few leadership hiccups.
She has rebuffed overtures from people with enormous
political clout and ruffled feathers among the political
establishment by providing access to neophytes who have been
able to somewhat influence her campaign.
Others point to current fiscal problems they think may have
provided openings to be exploited by mayoral hopefuls. “How
do you get in a budget deficit position when your revenues
are up and you’re making more money than you were making
before in the general funding, and your expenses are
declining? You’re not paying for the jail.You’re not paying
for pools. You’re paying out less money while making more
money and yet you’re in a deficit. How does that happen and
you go from a $5 million surplus to a deficit? Political
Payback?” a political power player ponders.
However, Hicks-Hudson seems to be both a hard-nosed
administrator and effective campaigner. She is in high
demand for personal appearances and omnipresent in the
activities of City Hall, neighborhoods and community events.
She has also developed “a sharp edginess” and has shown, in
her toe-to-toe battle with Local 92 firefighters union
leadership, that she can “scrap” with the best of those who
attempt to knock the political chip off of her shoulder.
Speaking of deficits, another possible but overlooked reason
for the abundance of competitors is Carty Finkbeiner’s
presence in the mayoral race.
Both loved and hated by members of the black community and
others, Finkbeiner has been accused of having a history of
inheriting surpluses but departing office leaving budget
deficits as a parting gift for his successors. Mike Bell and
Jack Ford, the City’s previous African-American mayors and
who both followed Carty, were challenged with cleaning up
the messes he left behind. “The trouble with Carty,” said a
political operative, “is
he will tell anyone anything they want to hear and they
believe him, and then when he gets in
[office]
he does whatever he wants to do, and it works every time.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”
Yet, if truth be told, it is likely that the
intersectionality of race and gender–based politics that
lies at the center of both the heated campaign competition
and the negative water cooler critiques of Hicks–Hudson’s
organizational or leadership performance.
The mayor, who suddenly found herself in the eye of an
economic storm with the untimely death of predecessor
Michael D. Collins, has forged ahead in solidifying the
ProMedica move downtown, presenting a viable package to keep
Jeep production and jobs at current levels and getting out
front of the toxic water/algae bloom problem.
While research and history have shown that white voters are
often willing to vote for minority candidates, research and
reality indicate that when the candidate is both black and
female that her political support is diminished among all
groups except other black women, who overwhelmingly support
her.
And, unless a black female candidate has amassed extensive
political experience, she is likely to regularly face
condescending attitudes by white males, white females and
others. If she is not loud, uneducated, streetwise or fits
other negative black female stereotypes, black women
political candidates are also often publicly devalued in
order to create the perception that she is not a
credible candidate or “not equal” to others.
As stated by highly esteemed author/activist
bell hooks (1984) “White women and black men have it both
ways. They can act as oppressor or be oppressed. Black men
may be victimized by racism, but sexism allows them to act
as exploiters and oppressors of women. White women may be
victimized by sexism, but racism enables them to act as
exploiters and oppressors of black people.”
But, black women leaders, doubly bound by race and gender,
are in a no-win situation, causing them to receive more than
their fair share of competition and opposition.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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