Day before filing deadline, Bing still unsure whether he’ll run for re-election – or is he?

With 24 hours before the filing deadline, Mayor Dave Bing said he still was not sure whether he’ll run for another four-year term.

Bing appeared to struggle when asked about his political plans during a press conference about the city’s finances at 4 p.m. Monday.

“I have another 24 hours to think about it,” Bing said. “I will sleep on it tonight and make a decision tomorrow.”

Some reporters audibly scoffed, finding it hard that the mayor hadn’t already made up his mind.

Asked why the ordinarily punctual, methodical mayor would wait until the last minute, Bing responded: “I’ve got to make sure I fell comfortable about another four years.”

To be sure, the first full term has been tough on the former basketball star, who turns 70 in November. His support has fallen dramatically over his handling of the budget crisis, which has led to the state appointment of an emergency manager.

It’s up for debate, however, whether Bing could have avoided the appointment of an emergency manager because the city had accumulated $15 billion in debt and long-term liabilities, most of which the mayor had inherited.

If he runs again, Bing said his focus will be on helping Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr create a recovery plan for the cash-strapped city.

  Basketball, budget, Deficit, emergency manager, gov snyder, Kevyn Orr, Mayor Dave Bing, Re-election, steve

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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