Freman Hendrix

Freman Hendrix was a 2005 and 2008 mayoral candidate in Detroit. The son of an African-American Army veteran, Emmanuel Freman Hendrix and an Austrian-born woman, Rudolfine Ernegger, he was Deputy Mayor for former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer.

He lost to incumbent Kwame Kilpatrick in the November 8 2005 election. In the August 2 primary election Hendrix outpolled Kilpatrick by a comfortable margin, with Kilpatrick coming in a solid second. On November 9 2005 Freman Hendrix lost the election by 47% to 53%.

History

Hendrix managed a successful mayoral campaign for Dennis Archer in 1994, and worked for Bill Clinton's Presidential campaign in Michigan. Hendrix served the administration of former Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara for three years.

He graduated from Inkster High School and has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Eastern Michigan University. Hendrix is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, and was initiated into the Delta Nu Chapter at Eastern Michigan University.

He is the former chief of staff and deputy mayor of Detroit under former Mayor Dennis Archer; former chairman of the appointed Detroit School Board; former assistant Wayne County executive; former chief operating officer of Strategic Staffing Solutions.

Freman Hendrix joined EMU in August 2006 as chief government relations officer to focus on strengthening relationships with legislators in Lansing and Washington, D.C. He has served in many public and private-sector roles, including assistant Wayne County executive; chairman, Detroit Public Schools’ Board of Education; and deputy mayor, city of Detroit. He received his bachelor of business administration degree from EMU in 1982. [cite web |title=A conversation with ... Freman Hendrix |Eastern Michigan University |url=http://www.emich.edu/communications/exemplar/fall07/hendrix.html]

2005 Campaign

The city's major daily papers, the "Detroit News" as well as The "Detroit Free Press", endorsed Hendrix. The alternative weekly, "Metro Times", somewhat reluctantly endorsed Hendrix. Its editors deem Hendrix "has served the public without the taint of scandal, although soiled somewhat by his associations," and claims that as Archer's deputy, Hendrix bears some responsibility for the problems of the city that were still unsolved at the end of Archer's term. Interviewers from "The South End" asked Hendrix if he would consider a partnership of the city with the colleges of Detroit, to which he answered, "The short answer to that is yes, of course."

Electoral history

*2005 Race for Mayor (Detroit)
**Kwame Kilpatrick (D) (inc.), 53%
**Freman Hendrix (D), 47%
*2005 Race for Mayor (Detroit) (Primary Election)
**Freman Hendrix (D), 45%
**Kwame Kilpatrick (D) (inc.), 34%
**Sharon McPhail (D), 12%
**Hansen Clarke (D), 8%

2008 Campaign

Freman Hendrix officially announced a second formal campaign for mayor of Detroit at the EMU Student Government meeting on October 7, 2008. After an inquiry by Student Body Vice-President and Sigma Nu Candidate Robert Philip Kull about his plans, Hendrix revealed his plans as a way of pushing for "honesty, transparency, and accountability".² Others that have announced candidacy are Ken Cockrel Jr., Sharon McPhail, and Coleman Young.

External links

* [http://www.fremanhendrix.com/ Freman Hendrix campaign web site]
* [http://www.fremanhendrix.com/about.htm Biography on campaign web site]
* [http://www.freep.com/news/politics/hendrix-box121e_20050721.htm Detroit Free Press bio]

References

²Eastern Echo, October 10, 2008. [http://www.easternecho.com/content/eagle-runs-mayor-detroit-0]