Detroit ballot proposals: Voters OK reparations measure, defeat change to spending

Detroit voters backed by wide-margins two ballot issues focused on reparations and the decriminalization of some hallucinogenic drugs, but defeated a third to increase citizen control over government spending. 

Approval of Proposal R received with 80% of the vote with all precincts reported, according to the City of Detroit website. That ballot proposal creates a task force to address the harms racism has inflicted on Black residents in the city, supporters say. 

[ Detroit election results ]

In addition, voters backed Proposal E by 61% of the vote, which reduces law enforcement for those who possess and therapeutically use hallucinogenic plants, such as magic mushrooms.

But 54% of voters opted to reject Proposal S. The initiative would have changed Detroit’s city charter to allow more citizen control in diving up funding. 

The reparations task force could recommend housing and economic development programs aimed to boost opportunities for the city's Black residents. But the measure doesn't specify how the new programs would be funded. 

"There is no promise of funding or city ordinances that would be established or appropriated after the recommendations of the task force are made," according to a report by Citizens Research Council of Michigan, which analyzed the three Detroit proposals.

City Council President Pro-Tem Mary Sheffield backed a resolution this summer to establish a process for reparations and sponsored Proposal R. City Council could have formed its own reparations committee without placing it on the ballot, but Sheffield has said she wanted to gauge the interest of Detroiters.

Other cities nationally have adopted or initiated similar measures including Asheville, North Carolina; Evanston, Illinois; St. Paul, Minnesota, and Providence, Rhode Island, according to the Citizens Research Council. One city leading the effort is Evanston, which grants up to $25,000 for down payments or home repairs from a city-created fund. 

If Proposal E passes, the enforcement of laws related to certain drugs would become a lower priority. These include hallucinogenic substances generally classified as Schedule I drugs, such as mind-altering mushrooms, according to the Citizens Research Council. 

And if Proposal S succeeds, voters would be allowed to petition for new city ordinances that would include appropriating tax dollars. Proponents say it gives citizens more power to target funding to their needs. But opponents say it could complicate the budgeting process and undermine the city's fiscal health since emerging from municipal bankruptcy in 2014.

Detroit's ballot proposals explained:Reparations, psychedelic drugs, charter change

2021 Michigan election results:City of Detroit, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb County election races

Ageria Lauderdale, 35, of Detroit, said Tuesday after voting at the Northwest Activities Center on the city’s west side that she was confused by the ballot proposals. She said she wants more public say in budgeting decisions, but thought she was voting for that when she voted no on Proposal S. 

She didn’t realize she had misread the language until she talked with a reporter after leaving the community center. 

“That’s frustrating,” she said. 

In other election tallies, Linda Bernard (66%), Willie Bell (63%) and Lisa Carter (57%) won the race to fill three seats in separate district races for the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners. Cedric Banks and Willie Burton were running unopposed. And two other spots had only write-in candidates running. 

Voters elect seven new commissioners by district. The mayor appoints four additional commissioners for a total of 11 members.

Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep.