Race For The Change

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Jewish a activists
a 'oining the Detroit mayoral campaign
to o
arm to the city.

THE DETRO IT JEWISH NEWS

KIMBERLY LIFTON and JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITERS

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ayor Coleman Young is
stepping down, and mem-
bers of the Jewish commu-
nity are stepping in.
"There is a hunger for
Detroit to become the great
city that it once was,"- says
34-year-old James
Rosenfeld, who lives in
Huntington Woods and
works downtown as an
attorney at Butzel Long. "It
is time. There is going to be
a change."
Mr. Rosenfeld is giving
his time and money to
Detroit mayoral candidate
Dennis Archer, a man he
thinks can revitalize the
city. Attorney Frank
Mamat, who lives in West
Bloomfield and works down-
town for Honigman Miller
Schwartz and Cohn, is
throwing his support
toward Sharon McPhail, a
woman he believes can do
the job required to turn the
city around.
Nate Shapiro, president
of Consulting Engineering
Associates, Inc. in Detroit,
lives in Southfield. He has
worked with mayoral candi-
date Arthur Blackwell, and
he is convinced that Mr.
Blackwell has what it takes
to effectively run the City of
Detroit.
Members of the Jewish
community haive jumped
enthusiastically onto
Detroit's political bandwag-
on, many hoping that
Coleman Young's upcoming
departure will mean relief
for the city.
As far as Jewish
Community Council
Executive Director David
Gad-Harf is concerned, the
involvement of the commu-
nity in Detroit's mayoral
race is not uncommon.
Traditionally, Jews have
been active in supporting
candidates on all political

Dennis
Archer
meets with
James
Rosenfeld
and Brian
Tauber.

levels, from stuffing
envelopes to raising money
for races ranging from city
council to president of the
United States.
"This is a positive step,"
Mr. Gad-Harf says. "This is
an indication that the
Jewish community remains
concerned about the affairs
of Detroit and recognizes
the link between the city
and the suburbs that make
up the entire metropolitan
area.
"The welfare of the city is
critical to the entire area,
and the role that Jews play
in this mayoral campaign
really underscores that
point," Mr. Gad-Harf says.
"Many Jews still live and
work in the city and several
significant Jewish institu-

tions
remain
(Sinai
Hospital, the Jewish Home
for Aged)."
Brian
Tauber,
of
Birmingham, admits his
reasons for trying his hand
at Detroit politics and sup-
porting Dennis Archer are
selfish. He is tired of seeing
his friends and family move
to other big cities such as
Chicago, New York and Los
Angeles just because they
think Detroit has nothing to
offer.
A recent law school grad-
uate, he put his legal career
on hold for a paid position
as a deputy field director in
one of Mr. Archer's eight
campaign offices.
"Our parents saw the city
deteriorate to a sad state,"
Mr. Tauber says. "As kids,

we have never seen the city
at its height. A lot of my
contemporaries want to see
the city come back.
"If we can keep people in
Detroit, it affects our quali-
ty of life," he says. "Detroit
is a viable city and it's very
important to our quality of
life. I don't think you can
give up on the 1 million peo-
ple in Detroit," Mr. Tauber
says. "It is a city worth sav-
ing."
Mr. Mamat is a GOP
activist. But when it comes
to Detroit politics, he simply
looks for a candidate who
can do a good job. In
Detroit, he says, that means
working for Ms. McPhail, a
Democrat.
"This is where my office
is, and this city is withering

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