Dan Cherrin
believes in
the spirit of
Detroit.
"
AN t`
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Man Behind The Mayor
"We are all Detroiters and want to see the city be successful."
— Daniel Cherrin
"Daniel brings a sense of professionalism to city government. His unique
background as an attorney, lobbyist and public relations executive allows him to advise
me on the best approach to handling a variety of situations."
- Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr:
Bryan Gottlieb
Special to the Jewish News
I
n the backdrop of what many resi-
dents have resigned themselves to
believe is a city in crisis on several
fronts sits a young man with a bird's-eye
view of the action.
As the press secretary to Kenneth
Cockrel Jr., Detroit's 61st mayor,
Huntington Woods resident Daniel
Cherrin has arguably a more vested inter-
est than many of his suburban neighbors
in seeing the proverbial Phoenix rise
from the executive offices on Jefferson
Avenue.
"I don't think the city is beleaguered;'
Cherrin said.
"I think there is a lot of opportunity to
start fresh and create new programs, ser-
vices and areas to expand:"
Turning lemons into lemonade is a
useful skill for anyone embarking on a
journey to remake the image of a city that
has seen its population steadily decline for
more than 40 years.
"I have been all over the city, the
suburbs and in Lansing; and there is a
renewed sense of hope and optimism that
finally we will begin to see some posi-
tive improvement to city government and
Detroit itself' Cherrin said. "In fact, people
over and over said, 'We are all Detroiters
and want to see the city be successful:"
Politics is old hat to this 35-year-old. As
a freshly minted University of Michigan
college graduate, the West Bloomfield
native ran for the Michigan State House
as a 21-year-old upstart back in 1994. The
election bid started as a lark, stemming
from an inquiry Cherrin made to the
Democratic party asking who was run-
ning against then-Republican incumbent
Barbara Dobb.
"I was speaking before a class at West
Bloomfield High School about the impor-
tance of getting politically engaged;'
Cherrin said. After making a phone call
inquiring about Dobb's challenger, he was
asked by party officials if he was inter-
ested in campaigning for the seat.
"The chair of the party said that no one
was running and asked if I would run:' he
said. "I did and had a great time during
the campaign. In fact, I received national
media attention, including coverage from
MTV Rocks the Vote, CNN and the Chicago
Sun-Times!'
Career Turn
While he lost the election, Cherrin realized
that the intersection of law and politics
was one that suited his idealism. This
prompted him to join his family's pre-
ferred profession — the law — figuring
that if he couldn't write the law he could at
least argue it in court.
"Law school was a natural path for me:'
he said. "Not only had I grown up in a
family full of lawyers, I also knew that I
wanted to be a lobbyist and that becoming
a lawyer was the best professional path to
meeting that goal."
Like many lawyers, Cherrin came to
realize that the practice of law wasn't
necessarily the idealistic virtue that is
sometimes portrayed. Instead, he chose to
blend his love of law, media relations and
lobbying into a career that would give him
access to the corridors of power.
"Public relations is extremely simi-
lar to the practice of law," he said. "But
instead of advocating for clients in a
court of law using antiquated case law, I
am advocating for clients in the court of
public opinion."
Public opinion and, more specifically,
public trust is something that Cherrin,
normally a jovial kidster, takes very seri-
ously. It is that commitment to public trust
that first attracted him to work with the
mayor when Cockrel was on the Detroit
City Council, and he was a lobbyist for the
Detroit Regional Chamber.
"If you elected someone or entrusted
someone to do a certain job, you need
to expect from that person that they will
get the job done, do the job right and be
Man Behind on page A14
December 11 • 2008
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