Coleman Young dead at 79

Detroit mourns loss of a pioneer

Young died at about 1:55 p.m. at Sinai Hospital, where he had been in intensive care since July 24. The cause of death was respiratory failure, officials said.

"Coleman never stopped fighting. He put up a good fight," said Dr. Claud Young, the former mayor's doctor and cousin.

"I think Coleman's last thing was his life, he was hanging onto life. He loved life and he was not willing to give in until he had to."

AP PHOTO Former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young stands in front of the Spirit of Detroit in June, 1987. Young, the city's first black mayor, held the top office for an unprecedented five terms.

Young suffered a cardiac arrest dec. 12 and was in a coma on a ventilator after he was resuscitated. He had advanced emphysema and was hospitalized several times in recent years for heart and respiratory problems.

"The people of this city have lost a great warrior," said Young's successor, Dennis Archer.

"His compassion, his intellect, his courage, his wit and even his occasionally sharp tongue were the essential ingredients of a man who tried to lead us to a world as it should be, rather than accepting a world of the past."

President Clinton praised Young as "an outstanding public servant who will be missed."

"He was not only a great mayor of Detroit but an inspiration to so many city leaders throughout the nation," Clinton said.

Former President Jimmy Carter called Young "one of the greatest mayors our country has known." Carter gave millions of dollars in federal aid to Detroit during his term after Young's support helped him win the 1976 presidential election.

"With compassion and vision, he provided the leadership that lifted Detroit from a climate of unprecedented violence to one of hope and greater prosperity," Carter said.

Republican Gov. John Engler called Young, a Democrat, "a man of his word who was willing to work with anyone, regardless of party or politics, to help Detroit - the city he loved and fought for all his life."

"Coleman Young was a legend in his own time - a leader, a fighter, a pioneer in the battle for equal rights and against racial discrimination. His humor, gusto and passion for life will never be duplicated," Engler said.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Saturday. Archer ordered all flags in the city flown at half-staff until the day of the funeral.

Though Detroit was plagued by the steady shift of jobs and residents to the suburbs, crime and the decline of the auto industry in the years after he first was elected mayor in 1973, Young was always optimistic about turning the city around.

"This city is worth preserving," Young once said. "It has all the natural assets that it needs to make it: its geographical location, the strength of character of its people.

"You pool all these people who have a heritage of struggle and you have a powerful force," he said. "This city will not be overcome."

Despite criticism from some that Young was arrogant and ineffective, he was re-elected by substantial margins in 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1989.

When he announced in 1993 that he would not seek a sixth term, he said: "I've decided 20 years is enough. I'm tired."

He was succeeded by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Dennis Archer, who defeated Young-backed candidate Sharon McPhail.

Young, one of the first black mayors of a major U.S. city, was credited with steering Detroit clear of bankruptcy in 1981, leading business and residential rebuilding along the Detroit River and racially integrating the fire and police departments.

He had a reputation as a 24-hour leader whose passion for Detroit and furious work habits bordered on obsession.

"Being mayor is not a job to him - it's his life," Roy Levy Williams, a Young appointee to a civilian police board, said in 1991.

But he was criticized for what opponents saw as caring more about downtown development than neighborhood improvements. It was a common complaint, but one he rejected.

"When I took office, there wasn't a damn thing standing on 12th Street," he said in 1989. "I stood out here and made a speech up to my hips in weeds. The downtown was dead."

White flight from Detroit didn't begin with Young, but it continued unabated during his administration despite such projects as the completion of the Renaissance Center, a towering riverfront convention center.

By 1990, Detroit's population had fallen nearly in half, and the metropolitan area had become one of the nation's most segregated. Detroit had just under 2 million residents in 1950, 1.2 million in 1980 and just over 1 million in 1990. That count showed Detroit was 76 percent black and its suburbs less than 5 percent black.

When he announced his retirement, Young cited problems still facing Detroit, including unemployment, crime and budget deficits. But overall, Young said, his legacy was positive.

"I still believe in Detroit," he said. "I still believe our best days lie ahead."

Several scandals marked Young's later years.

In 1991, his police chief and a deputy chief who was a business partner with the mayor were indicted in the disappearance of $2.6 million from a fund used to pay informants and make drug purchases. The deputy chief, Kenneth Weiner, pleaded guilty. Former Chief William Hart was convicted and sent to prison in 1992.

In 1989, Young settled a paternity lawsuit filed by a former city employee. Genetic tests confirmed the claim that Young had fathered her son.

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