District 7 Council Member Denzel McCampbell wants residents to judge his performance by whether he is accessible and responsive to their concerns.
McCampbell, one of two newly-elected members of the council, hopes to demonstrate how direct democracy and collective action can empower residents. He asked to lead the Budget Finance and Audit Committee because he sees the city budget as the main tool to improve quality of life in Detroit.
“I am very intrigued by the budget process because of what I heard in the campaign and what I heard knocking on doors: For a lot of the folks, their needs are budgetary,” McCampbell said. “Are we putting as much money as we can behind getting people into affordable housing and keeping them into housing? Are we making sure that, as folks are talking about the need to decrease property taxes, are we exploring all types of ways to bring in more revenue? Are we making sure that we’re being good stewards of folks and their tax dollars?”
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McCampbell plans to build the structure of a participatory budgeting model that will allow residents to be more involved in spending decisions. Other cities like New York and Chicago set aside a pool of funds that residents vote on how to use after a series of public workshops led by volunteer budget delegates.
“We’re going to make it our own Detroit way,” McCampbell said. “The central point for me around participatory budgets is how do we involve as many people as possible to get those ideas flowing and have trust? The biggest way that you would get that trust is to involve folks on the front end before rolling it out.”
McCampbell also plans to create a civic education corps this summer, starting with a focus on youth engagement. It would help residents understand regulations on property maintenance and build stronger community networks.
He’s heard loud and clear from residents who want to see more neighborhood investment. McCampbell said that will be top of mind when developers ask the council for tax breaks and public subsidies. That doesn’t mean being “anti-development,” he said.
“The core question is: Does it truly benefit people?” McCampbell said.
“(Residents say) downtown looks great, but when are we going to get our piece of what we’re seeing? We have to be very clear as a City Council when you’re making these promises we will have no problem clawing back (funding). If you fail to meet your promise we will hold you accountable in that way.”
Redistricting changed District 7’s boundaries so that it no longer has a recreation center. That would change with a new Brennan Recreation Facility in Rouge Park. Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores announced a $20 million donation in 2022 but McCampbell said the project is held up and is working on finding out why.