I remember it like yesterday. Attorney Dennis W. Archer being sworn in as Detroit Mayor on January 3, 1994. The slogan of his hard fought campaign against Attorney Sharon McPhail was “Let the Future Begin.” Archer’s victory was the start of his eight years as the Motor City’s top elected municipal official. He took the political baton from retiring Mayor Coleman A. Young and ran with gusto!
Archer, a former teacher, Michigan Supreme Court justice and American Bar Association president has just released his new book capturing the energy, hard work and historic firsts of his very accomplished career in law and politics. I spent time with him last week at our WXYZ-TV 7 downtown Detroit studio talking to him about his autobiography, co-authored by local writer Elizabeth Atkins.
In these two outtakes from our conversation, Archer talks about the importance of his small town upbringing in Cassopolis, Michigan and his economic development achievements with businessman Peter Karmanos and the families of Mike Ilitch and William Clay Ford. You can see the on-air portion of my interview with Archer on today’s Spotlight on the News (10 a.m. on Channel 7 or afterwards online at WXYZ.com).
