18 file for Detroit mayor primary election

DETROIT, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Eighteen Detroit residents say they've got what it takes to replace the disgraced Kwame Kilpatrick as the city's new mayor.

As of Tuesday's filing deadline for the Feb. 24 special primary to replace Kilpatrick, who resigned after being convicted on obstruction of justice charges, 18 hopefuls had submitted the necessary documents to run, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.

The top two finishers will square off in a May 5 run-off, to be quickly followed by another mayoral campaign beginning in August for a November 2009 election to elect a mayor for a full four-year term, the News said.

Among the better-known residents filing were Freman Hendrix, a former deputy Detroit mayor who lost to Kilpatrick in 2005; current interim mayor and former Detroit City Council president Kenneth Cockrel Jr.; and Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans, who is also running for re-election as sheriff.

Others making the deadline included Michigan State Rep. Coleman Young II, the son of the three-term former Detroit mayor; businessman and former Detroit Pistons basketball star Dave Bing; and the Rev. Nicholas Hood III, a former city councilman, the News said.