Benny & Mike’s Favorite Things

ne prefers black. The other prefers blue. But Benny Napoleon and Mike Duggan have more in common than you'd think. Perhaps when all the stumping and voting are done, they'll meet up to catch a Tigers game, share a Sanders Cream Puff and salute this city they both call home. Want to read what each candidate has to say about policies and issues in the city of Detroit? See BLAC's Q&A with Mike Duggan and our Q&A with Benny Napoleon.

Favorite Things

What Michigan leader, past or present, do you most admire and why?

Duggan: Mayor Coleman A. Young and Mayor Hazen Pingree. Both were incredible mayors during challenging times in the Detroit.
Napoleon: You know I came along and was birthed in city government and politics under Mayor Young. So Coleman has to be at the top of that list. Judge Damon Keith would be another one. Mayor Young loved this community. He stood up very strong for it at a time when we needed that type of strong leadership. The one thing I know about Mayor Young is that he was really concerned about the people here in the city of Detroit. And he believed that if you took care of the people, the people were going to take care of everything else that happened in this community.

What is your favorite quote?

Duggan: Coleman Young commented on his two-time mayoral opponent, Tom Barrow in 1989: "If his idea of campaigning is attacking me, my idea of campaigning is not answering him."
Napoleon: "May the works I've done speak for me" – church hymn

What is your favorite book?

Duggan: The Stand by Stephen King
Napoleon: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It's long but it's good. I am a history major.

What is your favorite song?

Duggan: "Reasons" by Earth, Wind & Fire
Napoleon: The Temptations' "Just My Imagination." I am a Motown baby.

What is your favorite movie?

 Duggan:  Casablanca and The Godfather
 Napoleon:  The Godfather

What is your favorite TV show, past or present?

 Duggan:   The Sopranos 
 Na poleon: I  was a western guy so I liked  The Guns of Will Sonnett 

What's your favorite color?

Duggan: Blue
Napoleon: Black. No pun intended.

What's your favorite pastime or hobby?

Duggan: Coaching youth soccer
Napoleon: Golf

If you are elected, is there some good luck item or memento that you'd definitely have in your office? If so, what is it?

Duggan: The Bible my father gave me the day I was sworn in to the Prosecutor's office.
Napoleon: Honestly the favorite items in my office are the pictures of my family.

Detroit Pride

What place would you take out-of-towners to prove that Detroit is more than the bad headlines they've read?

Duggan: Concert at Chene Park
Napoleon: There are a lot of places I would take them. I would take them to the Motown Museum. I would take them to the RiverWalk. There was a time when I would take them to Kronk Gym.

What we did to Kronk is just unconscionable. It is one of the most recognizable things that have come out of the city of Detroit. People around the world know about Kronk Gym. And to allow it to get in the state that it is saddens me.

That should be on any tour list of anybody who comes here from out of town. The Kronk Gym should be like a museum. It's like when you go to Boston and you see the Cheers bar. Kronk should be right up there.

Everybody wants to see where Thomas "Hitman" Hearns trained.

What's your favorite thing to do or event to attend in the city?

Duggan: Tigers World Series game
Napoleon: Go watch a baseball game at Comerica Park.

What historic building would you most like to see given new life?

Duggan: The Wayne County Building
Napoleon: Kronk Gym!

Belle Isle or Detroit Riverfront?

Duggan: Belle Isle
Napoleon: Belle Isle

Favorite sports team?

Duggan: Detroit Tigers
Napoleon: Tigers

Chicken Shawarma or Coney Dog?

Duggan: Chicken Shawarma
Napoleon: I don't eat either one of them.

Favorite Faygo flavor? (or do you prefer Vernors?)

Duggan: Vernors
Napoleon: Fruit Punch

Do you prefer salty or sweet foods? Or, in Detroit terms, would you be more drawn to some Better Made Chips or a Sanders Hot Fudge Sundae?

Duggan: Sanders Hot Fudge Sundae
Napoleon: My mother used to work at Sanders. Hot Fudge crème puff with extra hot fudge-my favorite dessert of all time.