Coleman Young II to announce run for Detroit mayor

DETROIT (WJBK) - State senator Coleman Young II will announce Friday morning his plans to run for mayor of Detroit.

Young was avoiding reporter's questions earlier this week about his anticipated run for, but that didn't stop FOX2's Tim Skubick from trying. Young was dishing out the hugs at the state Capitol on Tuesday and, while embracing lobbyists outside the Senate chamber, folks were wondering -- can he beat the incumbent mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan?

You can hear more from Young in the video report above from political analyst Tim Skubick.

Young will be speaking at 11 a.m. Friday.

Young's father, Coleman A. Young, became the first black mayor of Detroit. When he was elected in 1974, he held that office for 20 years.

In an ironic twist, when he wanted to run for mayor the state law said he could not. But he went to court and got the green light to run. It's that court decision that allows his son to run today, too.

A spokesperson for Young's campaign says current mayor Mike Duggan focuses his energy on downtown, Midtown and Corktown and that the people of Detriot's neighborhoods have been held hostage by crime, slow police response times and chronic unemployment.

"This city is 80 percent African-American, and the Duggan administration has left us out of the rebirth of Detroit," the statement continued.

Young and Duggan will go head-to-head in the August 8 primary.