Evans.

DEARBORN — Warren Evans believes it’s time for a change in governance.

Evans, 65, is a lifelong Detroiter who has built an impressive resume in law enforcement over the years. He has served as an assistant Wayne County prosecutor, Detroit police chief and as Wayne County sheriff. In 2009, he ran for mayor of Detroit. 

“I’ve been a person who gets results everywhere I go,” Evans said. “I think the people have been unsatisfied with the government and its leadership and they are looking for someone who can restore that. It’s not necessarily a blame game, but it’s a reality check of the situation we are in.” 

Evans, who has been on the campaign trail all year long, is hoping his expertise in public safety will land him ahead of fellow candidates, State Representative and former Wayne County Commissioner Phil Cavanagh; incumbent County Executive Robert Ficano; Wayne County Commissioner Kevin McNamara; and Westland Mayor William (Bill) Wild. He has been reaching out to Wayne County residents with the message that public safety matters. He believes it is the key to turning around the various struggling communities that face bankruptcies and deficits. 

Over the last decade, the county has faced setbacks that include population loss and lack of business investments. The county has lost more than 268,000 residents and has seen the closing of close to 3,000 businesses. The unemployment rate continues to remain above 10 percent, as more than 125,000 jobs were lost from 2004 to 2011.

In an interview with The Arab American News, Evans said the county won’t see a turn-around unless business owners and families sense a strong foundation in public safety that will make them want to invest their time and money in the area.

“I’ve always said over the years that we can’t do economic development and entrepreneurship until we have a better quality of life in many parts of the county,” he said. “We need to be thinking about creating an atmosphere for businesses to come in and succeed and also an atmosphere for young people to come in and enjoy themselves in our county.”

Evans has received the support of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan as well as Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who stated that the current administration “does not give a damn about public safety.” 

During his time as sheriff, Evans managed to lower deficit spending and place more dollars on public safety services. He said he would like to implement a model for Wayne County’s 43 communities that would see shared police services, technology, equipment, insurance and worker’s compensation. 

A collaborative approach is a main item on Evans’ platform. He believes the county can be used as a channel for volume purchasing among Wayne County’s cities and school districts. Essentially, the idea would be to create a “Costco” for Wayne County municipalities to get a better bang for the taxpayer’s buck. 

“I see an opportunity for the county to take a different role than it has historically,” Evans said. “County governance should be able to assist its communities rather than be a competitor. County economic development projects have often times taken center stage over the direction municipalities want to go for their community. The county should be a clearinghouse for proposals and it should be in a position to create synergy and see if there is any way we can get communities to save money by doing it collaboratively.” 

Evans noted that he’s aware of a number of issues that have affected various communities across the county, including insurance redlining in Detroit and Dearborn neighborhoods that have sent residents packing. He said he’s open to the idea of facilitating an insurance pool at a county level, if feasible. 

He also discussed Wayne County’s deteriorating roads, which are plagued with potholes and cracks. The problem became exacerbated this year after the region experienced the worst winter it had seen in decades. 

While the county is responsible for maintaining 740 miles of roads, it only receives federal aid to repair 12 miles each year. Evans said the county needs to find additional state and federal dollars to help repair the roads. Research has found that 54 percent of the county’s bridges are structurally inadequate.

Evans also noted that the county is lagging with its mass transit system, which has the potential to usher in more tourists and build stronger connections in neighboring counties. In the 1930s, the county had implemented a system that connected to Toledo, Ann Arbor and Flint. That transit system became defunct after the automobile industry gained traction in the region. 

Evans believes that resources are already available to rebuild a stronger public transportation system, but it has not been a priority with the county’s current administration. 

“We don’t have a regional approach to doing anything,” he said. “We are in a situation where we actually had a better mass transit system in the 30s and 40s than we do now. We have a bunch of competing bus systems and we need to sit them down and work out the mechanics so there can be some collaborative efforts with bus routes. We can do three times better than we are doing now just by working with what we got.”  

During his tenure as county executive, Robert Ficano has earned a solid reputation for reaching out to the local Arab American community and allowing them to play an integral role in his administration. Evans said he’s aiming to do the same with his administration. 

“I would agree that the current county executive has had a relationship with the community, but I would say that in my two terms as sheriff, I have too,” he said. “You can’t govern effectively if you don’t have connections with all of the communities. You have to look deep within the communities until you can find the leaders who can bring you the brightest and the best for your administration.” 

Evans’ administration would include a diverse pool of individuals who represent varying communities. When he was sheriff, he built bridges in various municipalities. He said the Arab American community is no exception. 

Evans seems to have already built strong relations in the City of Dearborn, the county’s second largest city. In recent weeks, he has received the backing of City Council President Susan Dabaja and Mayor Jack O’Reilly. 

Evans criticized the county’s $175 million deficit, citing lack of management and lack of accountability and attributing the possible threat of an emergency manager takeover to these shortcomings. He also said incidents such as the failed Wayne County Jail project; a failed investment in the Huron Township race track; and a recent audit of Wayne County Treasurer Ray Wojtowicz, which revealed he had withheld $82 million from county officials, have all the more made residents lose faith in county governance. 

If elected, Evans said he’ll be able to call his post as county executive a success only if property values and population will have increased by the end of his first four year term. 

The primary election is Aug. 5.