Because judges in Michigan
cannot run for another elected offi ce outside of the judiciary, and Archer was considering running for mayor of Detroit, he resigned from the bench in December of 1990. On January 1, 1991 he joined the law fi rm of Dickinson and Wright as an equity partner. In 1994, he won election to the offi ce of mayor. As much respect as Archer garnered for his term on the bench, he earned equal respect for his work as the mayor of Detroit. He served two four-year terms as mayor from 1994-2001 and was hailed as a problem-solver and visionary for his success in changing Detroit’s image and direction. Archer says his main aim
22
when he ran for mayor was to not only address some of Detroit’s most trenchant prob- lems—like the atrophy of the American auto industry, busi- nesses leaving the city, anemic job growth, aff ordable housing, and the city’s image—but to resuscitate a great American city. For years, the city known as a blue-collar hub of the domestic auto industry had been a cultural metaphor for the ills suff ered by urban decay including crime, poverty, and abandonment. Before he announced his
candidacy, Archer had been thinking long and hard about how he wanted to approach the city’s most pressing challenges, and decided that he needed his own “brain trust.”
1965
1965—70 TAUGHT LE ARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN IN DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1965 GRADUATED FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSIT Y
TOP TO BOTTOM: ARCHER FLYING TO ATLANTA IN 1971 TO MEET WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS, ARCHER AT THE MCCA GALA IN SEPTEMBER 2012, AND ARCHER ANNOUNCING THE PROMOTION OF A POLICE OFFICER DURING HIS TENURE AS DETROIT MAYOR
He approached the president of the University of Michigan and asked if he could fi nd fi ve or six willing professors to help him tackle a broad range of issues. He assembled his august team of thinkers and set about mak- ing change a reality. Archer’s tenure wasn’t
perfect, but he did make sig-
nifi cant strides toward turning “Motown” around. Governing magazine, which named Archer Public Offi cial of the Year in 2000, hailed his leadership of Detroit and his strategies that put the city on the right track. According to the magazine:
“…If you compare the Detroit of today with the city of a decade ago, you realize that an enormous amount has changed. Downtown is being reborn, with old offi ce buildings being turned into apartments and condos, General Motors’ world headquarters taking up the once-derided Renaissance Center, a new home being con- structed for the business-software giant Compuware, crowds fl ock- ing to the new Detroit Tigers baseball stadium and a new football stadium in the works.” Further, the city received no
less than nine upgrades from the bond-rating agencies, a sign of faith in both Detroit’s economic progress and Archer’s leadership. When asked about
his most signifi cant achievement in offi ce, Archer responds that what he sought to do beyond addressing crime, poverty, and
1972—78 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DETROIT COLLEGE OF LAW
1970 E ARNED J.D. FROM THE DETROIT COLLEGE OF LAW
1973—75 CHAIRMAN OF THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION OF THE DETROIT BAR ASSOCIATION
1983—84 PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION
1979—80 PRESIDENT OF THE WOLVERINE BAR ASSOCIATION
1984—85 PRESIDENT OF THE STATE BAR OF MICHIGAN
1984—85 ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSIT Y LAW SCHOOL
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012
MCCA.COM
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