WESTLAND, Mich. – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is asking a fellow mayor to take his picture off any and all future campaign literature.
Westland Mayor Bill Wild has sent out 40,000 campaign flyers with Duggan's picture featured prominently. It could be mistaken for an endorsement. Duggan isn't "wild" about that implication.
The flyer shows Duggan looking fondly on the Westland mayor. The problem is the Detroit mayor has endorsed someone else for Wayne County executive.
Wild said he wasn't trying to mislead anyone or imply Duggan was endorsing him.
"That wasn't our intent," said Wild.
The Westland mayor has the endorsement of the Detroit News, Detroit Regional Chamber and Bill Ford, but not Duggan. The Detroit mayor is backing Warren Evans, who is a longtime friend and former sheriff when Duggan was prosecutor.
There is an asterisk on the front of the flyer and if you search the back there is a disclaimer, which states the mailer is not implying Mayor Duggan's endorsement.
"We just wanted to cover all our bases. Look, when I go door-to-door across the county, residents are always asking me, 'Will you be able to work with Mike Duggan?' That's all we're trying to show with this piece," said Wild.
But the Evans camp and Mayor Duggan apparently see it differently.
"We didn't think it was appropriate and we sent him a letter asking him to stop," said Duggan.
After years of scandal, every candidate has made transparency and honesty key issues.
"It's not sneaky, we're just saying we want to work with the mayor. You can't turn around Wayne County without turning around Detroit, and vice versa," said Wild.