DETROIT -- After his defeat in Tuesday's election for Detroit mayor to basketball legend and businessman Dave Bing, Ken Cockrel Jr. is expected to return to his previous post as president of the Detroit City Council. But the transition back may not be a smooth one after current president Monica Conyers told Local 4 in an interview that she wasn't eager to leave her post.

"The charter only speaks to succession forward, it doesn't speak to what happens if the mayor happens to come back," Conyers said Wednesday. "That is something council is looking into, but we'll see what happens."

Conyers became president when Cockrel became interim mayor last year.

When asked if she would challenge Cockrel's return, Conyers said, "I, personally, do not care about that."

Conyers said she only brought up the issue because "that's what people are talking about."

"Once the election has been certified, president Ken Cockrel will continue to be the president of city council," councilmember Kwame Kenyatta said.

Cockrel also told reporters that he will return to the presidency because the charter is clear.

Conyers said she is excited to work with Bing.

"We are committed to working with him and moving this city forward," she said. "I think he should hit the ground running and get all the information so he knows exactly where we are in the budget so if he wanted to make any changes he could do so."

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bing had 52.3 percent of the vote, or 49,054 votes, to 47.7 percent, or 44,770 votes, for Cockrel. Both are Democrats.

Only about 15 percent of voters turned out for the special runoff election.

Bing, a successful local businessman, will serve through the end of the year -- the balance of the term that belonged to Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned in September in a text-messaging sex scandal.

Also Wednesday, Kenyatta said he's dropped his plan to run for mayor and is backing Bing.

Kenyatta said earlier he planned to run in the August primary for a four-year term as mayor. But he said he'll seek re-election to the council instead.

In a statement, Kenyatta said he's also urging other potential mayoral candidates to stay out of the race so Bing can tackle the tough job of running the city.

The problems facing Bing include a budget deficit that Cockrel had estimated at between $250 million and $300 million, dwindling revenues and previously unchecked spending. In addition, Detroit's population -- and residential tax base -- have been on the decline for decades, while the city's public schools are among the worst in the nation and in such bad shape that the state appointed an outside financial manager earlier this year.

The city is among the nation's leaders in unemployment and home foreclosures. Continued restructuring by the area's three automakers likely will mean more jobs cuts and hits to the local economy.