The first of a multi-part series, in which our intrepid lit editor spends a little time visiting the campaign headquarters of the mayoral candidates and shares his observations. (For Four Questions with Hendrix, please click here.)

If the measure of a man is determined by the people that support him, then Freman Hendrix must surely be worth his weight in gold. Campaign volunteer Adrian Walker is absolute proof of that. A retired Detroit Police Officer, she raised four children, all of whom attended college. In between her family obligations and working part time at Providence Hospital in Detroit, she still finds the time to volunteer every Saturday morning at Hendrix's Livernois campaign office. Adrian has been with the campaign since the beginning. Last November she helped obtain the necessary signatures for Hendrix to be on the ballot. Like many volunteers, she had a firm belief that the city needed a change in Mayoral leadership to get back on track. Her typical Saturday morning routine consists of stopping in to the campaign office to pick up a schedule of houses that had requested lawn signs, loading them into her Chevy Malibu, and getting on the road by 9 a.m.

Walker is but one of a number of folks devoting their time and energy to this cause. Another such volunteer is Charles Cole. Cole has known Hendrix for some time now, stemming back to the 80s when the mayoral candidate was coaching the Rosedale Park Baseball League. With an outward cool that indicates his own leadership qualities, Mr. Cole speaks with confidence that Hendrix is the best thing for the city right now.

Wanda Hill, who heads up the Livernois campaign office, runs a tight ship. She stays on top of the difficult job of coordinating all the volunteer activities necessary to keep the campaign on track. Each of the volunteers likes to point out that despite the number of people she is responsible for, Hill, "Always has something to say" to all of them. Hill herself speaks with amazement at how down to earth and grassroots oriented the mayoral candidate is. Evidence of this includes weekly Tuesday meetings at one of the four campaign offices with Hendrix in attendance to discuss, "What we are doing, what we will do, and any suggestions that can be made." At these meetings the volunteers are encouraged to voice their input and interact with Hendrix on an equal footing, demonstrated by their comfort in calling him by his first name.

This crew of hard-working volunteers includes teachers, police officers, local business owners and long standing Detroiters that share a vision for Detroit and a hope for its future. They are entrusting Freman Hendrix with the future of the city and want nothing else in return. The time and energy they put forth by volunteering is for Detroit's future and for Hendrix to be the man that they believe he is today and will continue to be once they have helped elect him to the Mayor's office.