Not Satisfied with Bing or Barrow!

Detroit if you are not satisfied with the two names on the ballot for Mayor than write-in Jerroll Sanders for mayor of Detroit. Far too many times, we as people vote for the lessor or two evils and I am not calling Barrow or Bing evil but that is always the reason usually used when some voters vote for a candidate in head to head battles where the voter is not really sure there is any difference between either of the candidates that would bring about a positive change for the betterment of society. Therefore for those voters who want additional option or don't feel comfortable with re-electing Dave Bing or voting for Tom Barrow than write-in Jerroll Sanders on your ballot when it comes to the mayor's seat.

For additional reasons why to vote for Jerroll Sanders, read the message below that was sent to me:

Hello,

Do you believe in new possibilities in Detroit like I do? I really believe that its time for a change in leadership in Detroit, and after 8 months of Mayor Dave Bing's disastrous policies, I know now more than ever that he is out of touch with the citizens of Detroit. I am supporting Jerroll Sanders as Mayor of Detroit because I truly believe that she will get the job done. Jerroll Sanders is a smart, phenomenal, woman of integrity and she is more than qualified in my opinion to be an excellent mayor because she will be about the people's business. Its time to bring the government of Detroit back in the hands of righteous leaders who truly cares, and will not under any circumstances sell out their constituents.

Jerroll Sanders and her Team plans to focus on the following issues in the first two years in office: Get Detroit's finances in order and ensure accountability in every area of government, including contracting. Terminate contracts from prior administrations that are not in the best interests of taxpayers.Make Detroit safe, by implementing a far-reaching crime strategy. Join with mayors from other large cities to get one-rate-for-the-state insurance legislation enacted. Substantially elevate the effectiveness of Detroit Public Schools, so that every student receives a top-notch education.Dramatically improve Detroit's economy via job creation, small business contracting, and prudent use of federal stimulus dollars. Ensure clean, beautiful, and safe neighborhoods.Implement a tax rollback plan.

Please join me in supporting the Change that Detroit needs by doing whatever you can to help elect Jerroll Sanders "Write in Candidate" for Mayor of Detroit on Tuesday November 3, 2009.

Sincerely,

Kurt C. Griggs-Swanson

P.S. Please view Mayoral Candidate Jerroll Sanders website @ www.motownmayor.com , and if at all possible please make a much needed contribution to this campaign. If you or someone you know would like to volunteer please visit our campaign office located at 19329 Livernois St. Detroit, Michigan 48221 ( North of 7mile, South of Outer Drive) Please call 313-397-4474, or call 313-808-7384 for more information. Thank you!

Detroit Voters Need a Mayoral Debate

Campaign debates have a long and rich history as part of elections for the United States of America. Debates are key to the democratic process and are a part of the bedrock of any true democracy. Debates help voters learn how candidates stand their ground on various issues from the candidate’s point of view rather than reading about it on literature and web pages. Debates allow voters to gain information about candidates that perhaps they are missing while reading certain sentences or articles about the candidate. Overall debate help voters gain more of an understanding and knowledge of a certain candidate running for political office.

Debates give the American people a look at the candidates thinking on their feet. A polite confrontation between the two political candidates, that most always differ on their ideology, on how to run or improve a school district, a city, a county, a state, or the country. Instead of a he said she said story it's the candidates in front of a large audience and each other going at it ,almost tit for tat on responses to questions on different issues. Debates at times helps to clear the air for the general public on what the real scoop may be on something they were unsure of. There is no real place to run and allows voters to really see where candidates stand on the issues or where they don’t stand. Debates create situations where candidates have to answer the question and if they don’t, voters see just how unknowledgeable the candidate really is on the issues. Still debates are aimed at helping the American people understand a logical comment as opposed to a song and dance answer. At least that's what I get out of debates. So debates only add to the democratic process because when compiled with a candidates researched track record on the issues may help voters to come together on a sound vote on who can best help their school district, their city, their county, their state and this nation.

Therefore when the Detroit Free Press Editorial staff wrote that Detroiters deserve a Bing-Barrow debate, they are sure right about that. Detroit mayoral challenger Tom Barrow is a two-time former loser at the ballot box who got about 11% of the vote in the August primary. Even with the formidable endorsements he has picked up lately (from unions and the Eastside Slate), it seems unlikely that he'll win Nov. 3. But democracy is as much about process as it is about results. And Detroit voters are entitled to the full display of the democratic process in this crucial race to lead the city.

So it's disappointing that Mayor Dave Bing has so far refused to stand on a stage with the man who wants his job and to debate their ideas about how to manage Detroit through its current problems. The mayor's avoidance is a disservice to voters, and a denigration of the important civic exercise that's taking place. Also it is somewhat shameful that Bing won’t debate Barrow and didn’t debate Barrow or Sanders in the primaries especially after he criticized interim mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. for not debating him and when Cockrel was ready to debate, Bing’s group demeaned that Cockrel release his tax records and campaign donors list before they could debate. Therefore if debating back in March and April of this year was important to Bing than, it should be important now especially since we the voters of Detroit only hear from Bing in what he says in the media or what he writes to the press in op-eds.

There are so many questions concerning the city from bus services being cut to city employees’ particularly union members jobs being cut while mayoral appointments continue to make $100,000 or more. So in a debate, Detroiters would get the best possible looks at the men they chose in August to compete for the mayor's job. They'd see how they present their ideas, how they respond to each others' points and how well they deal with the pressure and public scrutiny that come with a live debate. Remember back during April, Bing was sharp and quick to always criticize Cockrel for not balancing the city’s budget or delivering on the Cobo deal as well as a host of other issues. Now Bing has the job and you would think he would jump at the chance to defend his record as mayor since taking over rather than simply avoid the issues that we the voters need to see get answered.

Already, charter and city council candidates have participated in several public debates, including some that are online at MiVote.org, sponsored by Detroit Public Television and the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Those debates are shining important light on the choices voters will make in those races. They help voters understand how their decisions will shape Detroit's future. So how can the mayor deprive those voters of that same education with regard to the choice he's asking them to make?

Bing's spokesperson said the mayor's decision reflects his desire to focus on running the city. His best argument for keeping the job, in other words, is doing the job instead of campaigning for it against a candidate with much less demonstrated support. His reticence also may reflect the contrast he's trying to draw between himself and Barrow: Bing's not a politician, and intends to avoid running the city the way a politician would. But no doubt, politics plays a role here, too. As the incumbent with a steep advantage, Bing would be nuts, politically speaking, to give Barrow, whose campaign has struggled to even get noticed, time on stage with the mayor.

But that still leaves the civic mission sadly unfulfilled. The mayor owes Detroiters more. He needs to agree to a debate before voters go to the polls in November. However with less than 25 days to go before Detroiters go the polls, it is clear that Mayor Bing won’t debate Barrow so perhaps what the media should do is give Barrow the stage with write-in candidate Jerroll Sanders. At least Detroiters would get an opportunity to hear exactly where two candidates stand on the pressing issues of today since Bing won’t debate Barrow. It would have been easy for Cockrel in March and April to avoid debating Bing by saying that he had would allow Detroiters to vote off of his record on the job. However the excuse by Bing’s spokesman is a political move at its best especially considering the fact that he didn’t even bother to debate before the August primary.

Detroiters should look at the fact Bing is not debating as a slap in the face because if Detroiters look to Southfield where an incumbent mayor Brenda Lawrence was running against two candidates, she still debated them although the majority of the City of Southfield supported Lawrence’s candidacy and it was clearly shown by Lawrence overwhelming election results in primary where she got 60% or more of the vote. Still if Lawrence could find the time to respect the democratic process and the democracy of this great nation by giving the voters a debate and a chance to hear her opponents why can’t and hasn’t Bing done the same. Therefore if Bing doesn’t want to debate, I suggest all the newspapers in the city and television outlets to host at least two debates a week until the election between write-in candidate Sanders and ballot candidate Barrow where at least Detroiters can hear two people talk passionately about their ideas to be the next mayor of Detroit. Thus while Bing is doing his job and not debating, Detroiters can hear the ideas of Barrow and Sanders as well as their criticism of Bing’s administration and how they have handled the city since Bing took office in May.

It is clear one of the very bedrocks of our democracy outside of fair and free elections is the opportunity to hear the candidates express their ideas in a debate format for whatever office they are seeking. Sometimes we need to stop being political about things as simple as a debate. We need to have faith in the people to see that if you are the right candidate for the job than debate anyone, anywhere, and anytime because that is a key component to the democratic process where candidates can be side by side with each other expressing their ideas at the same time giving voters a chance to see the contrasting ideas in real time action. Candidates running for office should not be making excuses for why they are not debating their opponent based off how much support they have because that’s irrelevant. Debates are not about what support a candidate has but they are about helping the voters make up their mind on who has the best ideas to lead this city into the future and how well candidate articulate those ideas in real time pressure situations meaning under the lights of the camera under public questioning rather than simply delivering prepared remarks or speeches. So hopefully Detroit we get a Barrow vs. Sanders TV debate since we won’t get a Bing vs. Barrow debate.

Detroit’s Future according to Bing

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says Detroit’s future or his blueprint for Detroit rests on Cooperation, Opportunity, Responsibility, and Education which is known as CORE. Bing last week unveiled to the Detroit Free Press his blueprint for a new city. Bing said he didn't want to introduce a feel-good campaign, but something tangible that encourages all of his appointees, city employees, residents and stakeholders to embrace it.

Now when it comes to Cooperation, Bing said, "There are a lot of people who feel that Oakland County led by (County Executive L. Brooks Patterson) is our enemy. They are one of our greatest assets. Oakland County is still, I think, the second wealthiest county in the country. They've got some smart people; they've got some good people. A lot of those people were either born in Detroit or grew up in Detroit or were educated in Detroit and moved out for a lot of different reasons. They are not our enemy.”

Bing went on to say, “"The city of Detroit often sees itself in a vacuum against other municipalities in the area. I believe that in order for us to come back -- survive and thrive -- we're going to have to open up our mind-set and not think that we're the elephant in the room all the time." However when it comes to Opportunity, Bing says, "I have met with our Workforce Development Department and said to them, we now have pink slips out for 1,061 city employees. I want to say to those employees that lose their jobs, that you are not a throwaway -- we care about you. The training dollars that we got from the stimulus plan, we need to make sure that those people that are laid off from city government have the first opportunity to utilize those training dollars, so where there's opportunity for them to get employment, we want to make sure we help them as best we can.

Bing ultimately said, "The health care industry is an industry that is enjoying double-digit growth on an annual basis. They need employees. We should be training some of our laid-off workers for that industry." In regards to Responsibility, Bing feels "Our residents in the city need to take a step back and say, 'What is our responsibility in all of this?' There are so many residents that walk around with an attitude that is so prevalent in our community, one of instant gratification. Yes, I've made more money than the average citizen and I understand that, but I had to work like hell. I am hopeful that our community becomes more caring for each other. Are we responsible for our neighbor? I'm old-fashioned. I was raised that way. But now we seem not to care or we forget about those in need."

As it relates to Education, Bing said, "I feel very blessed that I grew up in the time and in the city where I did, and I got a good education. When I first came here in 1966, things were still pretty strong in the schools. But as things continued to change and were going in the wrong direction, we did nothing to stop it. I will take on the responsibility of the school system if voters want it. If our citizens vote for such, I will do it. I recognize that I have my hands full trying to bring the city back, so I would go and find the best person to lead the system and have that person report to me."

Still Bing’s CORE projects are not Bing’s only ideas for Detroit’s future because he seeks to privatize services and slash departments in order to right size Detroit’s government. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says he is taking a strategic approach to turning around Detroit -- an approach that will focus on the city running core services such as police, fire and EMS and outsourcing or privatizing others that can be done more efficiently elsewhere. In an exclusive interview with the Free Press, Bing said he views public safety -- which also includes homeland security -- and water and sewerage as the key core services a city must deliver. Within the next week to 10 days, he and his team will identify others the city should manage and those it should not, given its shrinking revenues and burgeoning budget deficit.

Bing knows he's in for a fight from city workers, especially in a city and region with a history of union strength. The word "core" is big for Bing -- it's the acronym for what he is calling his administration's mission and vision for making Detroit a better place to live, work and play. CORE stands for:

· Cooperation: Sharing resources between businesses and municipalities across the region.
· Opportunity: Giving Detroiters the skills to pursue employment in growing industries.
· Responsibility: Actively encouraging Detroiters to assume ownership of improving the condition of the city.
· Education: Working to create and maintain a quality school system.

"I didn't come in here as a politician and I won't leave as a politician," Bing said from his 11th-floor office at city hall. "I came in on change, and change is happening." 'I'm going to make the hard choices,' he says.

Bing, his top advisers and department heads spend hours each week holed up in a downtown conference room on the 26th floor of the Cadillac Tower, blocks away from city hall. The space is called the OR, the off-site operating room where they're debating how to restructure city government into a more cost-efficient and effective model. The debates can be intense, but Bing's team members have agreed to walk through the doors with cleansed and open minds. Yes, trash pickup is a vital city service, but who says it must be done by city workers? Certainly Detroiters depend on public buses, but why does the city need to manage the Department of Transportation? Bing acknowledges that the decisions are difficult to make -- which city services will be outsourced and which departments will be consolidated or eliminated -- but he doesn't appear to be flinching from the responsibility.

"Because I'm not worried about my next job, I'm going to make the hard choices that are necessary to move forward," Bing said. "I've had people tell me, 'You've got to be crazy to do the things that you're doing right now and think you're going to get re-elected.' Well, that's not the most important issue to me. The most important issue to me is doing what's right for whatever time that I'm here to make a difference. "If it means that I don't get re-elected but I know I've done all that I can do and I've done it for the right reasons, I can live with myself."

Bing said cuts to personnel are painful, but because previous mayors did not make the structural changes needed, he now must cut 10% of the workforce just to keep finances afloat. The city has about a $300-million accumulated deficit, and Bing is hustling to find enough money to address this year's cash shortfall of up to $80 million. "There are departments that should have consolidated a long time ago, and there are probably departments that should have been eliminated, and that's going to happen -- it has to happen," he said. Leaner is goal for 2010-11.

Though Bing said he's prepared to soon begin identifying some service cuts, he acknowledges that the long-term process will not occur overnight. But by the time the 2010-11 fiscal year begins next July, Bing, if still in office, is determined to be running a leaner city operation. Detroit's budget process begins about Oct. 1, when department heads are sent letters from the budget director reminding them what their budget was for the previous fiscal year and stating that it's time to get cracking on their spending plan.

Next month, though, that process will be completely different, said Charles Beckham, Bing's chief administrative assistant. He calls the idea revolutionary: The Bing administration will require department heads to essentially justify why they should exist. Some questions they'll be asked: What services do you provide now? What services should you provide? How much will it cost? Is there a way to do it cheaper? Can another entity do it cheaper?

Beckham points to this example: The city spends $4 million to $4.5 million annually on the 68 workers who oversee the Mistersky Power Station on West Jefferson in Detroit. The plant produces power for the city at a cost of $212 per megawatt hour. Yet when the plant goes down, the city pays DTE Energy $15 to $20 per megawatt hour for that same power.

Now Detroit isn’t the only city trying to reap savings these days. Leonard Gilroy, editor of an annual privatization report by the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonpartisan public policy research center, said cities such as Indianapolis; Cleveland; Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix have led the way in mixing privatization, consolidation and shared services, and data show those cities have experienced anywhere from a 5% to 25% savings in operational costs. Gilroy simplifies how a city can determine what can be privatized by using the so-called yellow pages test, a term coined by former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. If you can find the service in the phone book, from mowing grass to vehicle fleet maintenance to accounting, those are things that can be competitive, Gilroy said.

"The more of a union influence and presence, the more difficult it is to even get something off the ground, but the writing has been on the wall for Detroit," Gilroy said. "Mayor Bing only has to look around at other models. It's all out there, and it's all been done successfully. It's not like he'd have to reinvent the wheel; he has to just get comfortable with the new wheel." Nonetheless on Friday, the city's largest union officially withdrew its support for Bing, with leaders declaring they had no faith in Bing's leadership. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees says Bing isn't negotiating contracts in good faith, asking that workers not only take a 10% pay cut through 26 furlough days, but also demanding what they call other outlandish concessions.

"This guy is just full of it," Leamon Wilson, chairman of the presidents of AFSCME's locals, said about Bing. "He's not trying to work with us. He doesn't seem to have any respect for the workers and what they do." The mayor has already talked about privatizing two of the primary tasks of the city's Finance Department: the collection of taxes and payment of the city's employees. About 100 city workers would be affected by privatizing payroll and tax collection. Bing insists he's not antiunion and is not offended that members have switched their collective allegiance to Tom Barrow, his competition in the November election. But if Barrow were to be elected, Bing said he'd have to make many of the same cuts if he were honest with citizens and the workforce.

For his part, Barrow refers to Bing as an outsider who isn't equipped to help the city. Bing, a Detroit businessman long before his entry into politics, scoffs. "Anybody who thinks this municipality is not a huge business is absolutely nuts," Bing said. "Nobody likes to look at city government as a business, but that's exactly what it is. We're a $3-billion business, and it needs to be run that way." Therefore this is Bing’s plan for the future of Detroit and regardless if Detroiters like it or not, I don’t see Bing changing his mind on any of this and unless Bing is unseated, this is the type of decisions we as Detroiters should expect because he did what I thought he would do in regards to bus services and routes so I see no change in all of what Bing is saying.

Also what should be noted is that some of Bing’s ideas are good particularly privatizing DDOT or perhaps merging DDOT with SMART would increase bus service in not just Detroit but Southeast Michigan. It could be the beginning of real public transportation happening in the state of Michigan and Southeast Michigan could pave the way. Nonetheless Bing’s CORE vision is what Detroiters will see from an Bing administration for the next 4 years unless Detroiters decide to vote for Tom Barrow or write-in Jerroll Sanders for Mayor. I know what I plan to do but does the rest of Detroit know its future. That is the question.

Detroit’s Last Stand

This is truly Detroit’s last stand for better or worse. It is clear that the status quo won’t do in Detroit and many Detroiters’ want change but not all change is good change. Therefore as I read an article from the Michigan Citizen entitled “Bing Gets Big Ol’ Watermelon” I begin to wonder what really is going on in Detroit. I really wasn’t upset about the title of the article but the information within the piece. The information read:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm gifted Detroit Mayor Dave Bing with a watermelon during an announcement Aug. 27 to expand the fresh food initiative begun by Peaches and Greens on Third Ave. where trucks tour the neighborhoods selling vegetables.

After Bing’s opinion piece was published by the Detroit News (see editorial), his proposed bus cuts, his failure to provide a forensic audit, his refusal to debate or campaign before community groups, many Detroit city workers and residents aren’t surprised he wouldn’t understand the irony of being handed a watermelon.

Now for some people they might be upset with the irony of a black political leader getting a watermelon from a white political leader and those that are upset and feel it plays to racial stereotypes should be upset. However what I am upset is about is the fact Mayor Bing who has to get elected in November to serve the citizens of Detroit for the next 4 years has refused to debate or campaign before community groups like he did when he was running to fulfill the rest of Kwame Kilpatrick’s term as mayor. Now when I heard this, I quickly wondered are Detroiters going to accept this from Bing.

Now I understand that many in the news media as well as many Detroiters don’t believe the mayoral race is a race ain’t all because Bing is taking on Tom Barrow who has some character issues and Jerroll Sanders is reportedly doing a write-in campaign for mayor. Nonetheless, it makes me wonder with Bing tough talk on television lambasting union leaders and workers for not negotiating in good faith as well as his criticism of city residents for being more upset about bus routes and services possibly being cut but not upset about the increase in city violence. This is why this is Detroit’s last stand because if Bing really felt that Detroiters didn’t care about city violence than he should host town halls across the city to get the residents feelings about various city issues. Now Bing has only been in office for a little over 100 days or a little over 3 months but for him to speak about Detroit residents not caring about city violence or caring more about bus routes and services being cut more so than violence is just not true.

Bing seems to have lost his memory or just doesn’t recall all the community hearings regarding violence in the city for the last couple of decades but most importantly all the complaints from residents the last couple of years regarding the lack of police presence and slow response times which by the way still exist to some degree today. However no one can blame Bing for not nothing considering who wasn’t a resident of Detroit until last October. I’m not saying that to be funny or to attack Bing because I welcome anyone who moves into the city but people who visit the city or do business in the city wouldn’t understand many of issues that city residents face on a daily basis. It’s easy to read about many of these issues that plague Detroiters but reading about and experiencing are two different things.

Thus, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Dave Bing doesn’t understand or get many residents of Detroit. Also it shouldn’t surprise union leaders and their members that Bing uses the press to portray them as evil since before Bing won, he was labeled a union buster any way. Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us Detroiters that Bing doesn’t know that we have protested city violence for years but our pleas for help seem to get ignored time in and time out. Nonetheless it makes me wonder will we as Detroiters fight for wants ours. It makes me wonder if the Bus union fight against Bing and will other city leaders particularly unions fight against Bing. Since Bing seems unwilling to meet with community groups and residents, the very ones who he tried to woe in the first place in order to obtain the mayoral seat, what are we as Detroiters suppose to do? It seems as if Bing doesn’t want to debate Barrow because he doesn’t see him as a real contender but regardless if Barrow is a threat or not, I think that Detroiters should have the opportunity to see a debate in order to see where Bing stands as well as where Barrow stands.

For instance, the Detroit News or Free Press wouldn’t even run Tom Barrow’s op-ed regarding what alternatives to Bing’s bus cuts. I think these are the type of issues that Bing should be debated with at least Barrow if not Barrow and Sanders. For the whole summer, Bing wasn’t challenged and the news media didn’t hold his feet to the fire and neither did any of the unions as well as political groups who gave endorsements who got in bed with Bing by endorsing him for mayor without even considering or vetting or the other mayoral candidates. Bing simply ran all summer without holding any political forums or debates where we the citizens could hear his views, opinions and ideas. Even when Bing ran to fulfill Kilpatrick’s first term, Bing offered little substance and ideas to what his administration would look like. In fact Bing was more critic of Cockrel than actually putting out his own ideas.

Now with Bing in office, it seems that much of city government hasn’t changed from Bing to Cockrel to Kilpatrick to Archer because many of the same people who worked in those 4 administrations still work in city government today. Therefore where is the real change that Bing promised and on top of that, where is the real change in delivering better city services when many of Bing’s top officials make 6 figures plus in a city where the quality of life gets farther and farther away from city residents. Than to add to that, Detroit’s unemployment rate is the highest it has ever been since 1970 and there are talks of cutting routes and services for those who are one paycheck away from being in poverty.

So where is the outcry and where is the movement to unseat Bing. What unions or city residents will work for the less than 2 months to unseat Bing and his administration in order to save the city from disaster? Still Detroiters have choices outside of Bing and while I am not a supporter of Tom Barrow, he has some good ideas but I just hope Detroiters write-in Jerroll Sanders personally but nonetheless, below are Barrow’s alternatives Bing’s bus cuts.

Mayor Dave Bing is considering cuts to bus service in an effort to cut the city’s $300 million deficit. A series of public hearings took place between August 24-27 to allow for citizen comments on the proposed changes. Mayoral candidate Tom Barrow issued a statement at Tuesday’s hearing on August 25th on the reductions during the hearing at Rosa Parks Transit Center, 360 Michigan. Barrow said, “The purpose of a public hearing is to inform the citizens of policy initiatives that affect service delivery and to solicit input from the people to help shape that policy. In a democracy, it is the people and their elected leadership working together that ensures the proper utilization of tax dollars. In times of crisis, when elected leadership call for sacrifice from the public, it is expected that it will be shared sacrifice; not the people to sacrifice while you continue on with an elite lifestyle. It means we all take a hit temporarily until we can, together, fix the problems we are endeavoring to correct.”

Barrow went on to say, “Unfortunately, you as the city’s leadership, have already made a drastic decision to eliminate our bus service, fire drivers and leave our people to fend for themselves. Our leaders will sever the arteries of our city by cutting bus service, and just let the city bleed. How can we heal wounds self-inflicted by the hand of our own government? Who clots the cut? What soothes the pain? How do we heal? How will I be able to leave my home? Why wasn’t a modest increase in the bus fare considered? Surely paying 25 or 50 cents more per ride is better than a $30 daily taxi cab ride. There has not been a word from the Mayor or City Council on a fare increase in these times of crisis, why not?”

Still that is where Barrow and I disagree because paying 25 or 50 cents more is not an option until the bus services improve. Wait times are still entirely too long and the rudeness of bus drivers is a problematic issue as well as the fact that buses are running on time like they are suppose to. Until those issues are properly resolved than a hike in bus fare is just not acceptable in these already tough economic times. Many of the bus riders already riding the bus have to save as much as they can and hiking the bus fare will force many riders to adjust their already tight budgets as is.

Nonetheless Barrow went on to say, “The state is still holding up tens of millions of our dollars awaiting the delivery of mandated audits that are now approaching three years overdue. What is happening that we cannot file our audits on time to get desperately needed funds to our city? The answers to these questions are simple: Our leadership has failed and is continuing to fail us and it is that leadership that should be fired. Norm White, the city’s Chief Financial Officer, and former head of the Transportation Department, did nothing to find better solutions than cutting bus service and he is the one whose incompetence has deprived Detroit of on-time audits. He needs to go and go right now!

Now Barrow is right when criticizing recycled leadership that continues to plague Detroit and even when I say this to many people in the city I respect, they say who else will fulfill these positions, it’s no one else around but as I tell them, how do you know until you vet other young leaders to the place of the old regime that continues to sell old aged ideas to fix the city’s plaguing budget. Barrow goes on to say, “Mr [Charles]Beckham, you have been around for a long, long time. You are our city manager and Chief Operating Officer; you headed up many of our departments over the years. You now come before us to say we must suffer for your mistakes of the past 20 years in city government. You must go, you have done enough damage. Do the right thing and just resign. You can no longer blame bad economic circumstances on others. We blame you.

Barrow is again right because one of the major papers wrote a full article about Beckham where many consider him Mr. Mayor and perhaps the man behind Bing or at least the last voice Bing hears before he makes any decisions regarding city government. Still Beckham is still the old guard of Detroit and while I agree that you have to keep a few gray hairs around in city government but even the most knowledgeable and experienced leaders need to understand the changing of the times and they should be trying to adjust the city to go in that direction. However Barrow’s sharpest criticism was for Bing where he called him an interim mayor. Barrow said, “And Interim Mayor Bing, you moved here from Franklin to tear our city apart, to regionalize its resources and marginalize our people. This attitude must end. Stop blaming the economy and not your decisions. When you kill bus service, you kill hurt families, you cut off access to churches, recreation and services and you kill commerce.

Barrow wrapped up his statements by saying, “In short, you are making us a shell of a city. You are planning for shrinkage, not planning for growth. We want to aspire to be great again, not conspire to take our resources away. You have failed to have imagination when the city wants a visionary who will lead us out, not back us up. Retreat and retrench is not an option for Detroit. We choose to move forward and restoring and improving bus service is at the heart of it. Here are the key decisions that must be made to get us back on track:

- City managers who have take-home cars with free gas must surrender their vehicles immediately to save money; take the bus to work;

- A financial audit must be executed to ascertain cost savings;

- Zero-based budgeting must be implemented to stem cost-overruns;

- We must inventory assets to see what can be capitalized and amortized so that all of the people will know exactly where the D-DOT stands.

Norm White is incompetent to perform these important tasks and Mr. Beckham, you cannot do it. To restore public confidence as a result of cutting bus services, the people who have presided over the demise of our great city should not remain to continue the destruction. A wise man once said that in life you must know where to draw the line and where to hold the line, to know what you will tolerate and what means you will use to protect what’s yours. Here today, we have drawn the line with our leaders, this far and no further; we will hold the line, no cuts in bus service, bump the fare to keep buses rolling, drivers driving, mechanics fixing and the people on their way back and forth to work, to church, to family and to the parks.”

Still I don’t agree with all of what Barrow said but at least he is speaking to the people and giving us his ideas rather than using the media to criticize the unions and residents of this city for caring about bus services and routes. So while a new mayor with no experience in city government or municipal finance suggests bankruptcy is near, others say Detroit has cash but the administration must better manage and audit its finances. Both agree cuts signal more change for a city already suffering under disinvestment and a poor economy. “Bing plans to lay-off 110 mechanics, 30 coach service attendants, 25 storekeepers and ten body men Oct. 2,” says Leamon Wilson, president of Local 312 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) “That’s nearly half our workforce. Even if he decreases the numbers of drivers laid off, they won’t have anything to drive because there will be no one to repair, fuel, and clean the busses.”
Wilson represents bus mechanics and other D-DOT workers. Wilson said that in addition to $37.5 million in federal economic stimulus funds given to D-DOT while Ken Cockrel, Jr. was Mayor, the department has also received a $5 million grant for mid-life bus rebuilds, and $9 million for preventive maintenance, from the Federal Transit Administration. “That money is to pay the salaries of our workers, who are protected by the Urban Mass Transit Protection Act,” said Wilson. “But D-DOT plans to use it to pay vendors that it owes for engines and other parts, not to maintain the workforce. We’ll still install the engines, but half of our people will not be there to do it.” While union officials suggest private contracts and mismanagement are the cause of the deficit, Bing continues to point to workers salaries and benefits.

In a Detroit News commentary, he denounced the senior citizens, youth and workers who protested the lay-offs and bus cuts, including the complete elimination of Saturday night and Sunday service. “More citizens have turned out to oppose proposed bus route changes than they have to decry the violence that holds our community hostage,” Bing said. “Hundreds of people have called my office to complain about these possible changes, while the lack of calls turning in known criminals leaves police lines silent.” Bing temporarily withdrew 113 driver lay-offs planned for Aug. 28, but announced he still plans to lay-off at least 1,000 other workers, including bus mechanics and Recreation Department “grass cutters,” whether or not the unions take concessions.

On August 31, Bing laid off 50 bus drivers, after drivers called in sick to protest the attacks on workers and riders. He also said he will restore reduced weekend service, but still plans route reductions, including more driver lay-offs by Sept. 14. While union and city face off, riders suffer. Thirty-year bus rider Michael Olshan remarked, “The Mayor’s position is incredibly naïve and typical of suburbanite thinking,” he said. “He is uninformed. He should have moved back into the city sooner.” Another bus rider said he experienced route slowdowns when drivers called in sick the weekend of August 29th & 30th.

Meanwhile, Detroit City Council President Pro-Tem JoAnn Watson asked the Council’s Research and Analysis Division to draft an emergency ordinance to prevent lay-offs of bus workers and up to 1,000 others Bing plans to send to the chopping block by Sept. 26. However Detroiters shouldn’t trust the city council to solve the bus issue either although it is an election year and many of them want to get re-elected so they should be trying to do any and everything to appease us the people. Still although the city council should be for us the people and preserving city assets, the Detroit City Council voted 5-2 on August 25 to approve the transfer of the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor, a Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) complex with miles of massive pipes and four pumping stations, to those counties. The transfer was part of a May 18 settlement agreement between Detroit, the U.S., the State of Michigan, and “all communities under contract with the city of Detroit for sewage treatment services.” The Council earlier approved the agreement itself.

But Council President Pro-Tem JoAnn Watson said the sale violates the City Charter, which requires a vote of the people on transfers of both water and sewerage and transportation department assets. “Why wasn’t this put on the November ballot?” she asked. “We have the right to maintain ownership since we built and paid for the Interceptor at the demand of the State of Michigan. This is an asset and its transfer will constitute a negative legal precedent for the rest of the Water Department.” She cited Sec. 7-1504 of the Charter, which reads, “The city shall not sell or in any way dispose of any property needed to continue the operation of any city-owned public utility furnishing water and sewerage service, unless approved by a majority of city voters voting on the question at a regular or special election.”

The charter also notes, “All contracts, franchises, grants, leases or other forms of transfer in violation of this section shall be void and of no effect against the city.” Only Councilwoman Martha Reeves voted with Watson. Council Pres. Ken Cockrel Jr. and members Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta, and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi voted to approve the transfer. DWSD director Pamela Turner, Law Department representative Robert Walters, Council Research and Analysis Division head David Whitaker, and the Council’s Fiscal Analyst Irvin Corley claimed that the Interceptor is not “needed to continue the operation of any city-owned public utility.” They said that operations within the city would continue as usual, and the city would continue to receive revenues from processing sewage from Oakland and Macomb Counties. DWSD, however, owns and operates facilities in Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties, which service a total of 138 cities and townships.

They also argued that the Interceptor is a “toxic asset” which collapsed at 15 Mile in 2004, and needs $125 million in immediate repairs. They said Macomb County will assume the outstanding bond debt on the property in addition to floating bonds for the repairs. AFSCME Local 207 President John Riehl, who represents water department workers, agreed with the officials that all other counties built and own their own interceptors, but also said that the transfer without a popular vote will set a bad precedent. Former City Charter Commissioner Joyce Moore was instrumental in getting the language preserving water and transportation department assets into the 1997 Charter. “I was displeased that they did not bring the issue to the people,” she said. “It represents the beginning of the dismantling of the Water Department. If we sell one part, who’s to say we can’t sell the rest?”

She and Tyrone Travis, who spoke at the hearing, also argued that the transfer violates the State Constitution. Travis cited Article 7, Sec. 25 of the Constitution, which says, “No city or village shall acquire any public utility furnishing light, heat or power, or grant any public utility franchise which is not subject to revocation at the will of the city or village, unless the proposition shall first have been approved by three-fifths of the electors voting thereon. No city or village may sell any public utility unless the proposition shall first have been approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, or a greater number if the charter shall so provide.”

The remainder of the settlement agreement will cost the City of Detroit and/or DWSD at least $37.2 million in capital costs, attorney fees and rate adjustments, in addition to other rate settlements, and millions in contract fees paid to the Infrastructure Management Group and to the chair and legal counsel of a “Business Leadership Group” set up by U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens to resolve the suit. Mayor Dave Bing was part of that group. The agreement also sets up a Director’s Council consisting of Detroit’s Mayor or designate, the DWSD Director, the Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, and the Wayne County Executive. Other communities serviced by DWSD may also be invited to attend meetings. The agreement says the Council’s purpose is to resolve disputes and cooperate in seeking outside funding, but falls short of turning control of DWSD over to a regional authority, which many had feared.

Thus with Council voting to sell off city assets as usual and only a select few there to stand up for city residents even during an election year, what is to come to Detroit. Then when you equate that with the fact the council blocked cuts to their vacations and increase in duties back in July before they voted on the sell of DWSD to Monroe and Oakland counties. One of the final acts of the Detroit City Council before taking its month-long summer break was to block nine proposals that would have made changes to the city charter. Among the measures council rejected was the effort to reduce their two-months-a-year vacations and a requirement to work an eight-hour-day.

At the July 23 meeting, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson unsuccessfully presented nine proposals for council approval. Had the measures earned the three-fifths required vote margin they would have gone on the Nov. 3 ballot seeking voter approval. With three years and four nays, council rejected reducing their vacation time — one month in the winter, one in the summer — to two two-week vacations. Currently charter requires council to hold its first meeting in the first week of January and during 10 months of the year. That allows council recesses from Thanksgiving until after New Years and for the month of August until after Labor Day. Voting to keep the current two-months of paid leave were Ken Cockrel Jr., Martha Reeves, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi and Sheila Cockrel.

Barbara-Rose Collins was absent, Monica Conyers had resigned for her involvement in the Synagro scandal. Voting to reduce vacation time were Watson, Brenda Jones and Kwame Kenyatta. Lame ducks on the council include Sheila Cockrel and Collins, who did not seek reelection, and Martha Reeves, who in the August primary failed to make the final 18 slots for the November ballot. One measure requiring council members to be “full-time” officials and one demanding they “maintain office hours for eight hours during each business day,” failed by the same vote margins and alignments.

Other measures council rejected included:

--Clarification of dismissal and forfeiture proceedings for elected officers of the city.

--Changes in the council committee structure adding law and audit oversight and fixing and expanding the number of committee members to five or seven from the current practice which is “as determined” by council.

--Establishment of a Youth Commission.

--Expanding the current department of Environmental Affairs to include Alternative and Renewable Energy and Recycling.

--Adding the responsibility for management, collection, and disposal of solid waste including curbside recycling to the department of public works.

--Requiring the mayor and Budget Director to report deficits in writing to the council immediately and request a council hearing within 10 days for action to remedy the situation.

Nonetheless Corporation Counsel had approved each resolution as to form before presentation to the council. Had the council approved the measures, the Governor and Michigan Attorney General were required to approve as to compliance with the Michigan Home Rule Cities Act and the Detroit Election Commission would have to certify the language before going on the ballot. Because council went on its August break, efforts to reach Cockrel Jr., Tinsley Talabi and Watson were unsuccessful and still even until now, many of them are still unwilling to comment. However the proposals planned by Watson seemed more of a political stunt than her really being sincere to increase council duties as well as making sure council members worked 8 hour days and received less vacation times.

It is an election year people and many of the incumbent council candidates seem to have had a political revival since they see their chances of getting re-elected to council is slim to none these days. Nonetheless, the council along with Bing seem bent on destroying Detroit not for the better from many of their actions. Still to add to the misery of Detroit’s last stand, Mayor Dave Bing appointed Jill Alper to serve as Detroit’s delegate to the National Democratic Party committee. The position is Detroit’s representation in the National Democratic Party. Alper works at Dewey Square Group, a Washington D.C.-based political consulting company. She also serves as a political advisor to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Political insiders say her appointment is problematic because of her position with Dewey Square. In the past, the spot has gone to mayoral staffers and, by extension, the interests of the city. Instead, Alper, who is a principal at the multi-client consulting company, works for herself.

Maurice Badgett responded to the appointment in an email to Detroit Democrats: “In his day the Hon. Coleman A. Young fought, that Detroit would have African American Detroiters to fill these positions.” He also said former mayors Dennis Archer and Kwame Kilpatrick maintained the tradition. Badgett believes Bing is weakening Detroit’s political position within the state and national parties. Appointments are based on an understanding between Democratic Party insiders. Typically the Mayor, Governor, other elected officials and UAW would be afforded spots. Thus with Bing doing this, why aren’t many Detroit Democrats upset because both the 13th & 14th Democratic Congressional Districts endorsed Bing for mayor.

With so many issues and much debate about the tearing down of Detroit, why aren’t the rallying cries to defeat Bing getting louder. Why aren’t the unions working together to defeat Bing and why aren’t Detroiters more upset at the fact that Bing won’t even debate his mayoral candidate yet alone host a town hall to present his ideas and changes to the resident of Detroit. Some city residents like John H. Henry think the city is being set up. Henry says, “If one looks at the big picture, the City of Detroit is being set up by the powers-that-be, including the news media, for the same treatment as the school system — a financial dictatorship, with Wall Street and its agents ripping off the City workers and people in Detroit. A big part in this set-up is the years-long project of portraying the elected officials of the City, Mayor and City Council, as so bad that the masses will accept a non-elected financial dictator to “clean up the mess” of these oh so foolish people elected by the citizenry.”

Henry goes on to say, “Whatever faults they have they are no worse than the dozens of white men who exclusively ran Detroit City government for so many decades. It is no coincidence that once the City Council became majority Black and female the forces that shape public opinion turned them into a bunch of fools in the minds of so many suckers and naive ones among us. Detroit financial problems are not due to City officials’ bad decisions, but the disinvestment from and failures of corporate America in Detroit, and the related long-term depopulation begun 60 years ago. The last thing the City needs is “CEO thinking” in leadership. CEO thinking has bankrupted all of Wall Street, GM, Chrysler ! No exaggeration.”

“At any rate, the effect of brainwashing so many citizens ignorant of Detroit’s history and current events has brought just such a CEO-style Mayor, who has all the appearances of someone who will facilitate handing the City over to a financial dictator, or emergency financial manager, as has the DPS,” said Henry. Henry says, “ Critically related to this looming financial right-wing coup, within the last several months, Wall Street bond holders tightened the noose through a swithcharoo perpetrated by Wall Street giant AIG’s failure, lowering Detroit’s bond rating, triggering and threatening an emergency financial manager, i.e. a financial dictator. In the end Detroit was forced to let a Wall Street firm get its teeth deeper into the City’s jugular vein/revenue stream from a casino. Then AIG was bailed out, Detroit was not, by the federal government.”

“Rushing Detroit to bankruptcy is very much about enriching Wall Street, the nation-wide financial sector of America, at the expense of City workers and the people of Detroit. The financial dictator selected will be an agent of that finance capitalist class,” said Henry. Therefore it is clear that this is perhaps Detroit’s last stand for better or worse. Will Detroit lay down without a fight or will we stand up to save the city that many of us love so much. Detroit now is the time to see what we are really made of. No longer can we elect a mayor who isn’t willing to meet with us and no longer can we put people on city council who like to grandstand and political posture when it is an election year in order to appeal to us the people but when it really counts, they are nowhere to be found.

For far too long, we have been beat down, tore down and shut out of government Detroit. Now we have the opportunity to create real change and the real question is will we finally work with unions, political organizations, religious organizations and other community groups to finally put people in political offices in the city who understand the issues of the city and are willing to bring in new political leadership in city departments in order to weed out the old aged ideas of city government and bring in new innovative ideas that will bring Detroit back to its former glory. Detroit we can’t take all of this without a fight. We must stand up and we must fight to save the city of Detroit from the brink of disaster and perhaps bankruptcy as well as the strapping of Detroit assets while Detroit get nothing of it.

Reference:
Bing gets big ol’ watermelon from The Michigan Citizen
www.michigancitizen.com

Mayor Ken Cockrel is Not President Obama by Akindele Akinyemi

While Detroiters are trying to figure out who to vote for on May 5, 2009 I wanted to point out something of significance. Some people who are supporting Mayor Ken Cockrel for re-election are going around saying that the Cockrel campaign and personality is like President Obama's campaign.

Sorry people but Mayor Cockrel is NOT President Obama. Not even close. To compare the two men is ridiculous.

As the sitting mayor, due to the abdication of the mayoral seat by Kwame Kilpatrick, Ken Cockrel gains an advantage that he has previously not enjoyed- a large apparatus of appointees to due his bidding. Ken Cockrel has consistently performed well at the polls, and has earned the top spot on the City Council with strong showings in each election.

He is a favorite among various sectors of the city, particularly with elements of the non-profit community as he has enjoyed their support. He also has had consistency with seniors who remember his father and approve of Ken Jr.’s approach to Council- pragmatic, non-ostentatious, and diligent in responding to citizen needs and request.

He has also enjoyed union support in most of his elections.

But this is no ordinary election coming up on May 5th, and some of the weakness that comes into play for him center on his new role being Mayor.

He has now a set of mayoral appointees, but many are holdovers from the Kilpatrick Administration. Will they be loyal to him and campaign with zeal, or will they go through the motions and have ties into other camps?

Indeed Mayor Cockrel's biggest challenge will be to balance the act of governing and campaigning.

While many would agree that he has experience and knowledge of issues affecting Detroit governance, Council members, by virtue of the City Charter is woefully devoid of information that affects service delivery. The budget discussions that council members have really are discussions of capacity and priority, while the administration is dealing with logistics and emergent issues.

Issues such as the following:

Campaign finances.

Non-disclosure of contributions received for high profile parties paid for by businesses.

After 11 years on Council, Mayor Cockrel still lacks knowledge of administrative procedures.

Supported Kilpatrick leanings 90% of the time when on Council.

Did not call for Kilpatrick’s resignation until the Detroit Free Press broke the story of the $8.4 million lawsuit.

The City’s $300 million debt was incurred under Mayor Cockrel’s not so watchful eye.

The Tunnel Deal – The Tunnel is one of the few revenue producing assets the City has. The sale of the Tunnel means a short- term gain for a long-term problem. If this deal goes through, the City will have to face the loss of this revenue in the next fiscal year.

Business friendly – Mayor Cockrel helps with downtown development but does not create a balance for the neighborhoods.

Mayor Cockrel was pursuing the money Mike Ilitch received from the city for maintenance of historic Tiger Stadium – I have not heard the results of Cockrel’s investigation.

Kim Cockrel was laid off from her job as a school teacher and immediately went to work for the DMC whose CEO is Conrad Mallett, a member of Kilpatrick’s transition team in 2001. As Ken Cockrel’s Campaign Manager, has Mrs. Cockrel taken an unpaid leave of absence from her position at the DMC?

To be perfectly honest Mayor Cockrel, in my opinion, is seriously overrated. He is not alert or aware as we had hoped he would be. His impression as Detroit City Council President was not strong at all. He was there, but not an impressive figure, and his role as Mayor has been equally unimpressive. Cockel platform is vague, and it's not clear what he's standing for. He says people will trust this administration, and the first thing we hear brings on a lack of trust.

Furthermore, what will Mayor Cockrel do to suffice about the projects are being pursued by people who know what they are doing?

And if Mayor Cockrel talks about demolition projects, such as demolition by neglect, parking empires, and general blight generation, I would advise him to do so right away. The City of Detroit does not have eminent domain. Therefore, will Mayor Cockrel talk to the Ilitches about the off-hockey-site properties, the Broderick near Capitol Park and the mental hospital about the owners of the office building and hotel at Park and Adams as well as the 7-acre parking lot at the corner of I-375 and Gratiot ?

What really hinders Detroit’s CBD development is the lack of money, lack of resources, and a general lack of market demand (historically but especially now). If half the effort devoted to attacking “the city” were devoted to business attraction or actually running successful, market-rate businesses here, things like the Lafayette Building demolition would not even be on the table. But why would Mayor Cockrel want to contract demolition experts from Macomb County and other areas instead of using demolition experts here in Detroit to tear down buildings for redevelopment? One of the greatest contributing factors to high unemployment in Detroit is the lack of people hiring each other and contracting each other's business in the city limits.

Ken Cockrel is not President Obama or even close so I hope people do not look at him as Obama. To do so would make us a laughing stock in the City of Detroit and the region.

Wake Up Detroit

Detroit, when will W.E. wake up and realize that we are better than what W.E. are getting from our politicians. However W.E. are the ones to blame for our politicians because time and time again when presented with an opportunity to elect the most qualified individual with a true love for Detroit and its citizens W.E. have failed. Instead W.E. have chosen to elect mediocrity and incompetent people with name recognition who has never given us any positive results but have stolen from not only the current residents of Detroit but from its future residents as well. Therefore it is time for us to wake up Detroit. It is time for us to awaken as W.E. prepare to go to the polls on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

Detroit W.E. can’t afford to get it wrong. Detroit W.E. can’t afford to forget the past and allow people who helped create the troubles that Detroit Public Schools are in to become the next Mayor of the City of Detroit. W.E. can’t forget how when Detroit Public Schools were taken over by the State Reform Board we were in a 2 billion dollar surplus in 1998 but when W.E. inherited the school board back W.E. were in a deficit. Detroit W.E. can’t forget how former Deputy Mayor under the Archer administration Freeman Hendrix kicked many residents out of School board meetings from 1999 to 2004 and he helped to give away money that should have went toward educating our kids but went toward making Freeman and his friends throughout the state richer. W.E. can’t forget Detroit how under the Archer administration, the city’s finances begin to dwindle and our police force begin to become corrupt.

Detroit W.E. can’t forget the past. Wake up Detroit because W.E. can’t afford to ignore the fact that W.E. didn’t like when Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick folded his arms for his campaign photos. Now all of a sudden W.E. are supposed to embrace Rev. Nicholas Hood III and his campaign photos where he folds his arms as if he is cool. Detroit wake up and ask ourselves why would someone who has been a pastor of a church want to be our mayor as if when they were on the Detroit City Council they produced great results. Let’s be real Detroit, this is a man who is a wonderful pastor but his political policies and his own quote unquote charter school are terrible. Is this what W.E. want Detroit?

Detroit we can’t afford to try new things because W.E. want new. Let’s be real Detroit, while Dave Bing was a good perhaps great basketball player to many, he shouldn’t be the next Mayor of Detroit because W.E. want something new. In fact let’s be real Detroit, Bing benefited as much as anyone under the Kilpatrick administration because his business got tons of dollars during the Kilpatrick first administration from 2001-2005. In fact you can say that one of Bing’s reasons for wanting to be mayor is so he can give his failing business more money during this economic downturn. Also Bing’s quote unquote houses that he has built in the city are good looking houses but rarely anyone stays in them. Do W.E. really want Dave Bing, a carpetbagger whose only reason for wanting to be the mayor is because his business isn’t doing that well especially since the auto industry is failing? Detroit can W.E. afford to elect someone as mayor who barely votes and whose only connection to the City of Detroit is business ventures. Detroit W.E. must wake up and see Dave Bing and others like him for what they really are. Detroit W.E. lost too much under the Kilpatrick administration and one of his best buddies and biggest campaign contributors was Dave Bing. Yes the same Dave Bing now seeking to be Mayor of the City of Detroit.

Wake up Detroit, W.E. can’t accept incompetence either. Detroit, Ken Cockrel, a nice guy but not a shrewd fellow whatsoever because since he has been in office, our finances have worsen and he has cared more about going to Washington D.C. to fight for the auto industry and to celebrate Barack Obama’s inauguration than to getting the city a fair Cobo Hall deal and to dealing with the city’s finances head on. However what more can W.E. expect from someone who allowed Monica Conyers to cap on him and call him “Shrek”. What more can W.E. expect from Ken Cockrel when while he was on council he allowed Kilpatrick to get away with so much than when it seemed like Kilpatrick was losing power he started to speak up. In fact this is the same Ken Cockrel who said the tunnel deal that the Kilpatrick administration wanted was a bad idea but after being in office for four months, Cockrel all of a sudden had a change a heart and told the residents that W.E. might have to sell the Detroit tunnel in order to straighten out the city’s finances. In fact Cockrel said that W.E. might have to sell the tunnel exactly as Kilpatrick proposed it. Wake up Detroit, W.E. don’t need no idiot in office who only wants to try to be like his father but is no way like him whatsoever. In fact if Ken Cockrel didn’t have his dad’s last name than he would have never got elected to any office in the city in the first place.

Wake up Detroit, Ken Cockrel didn’t do anything for the City of Detroit while he was a Wayne County Commissioner and he didn’t do anything for us while he was on City Council. Now if you look at the City of Detroit since Cockrel took over the Mayor’s office, the city’s finances have gotten worse and many qualified people who used to work Downtown have quit because of Cockrel’s arrogance and incompetence. In fact many of said that Cockrel’s wife is another reason they quit because she treats the Mayoral office as if she is the Mayor and as if people should be reporting to her instead of her husband. Wake up Detroit, Cockrel is not the guy to lead our city and as long as he is in office, our city will continue to suffer. While things have been quieter in the Mayor’s office under Cockrel’s watch but that is being compared to the Kilpatrick administration and a dog barking would have been much quieter than that administration. Wake up Detroit, quietness doesn’t equate to results that will help the City of Detroit.

Detroit W.E. deserve better and we need better. We can’t be fooled by name recognition either because the reality is what has Coleman A. Young Jr. otherwise known as Joel Loving done for us. As a two time State Representative whose mom moved him back to the City of Detroit from California and changed his name in order to get him elected in this name driven town. Detroit wake up and don’t be fooled what is going on. Coleman A. Young Jr. is like his father in name only and that’s because he changed his name. Otherwise let’s be real Coleman A. Young Jr. is nothing like his father the Great Coleman A. Young Sr. who helped to bring Detroit to great heights. Wake up Detroit and ask yourself what has Coleman A. Young Jr. done in Lansing for the city? While Coleman A. Young Jr. can shake hands, send birthday cards, sympathy cards and occasionally show up at meetings but what has he truly done to help improve the conditions of his neighborhood and the City of Detroit while being in Lansing?

Detroit wake up and realize that W.E. don’t need arrogance or ignorance in the Mayor’s office. Detroit we can’t afford to embrace either one of those characteristics. Detroit W.E. need a fighter for the people and someone who has the heart of the City first. While Sharon McPhail is an intelligent person and has been on the side of the city many times but her political career is over. McPhail can’t help the City of Detroit like she could if the City had of elected her in 1993 instead of Dennis Archer or in 2005 instead of Kilpatrick and Hendrix. Detroit W.E. can’t be fooled by tricks. W.E. have to remember the past of many of these people seeking our vote. Young people W.E. can’t be fooled by people who talk about the young people once they are running for office but have not done anything for the young people but destroy our future by destroying Detroit Public Schools. People’s records speak for themselves people. Don’t be fooled by rhetoric Detroit. Rhetoric has gotten us in trouble before and W.E. can’t afford to be left choosing between the lesser of two evils.

Detroit W.E. need someone who will protect our residents, our homes, and our businesses. Detroit W.E. need someone who knows how to keep people employed, balance a budget and can protect our children as well as senior citizens. Detroit W.E. need someone who is smart, intelligent and a people person. Detroit W.E. need a fighter, a listener and an innovator. Detroit W.E. don’t just need change but W.E. need proven change. Detroit W.E. need change that has yielded proven results and can yield even more positive results. Detroit W.E. don’t just need a leader who is disciplined but W.E. need a leader who has proven to be trustworthy. Detroit W.E. don’t just need someone who is willing to challenge the state and county on behalf of the city’s residents when necessary but W.E. need a mayor who is going to challenge us as residents as well.

Wake up Detroit. W.E. have to be smarter come Tuesday, February 24, 2009. W.E. can’t elect someone to office who has not shown us anything but rhetoric. Detroit W.E. can’t forget about the past and how many people seeking our vote now abused our elderly for simply speaking up. W.E. can’t forget how many of these candidates running for mayor abused our young and took from our young when they set on the State Reform School Board. Detroit wake up, W.E. can’t afford to elect people to office simply off of name of recognition. Wake up Detroit because W.E. can’t afford to elect people to office because they preach well. Detroit W.E. don’t need to elect someone new to the mayor’s office because W.E. want to see how they can incorporate their business style into the mayor’s office. Detroit W.E. don’t have time to wait and see. Detroit W.E. need a proven leader who has proven to produce good results for both our young and elderly but most importantly all of our residents.

Wake up Detroit and realize that W.E. need to elect Sheriff Warren Evans as our next mayor. Detroit W.E. can be better with Sheriff Warren Evans. Wake UP Detroit and realize that with Sheriff Evans W.E. can be great again. Wake UP Detroit and realize that with Sheriff Evans W.E. can bring stability to our great city. Wake UP Detroit and realize that with Sheriff Warren Evans W.E. can make public safety better, W.E. can balance our city’s budget and W.E. can make our schools better. Wake UP Detroit and realize that with Sheriff Warren Evans W.E. can attract new businesses, W.E. can repopulate our city’s population and W.E. can build a brighter future.

Wake UP Detroit and let’s make our city better than ever. Wake UP Detroit and realize that W.E. need Sheriff Warren Evans and Sheriff Warren Evans needs us if the City of Detroit is going to be “GREAT” again. Wake UP Detroit and let’s rebuild Detroit in its rightful image. Detroit W.E. can’t afford to waste our time on experimenting with someone else when W.E. have a proven leader with proven positive results that can yield even more positive proven results if elected as mayor. Wake UP Detroit and let’s elect Sheriff Warren Evans so W.E. can be a “BETTER” city than W.E. have been.

WAKE UP DETROIT!
W.E. CAN MAKE DETROIT BETTER WITH SHERIFF WARREN EVANS!

Hope, anger drive Hood's mayoral run

Rev. Nicholas Hood III has officially announced he is running for mayor of Detroit in February's primary to fulfill the rest of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick second term. Rev. Nicholas Hood III announced his bid for Detroit mayor Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, in front of the Spirit of Detroit statue next to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit. Amongst a crowd of about 40 supporters Rev. Hood III told the crowd and the media why he is running and how the city will be not disappointed or embrassed by his actions if he is chosen as the next mayor. At the same time, Rev. Hood talked about his lifelong commitment to the city and how he has been a Detroiter all his life and how he didn't just move him. Clearly making a reference about former Detroit Pistons & NBA great Dave Bing recent move to the city to in order to run for mayor.

References:

Hood to run for Detroit mayor: 'I will not be an embarrassment'

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081013/METRO/810130412/1361