Detroit City Hall Insider

Category: City council race

Quiet on the set! Watson causes stir; Johnson pens op-ed

City Council challenger Charles Pugh's money troubles notwithstanding, these may not be the best days to be an incumbent.

Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. was practically piggy-piled by challengers during last week's WADL debate. Polls show at least two incumbents could be in trouble Nov. 3.

And now Councilwoman JoAnn Watson has walked into a movie set. The hubbub during the filming of "Red Dawn" was caught on tape and Fox 2 has the video.

Raphael B. Johnson, meanwhile, is getting the sort of pub that challengers dream about, being published this week in a Newsweek MyTurn piece that tells the story of how he killed a man as a teen, served 12 years and turned his life around. The piece comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing two cases on the constitutionality of life sentences for teens, Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida.

"The court should give people like me a reason to keep improving themselves," Johnson writes. "Individuals who have committed crimes as teens should be allowed to have their sentences reviewed. Teenagers change. Adolescents, even more than adults, have enormous capacity for redemption. I know."

Category: City council race

Still more debates

Like a steam train bound for Cheboygan, there's no stopping the City Council debates until the Nov. 3 election. Here are the latest, starting with Jai-Lee Dearing, Fred Hall and Mohamed Okdie:

Here's Gary Brown, Andre Spivey and Councilwoman Brenda Jones:

Take it away, Saunteel Jenkins, James Tate and Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talabi:

Happy viewing.

Category: City council race

Council debates hit airwaves

No matter what happens Nov. 3, Detroit voters shouldn't complain they don't have enough information about City Council candidates. The race has featured more attention, scrutiny and forums than any in recent memory, from the upcoming WADL-TV debates, to the forum-a-night-a-palooza last month to the ongoing square-offs sponsored by The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and MiVote.org.

The one-hour debates began airing on Detroit Public TV on Tuesday, starting off with what could be the headline matchup: City Council President Ken Cockrel versus top vote-getter Charles Pugh and Detroit cop and Internet muckraker John Bennett. Here it is in its entirety.

Tonight at 5 p.m., public TV will air another debate featuring former detective Shelley Foy, accountant Lisa Howze and community activist Raphael Johnson. Here it is:

More debates, which are moderated by News Editorial Page Editor Nolan Finley and Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson, will be taped tonight, kicking off with Jai-Lee Dearing versus Fred Hall and Mohammed Okdie before Grary Brown takes on Brenda Jones and Andre Spivey. They wrap up with Saunteel Jenkins going against Alberta Tinsley-Talabi and James Tate.

The Insider will post the debates as we get 'em. Stay tuned and happy viewing.

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Category: City council race

And then there was one ...

Charles Pugh, the city council candidate who got the most tallies in the council primary, finally filed his campaign report Monday that was due Sept. 3. From July 20 to Aug. 24, Pugh, a former Fox 2 reporter, raised $5,060 and spent $4,776 on his campaign leaving him with $538 going into the general election. Donations included $125 from former councilwoman Sharon McPhail; $1,000 from Kirk Lewis, the CEO of Bing Group; and $500 from the Kilpatrick for Congress PAC. Still not having filed the required campaign disclosure form is businessman Jai-Lee Dearing. He is the only one of the 18 on the general election ballot now to have missed the deadline. Pugh was assessed a fine of $250, which came out to $25 per business day he was late. The fines for Dearing keep going up and up and up.

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Category: City council race

Kilpatricks backing Spivey and Johnson?

The City Hall Insider is always on the prowl for the latest tidbit of gossip, and this one was easy to find.

The sister and mother of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Ayanna Kilpatrick and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, are neighbors on LaSalle in the Virginia Park section of Detroit. Straddling the boundary line between their properties are two lawn signs endorsing the candidacies of Raphael Johnson and Andre Spivey for City Council.

Just over a year ago, the front porch of Ayanna Kilpatrick's house was the setting for one of the last moments of high drama in her brother's tenure as mayor. That is where he engaged in a scuffle with two investigators that led to criminal charges against him. He eventually pleaded no contest to an assault charge for the altercation.

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Category: City council race

City still wants to pick up the check

From the "You Can't Win for Trying" File: Councilman Kwame Kenyatta learned this week he can't take over the upkeep of his city-owned car to save the city some cash.

Kenyatta announced last week that he wanted to assume the estimated $7,200 a year cost of gas and maintenance of his Crown Vic. But in a response letter, Terrence King, director of the General Services Department, told Kenyatta that only the municipal garage can do vehicle maintenance because of "potential liabilities."

Kenyatta also wanted to start paying for the gas when he fills up at city pumps. But, alas, that's not possible either.

In the following excerpt from King's letter, he painfully illustrates just how bumpy a road City Hall's "reinvention" may be.

"We appreciate your initiative to help the city defer costs of the maintenance and fuel but we do not have the ability to receive reimbursements to a specific object code due to budget restrictions. The budget department needs to be contacted in order to create an object code that could be used to reflect this reimbursement and the billing process will need to be defined. At this point, we do not have the ability to accept your offer."

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Category: City council race

Tinsley-Talabi gets static from radio host

Usually, local radio hosts are happy when public officials give them a ring on the air. So the City Hall Insider isn't sure what to make of a weekend dust-up between Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talabi and WLQV-AM 1500 and WDTK-1400 AM gabber Nina Calahan-James.

Calling to mind that famous scene in 'Casablanca' in which Inspector Renault is "shocked, shocked" to find gambling in the gambling joint he haunts, Calahan-James is indignant that a candidate seeking re-election is phoning a show called "Politics & Life" during election season.

Calahan-Jones dashed off a press release accusing Tinsley-Talabi of making a "desperate plea for votes" by dropping a dime on Saturday to dispute a poll claiming she's fading fast in the Nov. 3 election. The survey from the Bloomfield Hills-based firm The Ballot Box claims Tinsley-Talabi, who fared the poorest among incumbents who made the cut Aug. 4, has dropped to 11th in the race for nine seats.

Tinsley-Talabi gave listeners the standard response by politicians who fare poorly in polls: They don't vote. She predicted victory, adding that Detroit "needs prayer and politics will not do it."

That's when Calahan-James got annoyed. She claims Tinsley-Talabi hijacked the airwaves and "continued to rattle on, using the talk show to campaign her platform" and engage in "five minutes of babble" until she was cut off. The discussion starts at the 30-minute mark here.

Fortunately, WLQV-AM 1500 is featuring a different group of council candidates at 1 p.m. every Saturday until the election. The City Hall Insider will be fiddling with the dial in eager anticipation to see whether Tinsley-Talabi will return to the airwaves and risk another press-release retort from Calahan-James.

While we wait, here's that "Casablanca" clip for the oldie-but-goodie set.

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Category: City council race

Tate to take a little off the top

Know a child who needs a tight fade? Candidate James Tate can help.

Tate, who finished 11th in the Aug. 4 primary, is offering "Tate's Back to School Cuts" at two locations on Sunday. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. children can get clipped free at D.Y.'s Barbership, 16861 Livernois near McNichols on the city's west side and East English Village Barbership, 16721 Mack Ave. near Yorkshire.

Tate told the Insider he understands times are tough and he wanted to do something to make sure children are ready for school. There there's no limit on how many children can get cut per family, and barbers will stay until every head is cut, Tate said.

"If we don't begin to strengthen our familiies we'll never restore our city," Tate said. "I have to do whatever I can to support the family unit. I know these are tough times. That's money that can go toward school supplies, new clothes and lunch. Every little bit helps in this economy."

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Category: City council race

Tate hosting town hall forum over the phone

Even with the City Council race down to the top 18 contenders, it still isn't easy to get a weary Detroit electorate excited to learn about one's candidacy.

So James Tate, the former spokesman for the Detroit Police Department, is trying one creative way to reach voters: hosting a town-hall meeting over the phone at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

During the 55-minute event, Tate, who finished 11th in the primary, will give his reasons for running, thoughts on the city's issues and ideas about generating revenue. He'll also answer questions from listeners during a 10-minute Q&A. The call in number is 1-219-509-8222 and the access code is 722421.

"Because the demographics are changing in terms of how people are getting information, we thought it would be a good idea to do this," said Londell Thomas, Tate's campaign manager.

He said the idea was inspired from President Obama's campaign, which featured several new and creative outreach efforts.

Tuesday's phone town hall will be the first of four that before the Nov. 3 election. Tate's campaign is also planning to hold an Internet town hall meeting where people can interact with over their computers.

Category: City council race

Debate lineup set

WADL TV-38 in Mount Clemens was abuzz Thursday evening when 16 City Council candidates and representatives of two others learned the lineups of the October debates, The Insider has learned.

Officials announced the lineups of the three debates scheduled for the candidates who are vying for the nine slots in the Nov. 3 election. Officials also announced the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library as two of the venues for the debates. Officials are trying to snag a third location.

Six candidates will appear per session and will deal with issues that are concerns for city voters. They will last 1 1/2 hours each. Each debate will begin at 9 p.m., officials said.

In the first debate, Oct. 15, will feature Lisa Howze, an accountant; James Tate, former police spokemsan; Shelly Foy, a former police officer and educator; Saunteel Jenkins, former chief of staff for Maryann Mahaffey; businessman Fred Elliott Hall and current Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr.

Charles Pugh, who won the primary election in August, will headline the second debate on Oct. 22. He will be joined by incumbents Kwame Kenyatta and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi; Mohamed Okdie, a former Detroit Public Schools social worker and community liaison for Congressman John Conyers; Detroit Uncovered author John Bennett and Gary Brown, who headed the internal affairs office for the Detroit police.

On Oct. 29, voters will hear from the Rev. Andre Spivey, a pastor at St. Paul A.M.E. Church; David Cross, a real estate developer and attorney; businessman Jai-Lee Dearing; incumbents JoAnn Watson and Brenda Jones and Raphael Johnson, a motivational speaker and community activist.