Voters ready to toss incumbents
A poll taken by Inside Michigan shows the good people of the Detroit City Council are falling from grace. The man who was the most popular, Council President Ken Cockrel, is sixth in the latest polling. The man who is promising to turn Belle Isle into a theme park with exciting rides has moved up to third. Kwame Kenyatta was the radical revolutionary who has turned to a city developer and is making big promises.
The fact that two newcomers to politics, Gary Brown and Charles Pugh, are leading the field tells Detroiters just how the strong the negative view of the Detroit City Council is today.
JoAnn Watson was hurt by the revelation she had not paid her property taxes properly. Brenda Jones is the newcomer who was sailing high above the other incumbents until her assistant called her to a scene with a city policeman and the gossip that followed hurt her in the polls.
If things hold, only three of the nine incumbents will be in power in the new council. This is a time of great transition for the city. The changes that will take place in the next four years will be historic and life changing. It can mean Detroit won't have the largest minority population in a city anywhere in the country. Of the 11 most populated cities in the country, Detroit has the largest minority population at 84 percent African American.
There was a time when that translated into "black power." City minorities were at the table for any and all deals that needed city dollars to go forward. But blacks in the time of "Obamaism" do not see the necessity of having another black at the table. Everyone can see the things the present mayor is doing as he goes about making what he calls hard decisions; minorities are not at the table and many times not in the room.
Someone needs to remember that only the law put blacks where they are through the civil rights and voters rights bills. If blacks have no one to speak up for them, they will be pushed to the back or out of the room.
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Readers ready to toss their lunch...
Sometimes I if Rev. Smith checks his post before uploading it:
"It can mean Detroit won't have the largest minority population in a city anywhere in the country. Of the 11 most populated cities in the country, Detroit has the largest minority population at 84 percent African American."
What does he mean by this? That based on City Council members, all the african-americans will move out of the city or that great numbers of whites will be moving in? This seems non-sensical to me as well as Rev. Smith's claim that 84% of Detroit's constitutes a "minority"...
"If blacks have no one to speak up for them, they will be pushed to the back or out of the room."
Need I point out the 84% number the Rev. cites? How can elected representatives not speak for the interests of 84% of their electorate?
"There was a time when that translated into "black power." City minorities were at the table for any and all deals that needed city dollars to go forward."
I'm confused. Haven't african-americans constituted the majority of reps on city council for quite a few years now? Why isn't the Rev. laying any responsibility for the city's condition on them? Is this still the "white man's fault"? Still confused...
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"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
Huh?
It started out as an interesting observation on candidate popularity, and at the end it u-turns into a reminder to vote . . . black?? Is this even an issue this year? Do we even have a remotely diverse group of candidates?
If Detroit proper is going to survive, it needs about 500,000 more people, just for starters. What if all of them aren't black? Would Detroit fall from 'greatness'? Would this be a 'loss'? What if Detroit, probably the most notorious symbol of racial rancor in the nation, become the gold standard for racial cooperation??
This article reaks of the 'Our Turn' politics of the early 70s that cleared what remained of stability from most of Detroit. It's a shame that places like Seattle (less than 8% black) have blacks in high office, and yet here in segregated Metro-Detroit it's either all white or all black. It's an accepted notion around here that if they don't look like you they can't possibly care about you. If we don't fix this mentality on both sides the region is doomed to waste its energy fighting over the blanket.
Just hoping I misread the article. So discouraging...
Tossing Incumbents
Do you guys know why the City of Detroit is taking a dump as we speak? Because the SUBURBANITES have stopped spending money DOWNTOWN!! And do you want to know why us suburbanites have stopped spending what money we have left downtown? Because we can't stand all the ridiculous CORRUPTION BY CITY MEMBERS !! So if you guys keep telling all the suburbanites its not our concern what goes on in DETROIT, THAT'S FINE, but remember this, what happens in Detroit , drastically makes up some decisions on whether we go to downtown or not for entertainment , sports, casinos, hotels, money spending activities, so get it, us SUBURBANITES DO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THIS , MAYBE NOT TO VOTE, BUT DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THINGS!!
So the JOANN WATSON'S, MARTHA REEVES, NEED TO TAKE A LONG WALK OFF A SHORT PEER. But please a totally new Council needs a leader with class and that would have to be Ken Cockrel. And Gary Brown behind him would keep things in line like the cop in him would be!! There is a chance for this council to stay in line and make all the surrounding cities believe in what they can build as the major city Detroit should be!! If the DETROIT VOTERS GIVE THEM THE CHANCE AND NOT VOTE IN A BUNCH OF THUGS AGAIN!!!
VOTE VOTE VOTE, BUT REMOVE THE KWAME PEOPLE!!!
DAN1958~HAZEL PARK
Voters to Toss Council Incumbents
What are you trying to say, that we should keep the incumbents because they are black? All the elected council members will be black, whether they are new or the present council. There is not one white face that you have to be concerned about. I voted for JoAnn Watson the first time but will never vote for her again, she has turned out to be rude, disrespectful, a race baiter and a lying tax cheat. She questioned why anyone would call and report a possible error in any bill. She lied about a tornado hitting her house, not paying her taxes is stealing from the city and Detroit residents. Brenda Jones had Christine Beatty's episode with the police to realize the trouble she was getting herself into. Why are most your blogs about race? What happened to the song from Sunday School, Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight? Pastor, spread a little love.
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