Detroit Politics

On August 30, 2005, the headline of an article of the Detroit News read “Detroit to trim 150 cops, precincts.” Then chief of police, Ella Bully Cummings, merged the city's 12 precincts into six district stations. Cummings said, “Response time can only go down.”

The council has held hearings in response to the many citizen complaints about a police response time that rivaled the speed of a sloth in heat.

A True Story

I watched a Detroit city council meeting on Comcast in disbelief one night, as a citizen testified he received a call from his alarm company that his alarm was going off. He responded that it was not a false alarm. The alarm company called the police. So did the citizen, who headed home. On the way, either he or another person contacted by the alarm company also called the Detroit police and notified his wife, who met him at their debased domicile.

He and his wife beat the police to the scene. After an assessment of the situation, they entered the house to survey the damage. While upstairs, they heard the thieves returning for more goodies. Horrified, and trapped, they huddled in a closet and called the police again.

The voice on the other end of the phone did nothing to sooth their fears. The dispatcher told them; (I’m paraphrasing), “We received and logged the prior calls concerning this incident.” “A car has been dispatched.” “Stop calling.”

Okay, stick a pin.

For all of you who do not live in Detroit, here’s a test. What would you do?

1. Cuss out the dispatcher and demand a car right now.
2. Man-up, go downstairs and confront the bad guys.
3. Continue to hide in the closet and hope you are not discovered.
4. Call your councilwoman for back up.

The correct answer is D. Call your councilwoman for back up.

The Calvary to the rescue

As fate would have it, the young man happened to have the number of Joann Watson, a Detroit city councilwoman, in his cell phone. He placed a whispered call to Ms. Watson, who sensed the fear in the man’s voice and called a high-ranking police officer. If I recall correctly…a car responded about four hours after the original call was placed.

This is but one of many, many examples of poor police response since the departmental reorganization in 2005.

Interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. announced the appointment of James Barren to Chief of Police. Recently, Mayor Cockrel and Chief Barren pledged to open some closed Detroit police mini-stations…budget allowing.

The 1999 repeal of the 1930s-era Glass-Steagal Act, requiring separation of commercial and investment banking, represented significant change in how our financial institutions operated. Ironically, it was President Clinton who repealed it. The Foundry, a blog hosted by the Heritage Foundation, quoted Democratic House Leader Steny Hoyer, as saying “A stark failure of the economy and this administration’s (Bush), laissez faire, take the referee off the field…let anyone do whatever they want to do and everything will be fine,” contributed to our financial woes.

A similar deregulation occurred in Detroit that fateful day in October, when former Police Chief Bully Cummings closed half of Detroit’s police precincts. In the meantime, as on Wall Street, lawbreaking in Detroit has been elevated into an art form.

• Even so, I’ll bet the new chief catches more bad guys in three months in Detroit (budget increase or no budget increase), than Congress does on Wall Street with $700 billion dollars in three years

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I am going to explore corruption as practiced by city politicians in the United States right now, with emphasis on the City of Detroit. Chicago may have been synonymous with resolute corruption; the City of Detroit is not far behind. Recent indictments, trials and possible convictions involving bribery, graft, and kickbacks indicates that little has changed with the mindset of some unrelenting corrupt Detroit politicians. Detroit’s politics is so elusive, there is no doubt many get away with some unimaginable corrupt practices. It seems to be a style of deception saddled with entitlement to be corrupt to some politicians. So many good 'ole boys (and girls) ' watching out for each other that the ordinary citizen and voters seemed confused as to what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Corruption is so ingrained in the city that any ‘honest leader’ has little or no chance of being elected as a ‘dog catcher’ in the city's politics.

To assume race is not a problem in Michigan or the US would be right down stupid. However, a total focus that everything is about race is equally unfortunate and may have created a segment of entitlement that tends to mask incompetence of some ‘blamers’. Noticing that America is a ‘blame society,’ nobody takes responsibility for anything they may learn from as a failure. Most tend to blame something or someone else, including racism, revise-racism… and the list goes on. These entire “someone else’s fault’ begins to hurt the very essence of equality that remains legitimate in the context of racism. In Detroit, race is the best outlet for stirring emotions by crooked politicians and sure on ‘me too syndrome,’ all shades of criminals has benefited from an issue that many worthy lives has been sacrificed and continues today.

Corruption is generally considered to be bad for the performance of governments and for the growth and development of economies, but American cities grew rapidly and was, as far as tangible evidence suggests, relatively well governed. I propose that when race and greed becomes integral self-serving outlets, political graft takes a different route.

Skimming from city contracts and manipulating influence peddling with elected or exclusive clubs membership to pursue business enhancing policies and ‘old politics’ destructive tendencies hurts more in places like Detroit. Why? Detroit has a huge socially disadvantage population. Such a population, where there is a lack of core political engagement and comparatively requires socially targeted help than other Michigan many communities. Patronage politics makes Detroit corruption more likely by insulating politicians from voter wrath, as the ability to depart from real issues to racial politics, an easy outlet to dodge responsibility.

Without the willingness, including Detroit voters to change from the ‘old politics’ to a new political paradigm, a paradigm that looks beyond race, class, and color, we have a long way to go. Voters in Detroit must stop electing candidates on race alone by some voters, but, the politician that truly represent the people and their aspirations for the American dream. We, Detroiters, must also look deeper into our individual souls, learn to accept and change our own bad attitudes. Until we know that we have shortfalls that hurts our neighbor, city, region and all of the human family, change will not start.

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I was surprised on a recent trip into the heart of Dixie. Tuscaloosa, Alabama is very much alive and buzzing with prosperity. The home of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide is not unlike Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the University of Michigan Wolverines.

According to Wikipedia, Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 Census. The city's economy is centered on high-technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the university's research and development money and by its graduates. The university shapes Ann Arbor's economy significantly as it employs about 30,000 workers, including about 7,500 in the medical center.

Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the seat of Tuscaloosa County^[2] and the fifth-largest city in Alabama with a population of 83,052, (2006 U.S. Census Bureau Estimate). Tuscaloosa is also the center of industry, commerce, healthcare, and education for the region commonly known as West Alabama. Tuscaloosa attracted international attention when Mercedes-Benz announced it would build its first automotive assembly plant in North America in Tuscaloosa County. Nevertheless, the University remains the dominant economic and cultural engine in the city.

That’s Where the Similarities End

Tuscaloosa’s 83,000 residents occupy a land mass that is spread out over 67.7 square miles. By contrast, Ann Arbor squeezes 114,000 residents into 27.7 square miles. It is one third the size of Tuscaloosa.

Anyone who has ever attended a University of Michigan football game knows the importance of leaving home early to avoid the inevitable bumper-to-bumper traffic that accompanies every home game. Tuscaloosa can more than hold it’s own when it comes to Crimson Tide home games, but it goes Ann Arbor one further. Tuscaloosa has bumper-to-bumper traffic every evening at rush hour…roughly between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.

Ann Arbor has rush hour traffic too, but Tuscaloosa, occupies 3 times the area as Ann Arbor, with 30,000 less residents.

It’s an Impressive Feat

Even more impressive, is the lock-step attitude of the residents of the metropolitan Tuscaloosa area. Everyone seems to be on the same page. It’s hard not to visualize the entire state of Alabama still reeling from the lingering images of separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks, high-pressure water hoses plastering non-violent protesters and that whole 60’s scene epitomizing the struggle for equality for blacks.

However, as I golfed, as a walk-on, at the recently built University of Alabama golf facility (try that at the University of Michigan as a non-alumnus or guest) more than one fellow golfer told me, “This is not the same Alabama of old”.

Mercedes-Benz began construction of its M Class plant in 1997. They don’t have unions. Everyone works towards the same goal - without exception. In little more than ten short years, this attitude seems to have permeated the entire population. The result is spectacular.

Now, I am not so naïve as to suggest Mercedes has solved the entire areas problems. They have issues dealing with crime and punishment, infrastructure and the like. Ironically, because they are now part of the “Union”, Alabama too, is starting to feel the effects of our tanking economy. However, Mercedes-Benz and other non-union shops have had a major impact on lowering stress in the area.

Unlike the antagonistic, distrustful relationship displayed between union and management, white against black, and city versus suburb that exists here in Southeastern Michigan, the majority of Northwest Alabama appear to be working together for the common good. To be sure, there are some corners of discontent surrounding the Obama election. Nevertheless, there is an easygoing almost happy feeling amongst the residents.

Their region, despite some issues is prospering and tension is low. It’s not a stretch to see why John McCain won Alabama. Like my plumber tells me – If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

But Alas

Things here in Michigan are broken…from the business model at the big three, to race relations, to taxes and assessments.

Seems even the weather in Michigan is contentious.

We can hold on to our precious $3 per hour wage advantage on our southern counterparts in the auto industry. We can hold on to our prejudice, distrust and distain of those who do not embrace our own misplaced values.

We can roll the dice and hope the bailout will work.

On the other hand, we can unite for the common good. Try something different. It doesn’t have to be us versus them. Our true ultimatum seems to be - we learn from our neighbors in the south or we can take a lesson from the dinosaurs.

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Welcome, to Blogger Dunlap. I hope you will find our discussions enlightening, entertaining, educational and addictive. We will broach subjects ranging from politics, race, and religion, to generational changes and infidelity.

In this, our inaugural posting, let’s agree to a couple of ground rules. Biting, kicking, screaming, and punching are all ok. However, words can cut…sometimes very deeply. Please refrain from typing cuss words or comparisons of religion and race in a derogatory manner with animals, inanimate objects or body parts. With that said, let us begin.

Kwame Kilpatrick is no longer mayor of the City of Detroit. The newspapers and TV reporters are dissecting his rise and fall and potential come back. There may be a line on the odds of his reanimation in Vegas right now. I don’t know, nor am I interested in performing a post postmortem on Kilpatrick’s term as mayor. For better or for worse, it’s over.

Ken Cockrel Jr., the interim mayor will face the grim task of grave robbing – looking for and excavating all the bones buried in the financial graveyard that has been so well fortified and guarded by Mr. Kilpatrick and his minions. At last check, according to the Detroit News, the proposed 2007-2008 budget is slightly more than $3 billion and calls for adding 174 workers, including 103 police officers. The council needed to approve $30 million in property sales by the end of June, as well as approve a plan to lease off the city’s share in Detroit-Windsor Tunnel for $75 with $58 million plugging the 2007-08 budget deficit…all by the end of June 2008.

According to Kwame’s Next Detroit’s financial forcast which covers the period of 2004 thru 2008, this action will leave a cumulative deficit of $30.6 million for fiscal year 2007. It’s now September 2008, and none of this has happened. To make matters worse, the state has been witholding millions in revenue sharing because the city has been late in submitting financial statements. Cockrel is gonna need a bigger shovel.

There is good news however, it appears the governor is commited to providing state help in the financing of the expansion of Cobo. Business leaders are scrambling to finish deals put on hold due to the Kwame debacle, and I believe there will be some sort of light rail transportation linking parts of southeastern Michigan in the near future. Presidential politics will play a large role in whether or not the Big 3 get some sort of bailout assistance. This could go a long way towards helping not only the local economy here in Michigan, but, I believe the national economy will benefit. Although, I detest the thought of tax dollars going to help fat cats with fat salaries, I can rationalize it by comparing it to help for the mentally disabled.

Speaking of presidential politics, I’m interested in knowing a couple of things. The first is: Does anyone think that John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, as a running mate will help him win the presidency of the United States, and if so, why? With Sarah Palin as John McCain’s choice as vice president, did Barack Obama make a mistake by not choosing Hillary Clinton as his running mate for vice president? Secondly, if the federal government bails out FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC, should they also implement a plan to bail out social security?

 

Let me know what you think.

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Hello,

Thank you for using Detroit Politics Blog!, the premier blogging site that tries to keep our leadership honest. Views expressed by our independent bloggers are generally their views expressed in civil discourse.

 

Think of Detroit political blog as competing with both newspapers and other aggregators. Blogs are much the way ordinary people can write and express scholarly views. Blogs as many distractors may assume are driven by sensationalism like the mainstream media. That is utterly untrue, blogs are uniquely driven by the desire for originality. In a universe of millions of blogs by newspapers and political entities,fighting to remain the controlling voice for readers, the context of blogs seems to mute and expand the intellectual horizon of ordinary people in this free marketplace of ideas. Blogs are noted for saying something new; demanding new answers and questions like: What's the take or interpretation of monetary influence in politics, corruption in local and state government? What's the real motives of some red noise corrupt leaders? What's lurking behind the surface?

Thank you.

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