Ideas aplenty in crowded field for Detroit City Council

Facing a $300 million budget deficit and myriad problems citywide, the crowded field for Detroit City Council have many ideas on how to fix the city. (Creative Commons photo by erikalinds via Flickr)

DETROIT — Michigan’s largest city is short on a lot of things, but candidates for public office isn’t one of them. With 167 Detroit City Council hopefuls and 49 gunning for seats on the new City Charter Revision Commission, the Aug. 4 primary ballot could pass as a short novel.

That’s why across the city, churches, unions and community coalitions have sponsored forums to inform voters of their choices in the upcoming primary. Commonly referred to as “candidate meet and greets” these events often attract more candidates than voters. Recurring themes of concern at voter forums revolve around the city’s $300 million budget deficit, and the catastrophic crime rate.

Despite a Thursday evening thunderstorm and a power outage that had voters and candidates using cell phones and flashlights to navigate across the spacious Perfecting Church on the city’s east side, one voter education forum sponsored by the Northeast Citizens Concerned Voters lasted three hours.  

The event was moderated by Detroit Free Press associate editor Steve Henderson and attracted dozens of candidates plus their campaign teams, which made up a good part of the audience.   When it came time to discuss the most pressing issue — the budget — most candidates for city council agreed that the city should cut departments and reduce waste to curb the ballooning deficit.

One candidate, business owner Jai Lee Dearing, suggested that Detroit tap into the graveyard industry to raise city funds. “Detroit should go into the cemetery business,” he said, noting that the surrounding area was running out of burial space. “We have the open land. When someone dies it would generate city revenue,” he told the audience, that applauded the idea.

Dearing also said he would push to remove the Department of Administrative Hearings and investigate ways to build nuclear power plants inside the city limits.

Many candidates including Dearing, former deputy police chief James Tate, and Shelly Foy, former Detroit Police administrator, agreed that Detroit’s 311 caller information and complaint service was not helpful and could be cut. Most candidates cited waste as one of the biggest leaks in the budget, naming executive vehicles a major drain on city resources.

Abdullah Bey El-Amim, a former city hall manager said he didn’t know why the city gave him a car. “I think we need to work more efficiently. As city hall manager I had a [city] car. Gas, oil changes, everything was paid for. I would cut out executive perks,” he said.

Charles Pugh, a journalist, and Derrick Hale, former state representative, echoed El-Amim’s thoughts on cutting municipal vehicles, deeming them wasteful. Pugh was the only candidate who said he would support cuts across the board for city employees. But perhaps the candidate of the group who is most familiar with the city’s newly submitted budget is Councilwoman Brenda Jones.

“As you know I just composed a budget with a $300 million deficit,” she told the audience. “I will look at combining departments.” She suggested the department of homeland security contribute to Detroit police and fire efforts. The second round of questions addressed the city’s troublesome crime rate.

James Tate, who just months ago resigned as deputy police chief to run for city council, gave a surprising answer: “I think we need to look beyond police officers,” he said, after many candidates suggested strengthening the police presence. “People commit crime not because police aren’t there. They commit crime because they have a void in their community.”

Tate suggested community mentor programs, citing a successful one he started in his neighborhood. Most candidates agreed that crime in Detroit is an economic issue. El-Amim said he would give city residents and businesses contracts with the city to increase employment and deter crime.

“Crime is economic. We don’t someone in Novi to come cut the grass in Detroit,” he said.

Jones and Pugh both said that the city initiative Angel’s Night which is in effect for Halloween weekend to deter crime, should be a year-long effort. But Dalton Roberson Jr., a housing equity specialist, didn’t think he could make a dent in crime as a council member.

“Let’s be honest,” he told the crowd. “City government isn’t going to solve all the crime problems.” He said that to curb crime one would have to start building trust in their own community. A laugh erupted from the audience when Henderson quizzed the council candidates on how they would deal with difficult colleagues such as a Monica Conyers, who on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.

Jones, the only council member attendance, said she would address disagreements privately. “I will knock on my colleagues’ door,” she said. “A lot of the things that happen at the table should happen behind closed doors.”

Corleta Vaugh, an outspoken pastor whose voice boomed louder than the rest of the candidates, said one of her passions was connecting people. “Sometimes you have to understand human behavior,” she said. “Diversity is not a bad thing. Disagreement is healthy, but division is deadly.”

The forum was friendly, and candidates commended one another on their ideas. In their closing statements each candidate expressed their commitment to Detroit. Tate, who has helped oversee police operations in the city for years, said he couldn’t sit back and watch city adversity any more. “You can see these things happen for so long before you think ‘what can I do?’” he said.

To illustrate her commitment to Detroit, Jones called Detroit her only commitment and her family. “I have no kids, I’m married,” she told the crowd, which seemed eager to wrap up the event ran past 9:00 p.m.