Corruption and Detroit history impacting how citizens view government leaders
The culture of corruption some say has plagued Detroit city government, now fueling more responses in the wake of today s developments and allegations.
and last updated 2021-07-28 22:44:47-04
(WXYZ) â The culture of corruption some say has plagued Detroit city government, now fueling more responses in the wake of today s developments and allegations.
Detroiters who believe in the city coming back say theyâre sick of seeing leaders prosecuted here in federal court. Theyâre hoping to see real change now.
âI just feel itâs unfortunate people seem to take advantage, of the situation on a selfish note. Itâs difficult to explain to the kids. They say I want to be a Mayor when I grow up. Itâs like ahhh, said Erika Woodard, a Detroiter.
by Charlie LeDuff
(Photo: Rebecca Cook) It was the social event of the season, Detroit s version of the Hamptons polo party. The second marriage of disgraced former mayor and ex-con Kwame Kilpatrick. It was a ticket every self-respecting fast man would kill for a wedding at the Historic Little Rock Baptist Church and a reception at the Hotel St. Regis on West Grand Boulevard. There was Kilpatrick s contractor pal Bobby Ferguson, recently freed from prison, chatting last weekend near the crudites. And there stood the erstwhile teenage cocaine drug dealer White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershe Jr. – looking smooth and tan, our little bird tells us, holding court with a group of well-wishers. (How does a guy who s been imprisoned since he was 17 have six grandchildren, anyway?)
Detroit City Councilman André L. Spivey is expected to be indicted for bribery on claims he accepted $1,000 from an undercover informant, his attorney said.
Detroit-based attorney Elliott Hall told The Detroit News Tuesday that he anticipates a one-count indictment from the U.S. Attorney s Office for bribery as a public official, but added Mr. Spivey did nothing in his official capacity as a city councilperson that they re claiming.
Hall said the indictment will detail the bribery allegations involving Spivey, whom he said has been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney s Office and other authorities for the past 15 months trying to resolve it.
by Violet Ikonomova Detroit voters this year have a chance to tip the balance of power on City Council, with four of nine seats up for grabs on a body that typically votes with Mayor Mike Duggan. Nearly two dozen council candidates will appear on the primary and November ballots. Primaries will be held in Districts 1, 4, 7 and for two at-large, or citywide, seats. There will be no primary in Districts 2 and 6, where the two candidates in each race will automatically advance to the November ballot. District 5 Councilmember Mary Sheffield and District 3 Councilmember Scott Benson are meanwhile running for re-election unopposed.
Some of the candidates in Detroit s highly competitive City Council race. Nearly half of Detroit City Council s members are not running for reelection, including President Brenda Jones, André Spivey, Raquel Castañeda-López, and Gabe Leland, who resigned after pleading guilty of accepting a cash bribe, creating a competitive race with more than 40 candidates. Candidates who did not respond to
Metro Times questionnaire include at-large candidate Nicole Small; District 1 incumbent James Tate and Darryl Brown, District 4 s Latisha Johnson, Daivon Reeder, and Virgil Smith; and District 7 s William Davis, Regina Ross, and JoAnna Underwood. Here are the ones who took the time to tell us all of us what they hope to accomplish on the City Council.