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Michigan Radio reporter Sarah Cwiek talks with Stateside about the battle over revising Detroit s city charter.
Credit Lester Graham / Michigan Radio
Why is Detroit looking to revise its charter in the first place?
In 2018, Detroiters voted by a narrow margin to open the charter up for revisions. A charter is like a city constitution it outlines the structure of government, how powers are distributed throughout it, and can serve as an outline of a city’s priorities. A group of people were elected to serve as charter commissioners, and members started holding meetings and gathering input on possible changes.
Detroit actually changed its charter fairly recently, in 2012. The changes at that time were mostly concerned with ethical issues, in the wake of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s trial and conviction for bribery and racketeering.