By Chuck Waters

I don’t have any experience with prostitution, but it strikes me as rife with desperation, lack of self esteem, and sadly, low level intelligence. There are many parallels it has in common with the city of Detroit. If Detroit was a woman,she’d have bad credit, no job, and would be running out of unemployment assistance. She would not be allowed to have a bank account and to survive, she would be selling her body for profit.

Detroit currently has a junk bond rating (bad credit), a lack of new revenues (resulting from the flight of its residents), and has recently leased one of its most desireable assets; a major convention hall that sits right on the river(selling its body). The reality is that Detroit has a ~$300M deficit (one that has been growing over several years). The traditional huge pockets of the city are empty as residents have either lost their homes or abandoned ship.

Despite all all of this, there is a glimmer of hope. Detroit is in dire need of solid leadership and an extreme makeover. But there was an opportunity this past November 3rd to correct this. I moved here 9 months ago, and rather than
just keep to me and mine while many are struggling, I got involved. I felt that one of the best ways to do that was to put my energy behind a real good future leader for the city.

The Real Detroit

I’ll share my experience having lived through the political process the last several weeks. I did my research and found a candidate for city council whose platform, skill set, and vision appealed to me. Working for her, I had the
opportunity to canvass local neighborhoods and actually meet and talk to all kinds of people that live in the city.

I heard stories of how great this city used to be. How the black middle class was strong and how people felt safe and valued. Many of Detroit residents are 3rd generation or better and have lived the rise and fall of Detroit. Today with the reforming of the auto industry, it’s been a hard adjustment for the residents here. I recall one lady out trimming her hedges while several police cars raced down her block at +60 mph, she didn’t flinch. I guess she was not moved by the current crime-ridden condition of the city.

I attended several debates in support of my candidate for city council and had the opportunity to hear the residents express their concerns to the candidates. What stood out to me was the type of questions that were asked by moderators andresidents. It was literally night and day. The moderators, representatives of the
white collar middle class, asked questions about the city budget, spending, and delivery of services. The crowd, mostly blue collar (linked to the auto industry in some form) seemed to be very concerned about safety, crime, and misguided youth. What was unfortunate is that both sides have valid issues and no one really
ever connected the dots. One side blames the other for the current situation of the city; both sides’ concerns have merit.

Then, there was another voice of the crowd: the “what about me crowd.” There is a group of citizens
in Detroit that is only concerned about itself. Ironically, they are the ones that generally take from the folks that really are working hard to do change Detroit. These people see nothing wrong with the current state of affairs,
except that someone owes them something. In their minds, services should be cheaper, they should contribute less, and nothing is their fault. I found many of these kinds of people wanted to only vent at the debates. If I could have the mic for two seconds, I would tell them that change comes from ‘you’.

The Election

Of the 20 candidates that were vying for leadership roles (2 candidates for mayor and 18 for city council; only 9 could be chosen), it looked more like a battle of the ‘old’ vs. the ‘new’. The mayor’s race was a slam dunk as David Bing (yes NBA Hall of Famer) won his re-election single handedly. The city council was a differentstory. My previous stories outlined the issues with the old members in detail but the new faces would be a breath of fresh air. In total there were 5 new faces added to the council. Here is a list and the experience they bring to the table:

Charles Pugh – Former News Anchor; knows the city and its residents

Gary Brown – Former Police Deputy; stood up former Mayor Kilpatrick and helped take him down

Saunteel Jenkins – Former Chief of Staff to a former councilwoman

Andre L. Spivey – Pastor; breaths integrity into the political process

James Tate – Former Police spokesman; has a good working relationship with police

My only letdown was that my candidate Lisa Howze did not make it. She was the ONLY Certified Public Accountant in the field. I shudder to think the type of decisions we would have made had there been solid financial leadership in the room. With that said, I do feel that this new team, particularly the young new faces, will lead Detroit in the right direction. The challenge will be if they can get the city to follow them. A city with a 25% high school graduation rate, 29% unemployment and labor unions that don’t believe in change is a hard task to tackle for the new leadership.

Change aint change, until you change

The show “Extreme Makeover” makes ‘change’ look easy. A few architects, a team of carpenters and laborers, throw in some paint and nails and behold, a fabulous new home. Detroit can do the same thing; making itself over is not as
difficult as it seems. I do feel the surrounding counties/states, and even the country is rooting for Detroit to succeed. Detroit and its citizens want it to succeed. How does one relinquish the titles of traditional, fixed, and customary to become innovative, inventive and modern?

Detroit has been prostituted by too many for far too long. Dollars flowed through this city for decades as the middle class was created and flourished. Many dollars still flow through Michigan, but that’s just it. They flow through, and never stay for an extended period of time.

If you notice, not much is actually made in the USA anymore. Cindy McCain (wife of Senator John McCain) just sold her stake in something as traditional as beer to a foreign entity. Detroit’s traditions, proximity to Canada, and land bank make it a prime target for new sources of manufacturing to occur. With targeted funding, and purposefull spending, this city could easily see prosperity again. But in order for that to happen, the past has to die on many fronts. There is no resurrection without death.

Peace

Follow Us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/planetill

Follow Chuch Waters On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/complex219

Join Us on the Planet Ill Facebook Group for more discussion

Check out Planet Ill’s page on Essence.com

Follow us on Networked Blogs