Well Detroit, it should be plain and pretty clear now...we can no longer afford to vote "our" folks in based solely on name recognition! Let's take a look at where that has gotten us...Archer, Kilpatrick, and Bing. Two out of three is not good for a city that has been on the decline for 30, no 40 years!
Detroiters have suffered through corrupt mayors, police chiefs, school board members and every other office in-between. If they were not corrupt, they were incompetent.
Our current political leaders ignore and sugar coat the truth, all in the name of keeping their current position or keeping the possibility of getting the next political position open. Choosing political leaders solely based on a familiar name and not on performance or previous community involvement and commitment that can be substantiated has ruined Detroit and now whiffs of it happening in Wayne county. Electing politicians by name recognition has proven to be catastrophic.
Names like Pugh, Kilpatrick, Conyers and Young have found there way onto Detroit ballots without any fan fare; they didn't need it, they had established names, but not much political strength behind them to really afford our votes. Votes we gave generously even when incompetence and mayhem from their previous tenures (unless they are first term politicians), had been well documented.
As Detroiters we can no longer afford to vote for folks based on their last names or because their mom or dad was a public official. We can no longer afford to vote for people because they sang with Motown, or because they rationalize their behavior by holding up the 'black power' fist while screaming that the 'man' is out to get us, all the while infusing race as a wedge issue, or voting for the ex athletes with no government experience.
The political figures in Detroit have played on the ignorance of Detroiters for far to long. Not ignorance in the sense of mental capacity but because we don't make or take the time to investigate those who will decide our current and future policies. Voting on platforms that are buzz words and propaganda and only speaking to what they believe we want to hear and not the truth, because it will be pain that will come with fixing this city. We need the truth and yes, it may hurt; but voting by name recognition has hurt us more.
The clock is still ticking, we have time, but as voters we must do a better job of investigating and selecting the next individuals who will hold and uphold political office, individuals willing to make tough choices now, that will hopefully allow for a better future for all of us tomorrow.
Most of all, we must elect leaders who don't believe that the office they hold is for their personal gain, that it is work involved, serious work and it's needed now.
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