Mike Duggan for Detroit Mayor

**Meddle** · July-02-12, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by antongast

Can we stop with the businessmen already?

You don't think running a large city is a business?

**antongast** · July-02-12, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Meddle

You don't think running a large city is a business?

No. The point of a city government is to serve the public. The point of a business is to make money. If you're running a city government to make money, you're doing it wrong.

**brizee** · July-02-12, 10:15 AM

I don't land on either side for Duggan.

I don't think black voters siding with a white candidate is NEARLY as big an issue as some like to think it is.

What makes me suspicious is why has the Detroit News been beating this guy's drum so hard for nearly three months? Who does he know or owe/owed favors to on the staff? It was nearly an article a day some weeks back.

**mam2009** · July-02-12, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by brizee

...What makes me suspicious is why has the Detroit News been beating this guy's drum so hard for nearly three months? Who does he know or owe/owed favors to on the staff? It was nearly an article a day some weeks back.

I've ”heard” that Mike Duggan went to school with both the Governor & the Treasurer and that they have all been friends for some time. I would be very interested to know if there is any truth to that. If true it could provide some context for Duggan's interest in being Detroit's next mayor. For the life of me I can't understand why any credible candidate would want to be the next mayor with the cloud of the State hovering over every decision. But if they were hand-picked by the Governor that would make more sense.

**corktownyuppie** · July-02-12, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by mam2009

I've ”heard” that Mike Duggan went to school with both the Governor & the Treasurer and that they have all been friends for some time. I would be very interested to know if there is any truth to that. If true it could provide some context for Duggan's interest in being Detroit's next mayor. For the life of me I can't understand why any credible candidate would want to be the next mayor with the cloud of the State hovering over every decision. But if they were hand-picked by the Governor that would make more sense.

That would sure make for an interesting conspiracy theory, but I don't think it's true.

Rick Snyder from Battle Creek, then went to University of Michigan.
Andy Dillon went to Detroit Catholic Central [[now in Novi) before going to Detroit College of Law and then University of Notre Dame.

So they definitely did not all go to school together.

Rick Snyder and Mike Duggan were both at the University of Michigan at the same time. But that would be like saying that me and Tom Brady were at school at the same time.

Are they all friends? That's much more believable. It actually makes sense to me that someone qualified would want the jointly appointed board overseeing all the decisions. If I were Mayor I'd finally feel like I have some political cover to do what everyone knows need to have been done for decades.

**Richard** · July-02-12, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

That would sure make for an interesting conspiracy theory, but I don't think it's true.

Rick Snyder from Battle Creek, then went to University of Michigan.
Andy Dillon went to Detroit Catholic Central [[now in Novi) before going to Detroit College of Law and then University of Notre Dame.

So they definitely did not all go to school together.

Rick Snyder and Mike Duggan were both at the University of Michigan at the same time. But that would be like saying that me and Tom Brady were at school at the same time.

Are they all friends? That's much more believable. It actually makes sense to me that someone qualified would want the jointly appointed board overseeing all the decisions. If I were Mayor I'd finally feel like I have some political cover to do what everyone knows need to have been done for decades.

The common is Spark , elimate MEDC diverting those funds into VC to pick the winners ,almost everybody is in place.

**mam2009** · July-04-12, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

The common is Spark , elimate MEDC diverting those funds into VC to pick the winners ,almost everybody is in place.

Could you or someone else interpret that post for me?

**Motor City Sam** · July-02-12, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by antongast

No. The point of a city government is to serve the public. The point of a business is to make money. If you're running a city government to make money, you're doing it wrong.

Exactly. Well said.

**corktownyuppie** · July-02-12, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by Motor City Sam

Exactly. Well said.

=======

Many would argue that the principal role of a business is to make money for those who have invested in it, and as a result, many corporate decisions are often made with the sole goal of increasing profits. However, according to the late Peter F. Drucker, the forefather of modern management, this view is erroneous.

Essentially, Drucker believed that the consumer should be the focus of, and purpose for, the organization. He explained, "A company's primary responsibility is to serve its customers, to provide the goods or services which the company exists to produce. Profit is not the primary goal but rather an essential condition for the company's continued existence. Other responsibilities, e.g., to employees and society, exist to support the company's continued ability to carry out its primary purpose."
==============

The purpose of a business is to serve a customer.
Making money is a byproduct of serving the customer.

Detroit does the first one poorly.
Therefore the second one suffers.

Detroit doesn't need to make money. But it needs to have money in order to survive. In order to to have money, it needs to serve a customer.

We, the citizens of Detroit, are that customer..

**cman710** · July-02-12, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by antongast

No. The point of a city government is to serve the public. The point of a business is to make money. If you're running a city government to make money, you're doing it wrong.

You are also doing it wrong if you run a city government that continually has deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollar range. While Bing's record might be disappointing, would a classic politician really do a better job? Perhaps, but not necessarily.

Regardless of whether it is a businessman, politician, or whatever, what Detroit needs most of all is a competent administrator who can do a good job of communicating with the public and deal with all the necessary egos in the city and state government so that he/she can accomplish some goals.

**Meddle** · July-02-12, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by antongast

No. The point of a city government is to serve the public. The point of a business is to make money. If you're running a city government to make money, you're doing it wrong.

A government can't serve the people if it can't manage the money. A business can't succeed if it doesn't take care of the customers. If governments were run more like businesses instead of good ole boy networks, we wouldn't have so many money problems.