Who said Pugh's bad credit wouldn't affect him as city council prez?

[Detwa]

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/charlie-leduff-takes-a-look-at-charles-pugh-political-finances-20111109-ms

I think we agreed that him getting 16 eviction notices in like 2-3 years, while making 300k a year, was pretty relevant! He stepped down from a 300k job because as city council president, he has access to a LOT more than that!

His body language and expressions in the video clearly say he's lying - he's looking at Charlie, not even looking at the proof, because he already knows he's guilty.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

What exactly is the point of this post?

[Scottathew]

Detwa,

I thought the same thing. You'd think Pugh of all people would know how to avoid a media ambush. Pugh was TOTALLY lying, over and over again. It was written in his words, his voice, his body language, his tone, everything.

[Scottathew]

What exactly is the point of this post?

Did you click on the news article?

Most certainly thread worthy!

[Novine]

Pugh and LeDuff stated or implied that the withdrawals on the campaign credit card were illegal. But the state's campaign finance laws are so weak that those purchases are probably legitimate if they were done for purposes related to the candidate's campaign. Where Pugh will get in trouble is if he doesn't report them. But if they are reported, the state probably won't go to the trouble of digging deeper.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Did you click on the news article?

Most certainly thread worthy!

I saw it, and again what is th OP trying to convey with it? That Pugh is illresponsible? That he isn't worthy of being CC President? Not trying to defend Pugh, just want to know what's the point. I'm sure he isn't the only notable person having financial difficulties during these trying times. Nobody thought Ficano was corrupt either and how did that turn out?

[animatedmartian]

I was confused by the Kwame paying for campaigning for May of this year. What?

[Detwa]

Pugh and LeDuff stated or implied that the withdrawals on the campaign credit card were illegal. But the state's campaign finance laws are so weak that those purchases are probably legitimate if they were done for purposes related to the candidate's campaign. Where Pugh will get in trouble is if he doesn't report them. But if they are reported, the state probably won't go to the trouble of digging deeper.

That's true. But where does the money come from? Is that money that was/is donated to him to use for city business [[charities, etc.)? If so, why is he using it like his own personal bank account? It looks like he's basically living off of it. All of the ATM withdrawals not only look shady but the costs of those withdrawals show poor money management too. Just kind of ironic that he's all over the news screaming about the city's finances when he clearly can't even deal with his own. He swore the eviction issues were behind him and he was just going through a tough period - looks like more than that.

[Motor City Sam]

I've said before that the US Attorney should just be proactive and get started on the eventualy indictment paperwork for Pugh. Just leave the date and specific charges section blank. I'll be surprised if he makes it through his political career without being brought up on charges.

The guy seemed to be inspired to run for public office after seeing his buddy Kwame in action. You add that in with a proven inability to live within your means, even on over 200K per year, and it's not a suprise to see these issues. We've already had the wrecked City car under suspicous circumstances, along with the previous reports of Pugh's birthday party with the cash gifts and secret guest list.

[Blueidone]

I was confused by the Kwame paying for campaigning for May of this year. What?

The point is that Kwame FILED his report in a timely fashion...nothing to do with paying anything. As long as the account exists, the organization must continue to report on an annual basis.

[Gistok]

Since we have so many body language experts here... what was your take on last nights Republican face-off at Oakland University?

[TKshreve]

Since we have so many body language experts here... what was your take on last nights Republican face-off at Oakland University?

That it was a tryout for filling the shoes of Bozo the clown.

Big shoes to fill. Big shoes.

[swingline]

How did Mr. LeDuff get Mr. Pugh's campaign banking records? They're not public and not required to be filed. Just wondering.

Regardless, there is no need for frequent cash withdrawals in a properly organized and executed city council campaign. Cash withdrawals are a huge red flag. You pay poll workers on election day with cash. Even then, you should get some kind of receipt or form signed by the worker. Other than that, everything should be charged or paid by check. Even for the late night pizza for the volunteers. That's Campaigning 101. Mr. Pugh got a pass in his first election for his spendthrift habits as a private citizen. He shouldn't get another one for the same kind of conduct with his campaign money.

This is disappointing on a lot of levels. The guy seems smart, articulate and focused on solving Detroit's problems rather than pointing fingers north of Eight Mile and blaming outsiders in order to acquire political capital to use to get reelected. All good. So why can't he get his act together when it comes to his campaign activities? Knee jerk fingerpointing at former campaign staffers. Not good. The campaign reports aren't that complicated. But if you're using cash and don't keep any records, you've got a real problem.

Also, if his campaign records suck, imagine his council office records. Now, those records.are public. Mr. LeDuff would probably have a field day with those.

The bottom line is that this really draws Mr. Pugh's judgment into question. Is he just a well dressed empty suit, with his hand in the campaign fund cookie jar to boot? Whatever. None of this even means that there will be a political price. It will be interesting to see if he tries to ignore this or if he does something affirmative to get in front of the negative story.

[Zacha341]

^^^^ Empty suit indeed. And he's going to be a 'sued' suit in a minute!! Per the previous staffer that said she will SUE HIM if he continues to slander her name - blaming her for the purchases!

So unwise for him to do this if the person can verify they were not even in the state of Michigan on working on dates of charges. And yes, purchases should be debit's or charges that could be tracked. Cash is suspicious.

[Zacha341]

Yeah, he did not seem to be telling the truth... and throwing the previous staffer under the bus was sorta flaky, especially if they come forth with either letigation of slander and or proof they did not make charges. Well then what?

His body language and expressions in the video clearly say he's lying - he's looking at Charlie, not even looking at the proof, because he already knows he's guilty.

[stasu1213]

I didn't vote for him. I knew that he would be a failure of a council president for he was a failure in managing his own financings. He had said that another person was drawing money out of the account. Why would he let another person use the card instead of himself. His past travel vouchers should be investigated. He had probably made unnecessary trips on taxpayer's money. These trips may not have anything to do with the city's business. Did he take an entourage with him when not needed?

[DownriverGRap]

Speaking of Pugh's car crash....here is LeDuff with more on that!

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...rk-20111110-ms

[Detwa]

An accidental one car crash is just that - an accident, big deal, call the police and go home. There was obviously some big reason he needed to invent this whole cover up of what should have been a very simple accident. We can assume a lot of things were going down that night! But he really made it into a big coverup. Was he drunk? Did he have a passenger that he didn't want publicized? Guess we'll never know, but he will slip up again. This kind of behavior isn't a one-time thing, just like his poor finances. He's too old [[and makes too much money) for this mess.

[Gistok]

Some of this stuf is a rehash of what was posted here 2 years ago... someone find that thread, and that way you won't be repeating yourselves unnecessarily...