GOOD politicians & public officials

[Gsgeorge]

I know, I know, but don't laugh yet.

I'm sick of hearing about MonCon & KK & the Jacksons and all the other miserably horrible and disgusting politicians and public figures that have been so kind to serve this city and its people.

Someone remarked on a previous thread that the list of Good Politicians is probably a lot smaller than the list of Bad Politicians. Well lets try to prove that wrong. So let's hear about some GREAT public officials around today. Ones we can really celebrate for putting ego, wealth, and personal matters aside in consideration of the greater public good. I'm talking both politicians AND those who serve the public by being in a high profile or being instrumental in City decisions, actions, and protocols.

I'll start. Kwame Kenyatta = amazing. A record practically clean as the board of health, and he always seems to be the most sensible & collected councilman in the room.

Well? There's gotta be more...right???

[Bigb23]

Former Governor William Milliken, for being a reasonable Republican centrist and commenter, on matters of State politics.

[MIRepublic]

I'll start. Kwame Kenyatta = amazing. A record practically clean as the board of health, and he always seems to be the most sensible & collected councilman in the room.

You mean the guy that as recently as 2006 referred to Brooks Patterson as the "Grand Dragon of Oakland County," and the guy who just weeks ago walked on his foreclosed home? And, the guy who stood "unapologetically", in his own words, for the impletementation of African Town [[as a county commissioner) as it was originally proposed?

Let's be clear, he's a highly complicated man and politician at best, and we've got a region and nation fool of those. He'd not be anywhere near the top of my list of "good" politicians or public officials. It seems that he stood where certain people wanted him to stand on Kilpatrick and Cobo, and the rest was never known to them, or they forgot.

As for who I like here in Michigan, I'd put Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee somewhere near the top of my list. He's the head of the county land bank, up there, and has been attracting international attention for his innovative uses of the local land bank to help revitalize Flint. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell is also doing some amazing things for that city in terms of environmental sustainability. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has become a national voice for American manufacturing. Lisa Webb Sharpe, the Department of Management and Budget Director while having to deal with less than optimal circumstances, is a Detroiter[[?) as sharp as a tack, and who's been dogged in finding efficiencies including accomplishing saving tens-of-millions of dollars just by finding energy efficiencies in state office buildings.

There are a lot of others I admire. At the higher levels of state government, I think most of the politicians [[in both parties) have left much, much to be desired. It's been my experience that the best public officials in the state are at the municipal level

[1KielsonDrive]

I'll second William Milliken. But he's not likely to get much support from right-wing nut neo's [[as evidenced by MI's remarks) because he's viewed as a betrayer of all things they hold near and dear - partisanship, demagoguery, inflexibility and fundamentalism. Milliken actually represents what the Republican Party used to look like in many cases: conservative, caring, compromising.

[1KielsonDrive]

I might add that if Milliken actually said what MI claims he said about LBP, he was pretty damn close to the truth. LBP being the pol that he is, has learned to spin well over the years. He still gets away with drinking and spouting off far more than most. He's in a very wealthy county that's had little reason to question his financial stewardship because they have scads of money. LBP probably wouldn't have lasted a minute anywhere that had serious economic and social problems.

[thecarl]

LBP probably wouldn't have lasted a minute anywhere that had serious economic and social problems.

reminds me of the quote, a good infielder never gets a bad hop.

[1KielsonDrive]

Comment on the last sentence while ignoring the rest of the statement.

[kraig]

I actually have a good one from the Detroit City Council. Mel Ravitz.

I think Milliken is a good consensus pick. He attempted to work hard on issues and didn't seem to play up to partisan politics that much.

Kenyatta's only good if you grade on a curve. He's just gone after people he doesn't like. Ask the Arab/Chaldean Community how fair he is. He's in cahoots with Malik Shabazz to shakedown Arab/Chaldean business owners every chance he gets. The hardest he's ever fought on council was to keep some Chaldean business owners from buying city owned land that has not been used for years while trying to get the city to sell the land to a group that he was pushing for that didn't even submit a bid when an RFP was issued for the sale. Additionally, he always votes against Arab/Chaldean non-profits for Block Grant funding. He's racist as hell.

If the Feds ever investigate his entertainment task force and his Detroit's got talent competition, he's going to wind up getting indicted as well.

[Gsgeorge]

Kenyatta's only good if you grade on a curve. He's just gone after people he doesn't like. Ask the Arab/Chaldean Community how fair he is. He's in cahoots with Malik Shabazz to shakedown Arab/Chaldean business owners every chance he gets. The hardest he's ever fought on council was to keep some Chaldean business owners from buying city owned land that has not been used for years while trying to get the city to sell the land to a group that he was pushing for that didn't even submit a bid when an RFP was issued for the sale. Additionally, he always votes against Arab/Chaldean non-profits for Block Grant funding. He's racist as hell.

That's too bad. I didn't know this. I'm a quarter Chaldean myself. So much for my post.

[Pam]

I might add that if Milliken actually said what MI claims he said about LBP

The LBP quote was by Kwame Kenyatta.