Detroit needs to put a Detroiter in the White House

**illwill** · October-21-12, 10:30 AM

When was the last time Detroit had a power player in the White House excluding congressmen and senators?

I look at the amount of money and opportunity that Bill Clinton sent to his home state of Arkansas. The INSANE amount of money, numerous multi-million dollar contracts and crazy amount of investments that George Bush sent to Texas and Florida. Now in the Obama administration, Ray LaHood, Dick Durbin and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel are shipping the farm to their home state of Illinois. The Illinois Governor just sold an empty prison to the Feds that they couldn't afford to operate and made a HUGE profit. I look at all the economic investment that's going to Chicago and Illinois, especially in the form of transportation spending. They just ran a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Louis that runs 115 mph. Chicago is getting gobs of transit money just about every single month. The entire city is being repaved and infrastructure is being completely over-hauled... in today’s economy. It doesn't help that Rahm Emanuel knows every little trick in the book to get free federal money for Chicago.

I personally don't see anything wrong with this and I commend them for taking advantage of having Chicagoans in control of the White House and access to all of that federal money.

My question is, why can't we Detroiters do the same thing? If we had a Detroiter or Detroiters running the oval office, can you imagine all of the advantages we'd have? We need to push to get Detroiters in the oval office.

Otherwise, I think we're reaching for fruit that's on a tree branch way too high to reach. We're left picking up apples from the ground.

We need to go for it all folks!

**401don** · October-21-12, 10:39 AM

Start with finding a decent city councilman and work up.

**313WX** · October-21-12, 10:44 AM

Americans would never elect a Detroiter to the White House.

People all across the nation have seen how "good" the city is run on the local level, they'd rather not have that in the federal government.

**illwill** · October-21-12, 10:45 AM

Chicago has a bunch of yahoo's in city council too. They just think much BIGGER than Detroit and they're a cohesive group.

**mikefmich** · October-21-12, 10:55 AM

When Carter was in office, it was the next best thing.....except I don't think the $$ flow was always handled properly then.

**jtf1972** · October-21-12, 11:07 AM

Perhaps the last one was Romney? GEORGE Romney.

[[Mittens is no Detroiter)

**MidTownMs** · October-21-12, 01:33 PM

Perhaps if Detroit politicans could manage to stay out of the Big House [[and I don't mean Michigan Stadium) a qualified candidate might be identified.

**Richard** · October-21-12, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by illwill

When was the last time Detroit had a power player in the White House excluding congressmen and senators?

I look at the amount of money and opportunity that Bill Clinton sent to his home state of Arkansas. The INSANE amount of money, numerous multi-million dollar contracts and crazy amount of investments that George Bush sent to Texas and Florida. Now in the Obama administration, Ray LaHood, Dick Durbin and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel are shipping the farm to their home state of Illinois. The Illinois Governor just sold an empty prison to the Feds that they couldn't afford to operate and made a HUGE profit. I look at all the economic investment that's going to Chicago and Illinois, especially in the form of transportation spending. They just ran a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Louis that runs 115 mph. Chicago is getting gobs of transit money just about every single month. The entire city is being repaved and infrastructure is being completely over-hauled... in today’s economy. It doesn't help that Rahm Emanuel knows every little trick in the book to get free federal money for Chicago.

I personally don't see anything wrong with this and I commend them for taking advantage of having Chicagoans in control of the White House and access to all of that federal money.

My question is, why can't we Detroiters do the same thing? If we had a Detroiter or Detroiters running the oval office, can you imagine all of the advantages we'd have? We need to push to get Detroiters in the oval office.

Otherwise, I think we're reaching for fruit that's on a tree branch way too high to reach. We're left picking up apples from the ground.

We need to go for it all folks!

To some extent not so true,the 115 mph train is coming to Detroit,the bids were just completed for the building of the rail cars,2014 completion.the feds put up millions to help in the purchase from the heavy rail guys so it could be a dedicated line, feds sent millions to Detroit to those that had a plan ,Deidre cut for one ,spelling correct?

The money was there for the street car the city and state was not ready,The funds are available but you have to have a plan and be ready to implement,remember there was millions of funds available for what ever ,they just had to be shovel ready and some states are ore organized with their shovel ready projects that were already planned out.

They want you to have the funds so you remember where it came from when it comes election time,kinda late now , Mr. La hood is going private in Oct or Nov and I agree if Romney gets in it really looks scary unless you are already a multi millionaire.

It really does not matter who is in office there are always neighborhood stabilization funds available,HUD,enterprise zone funds, empowerment zone funds,etc. etc. all of these little mayoral soapbox announcements lately of acquiring funds for this and that, well, why all of a sudden now? they were there four years ago and ten years ago but I guess nobody cared enough to apply or plan for them at the top.

Washington has the checkbook but it not their job to run Detroit and send them a check each month it is the cities job to be on the ball and have a little planning other then comfortable entrances and exits.

Personally I see stalemate until after the new year and the council is changed out and the neighborhoods receive some personal representation ,it does not matter who is mayor or president.

**Meddle** · October-21-12, 03:49 PM

You might as well try to get a Mayor from Newark, NJ elected.

As bad as DC is, corruption in Detroit is on a WHOLE different scale.

**canuck** · October-21-12, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Meddle

You might as well try to get a Mayor from Newark, NJ elected.

As bad as DC is, corruption in Detroit is on a WHOLE different scale.

You know, with the value of property in Detroit the way it is, there are lesser spoils left for the dogs of war to bite into. But Chicago and Toronto and Montreal are mob controled cities from the get-go. When the dust settles on the construction boom in Toronto's region, and the Ontario government gets to look into the inner workings of the construction industry and money laundering from the N'drangheta; it won't be pretty. The Toronto Star and the french CBC; [[Radio-Canada) recently looked into the many families that escaped Calabrian crime invastigations and settled in Toronto, Hamilton and Thunder Bay. They are investing massively and are very low profile. Ontario is asleep at the wheel. Too many people are profiting from this and nobody wants to rock the boat.

There is a crime commission on in Quebec [[Operation Hammer) homing in on public works and construction contracts linked to the mob and it is indeed very sinister. They are proving that the godfather Nick Rizzuto was getting a percentage of all municipal contracts in Montreal and the mayor's party was also getting its contribution. The mayor of Laval, the biggest suburb north of Montreal is under special investigation also.

**Richard** · October-21-12, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by canuck

You know, with the value of property in Detroit the way it is, there are lesser spoils left for the dogs of war to bite into. But Chicago and Toronto and Montreal are mob controled cities from the get-go. When the dust settles on the construction boom in Toronto's region, and the Ontario government gets to look into the inner workings of the construction industry and money laundering from the N'drangheta; it won't be pretty. The Toronto Star and the french CBC; [[Radio-Canada) recently looked into the many families that escaped Calabrian crime invastigations and settled in Toronto, Hamilton and Thunder Bay. They are investing massively and are very low profile. Ontario is asleep at the wheel. Too many people are profiting from this and nobody wants to rock the boat.

There is a crime commission on in Quebec [[Operation Hammer) homing in on public works and construction contracts linked to the mob and it is indeed very sinister. They are proving that the godfather Nick Rizzuto was getting a percentage of all municipal contracts in Montreal and the mayor's party was also getting its contribution. The mayor of Laval, the biggest suburb north of Montreal is under special investigation also.

Personaly I think the best thing that could happen to the city now would be the mob coming in,if they came in with 3 billion dollars and bought cheap and rebuilt the city 5 years down the road they would triple thier money,they know how to get things done and fast ,things are controled and orderly,and they would do what ever it took to protect thier investment ie the city.A percentage of nothing is nothing.

**Meddle** · October-21-12, 06:15 PM

Personaly I think the best thing that could happen to the city now would be the mob coming in,

Worked out OK for Vegas.

And if King Kwame' or Big Bad Bobby had tried any of their crap, they'd have been Hoffa'd.

**renf** · October-21-12, 07:01 PM

[IMG]file:///C:\Users\RenF\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\c lip_image001.png[/IMG]
Willard “Mitt” Romney’s childhood home at 1860 Balmoral Drive in Detroit’s Palmer Woods
neighborhood. He lived here for, roughly, the first five years of his life and then moved with
his family to the suburb of Bloomfield Hills. He did not attend public schools in Detroit. The
home was razed by the city of Detroit in 2010 in an effort to reduce blight in this affluent neighborhood.

The photo shows were Williard Romney lived from abe zero to five.

**MidTownMs** · October-21-12, 07:14 PM

Where are the photos...

**illwill** · October-21-12, 09:44 PM

All of the big cities are mob connected. Unfortunately KK didn't know to lay under the radar. He wanted to be the black John Gotti and it caught up with him and his inner-circle.

Being an honest politician doesn't really get you too far in today's world or yesterdays world.

KK flaunted his wealth and wasn't smart enough to look the part of a humble big city Mayor.

**corktownyuppie** · October-21-12, 09:48 PM

I'm pretty uninformed on this. My perception that it's been all the "old economy cities", like Chicago, NYC, Philly, Boston that have heavy mob influence. The ne economy cities like Dallas, San Fran, Seattle have seemed to be pretty mob-free. Or am I just ignorant?

**Richard** · October-21-12, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

I'm pretty uninformed on this. My perception that it's been all the "old economy cities", like Chicago, NYC, Philly, Boston that have heavy mob influence. The ne economy cities like Dallas, San Fran, Seattle have seemed to be pretty mob-free. Or am I just ignorant?

They are still there just not in the sense of the glamorous old days,now it is mostly or reputed to be mostly white collar low profile stuff because they had the funds to do big deals.

Wall street scam 50 mill,small oil company in Penns 125 mill ,but most have gone into legit stuff, think next time you use an non bank owned ATM or the roll your own cigarette stores maybe not there but in bigger cities.

High profile and flashy never paid off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_crime_family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_crime_family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_crime_family

**Király** · October-21-12, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

I'm pretty uninformed on this. My perception that it's been all the "old economy cities", like Chicago, NYC, Philly, Boston that have heavy mob influence. The ne economy cities like Dallas, San Fran, Seattle have seemed to be pretty mob-free. Or am I just ignorant?

Depends how one defines "mob". If it means Italian organized crime, then yes you are largely right; and you can add Toronto and Montreal to that list. If "mob" is defined to be organized crime in general, and/or other ethnically-based non-Italian organized crime rings, then no, not at all.