Who fathered/mothered Detroit's leadership culture?

[MIRepublic]

Jackie, the originally poster specified that he wasn't just talking about the city proper.

I think Detroitnerd nailed it up near the top. The different players and ethnic cultures may have come and gone and evolved, and such, but you can trace all of this back to just before the 20's, really. It was in the teens of the last century that the entire political culture of the city changed, literally and figuratively. During this time, wards were dismantled and the city was pretty much ran turned over to be governed by the manufacturers.

The only difference is the changing economic circumstances. This system [[seemed to) worked when Detroit was booming, but it's flaws became horribly apparent as early as the late 40's really. To be sure, if the folks who were running the city in say the 30's were running it today, Detroit would be no better off as very little has changed philosophically in the minds of city leaders.