JoAnn Watson??

[usa1]

Please, Please tell me why the people voted for this Clowncil person who is a known tax cheat?? We have many reputable candidates on the ballot and they pick this gal. Shame on you!!! I guess you want more of the same....We can pay our property taxes while JoAnn Watson only paid ?30.00 a year? I guess you wanted the same old bull coming from Watson!

[rjlj]

It is going to take a lot time before the people change. Name recognition goes a long ways in this city, especially before common sense. Even for tax cheats too. This is just a stepping stone election. It will be many years before things actually start to change in this city.

[Doma]

This is still going to be a HUGE improvement over the last council. No more burnt out ex-motown stars, Mon Convict OR Tiara Collins.....

[firstandten]

JoAnn has a sizable grass roots following which can't be ignored. People like JoAnn moreso than a MonCon or Martha. A single tax issue is not enough to remove an incumbent that is pretty popular.

[Wallins]

JoAnn Watson is a race-baiter, that is her source for votes. She and Monica were hand in hand with race-baiting in the Cobo Hall deal. We must work to change that mentality and make sure she is not reelected. Being a known liar and a tax cheat should have been more than enough to throw her out of office. Anytime I see or read her name I think of her stupid "tornado hit my house" lie.

[royce]

I didn't vote for her. However, I had a feeling she would be one of the top nine vote getters. As firstandten said, she has a sizable grass roots following. Remember she hosted a TV show before becoming a city council member. It appears that you definitely have a good shot of winning a political position in Detroit if you're a local TV or radio personalily. If Karen Dumas, Frankie Darcell, or Mildred Gaddis decided to run for a political office in this metro area, they would probably all get high numbers because of their name recognition. And yes, MIRepublic, I have mentioned this sentiment before.

[Brittz]

We need someone on council who is not afraid to speak up and Ms. Watson is that person.

[detr0itkid]

because a lot of our citizens are idiots

[KOMPOST]

I didn't vote for her. However, I had a feeling she would be one of the top nine vote getters. As firstandten said, she has a sizable grass roots following. Remember she hosted a TV show before becoming a city council member. It appears that you definitely have a good shot of winning a political position in Detroit if you're a local TV or radio personalily. If Karen Dumas, Frankie Darcell, or Mildred Gaddis decided to run for a political office in this metro area, they would probably all get high numbers because of their name recognition. And yes, MIRepublic, I have mentioned this sentiment before.

If your theory held true then Monica Conyers and Martha Reeves would have been re-elected. They were not.
The people of Detroit have spoken. With the exception of Matthew Naimi not given a shot, I couldn't be happier.

[Melocoton]

because a lot of our citizens are idiots

I'm getting a little tired of this "Detroiters are stupid and only vote on name recognition" canard, as if name recognition doesn't count exactly as much in every city and town in America.

Let's review: This was a mid-summer election with 167 candidates, in a city without a daily print newspaper, in which only those most extremely devoted to municipal elections [[provided they have an internet connection and a lot of patience) had any chance of even researching the candidates. Therefore, among incumbents local celebrities [[Charles Pugh and Gary Brown) or people with a long political pedigree [[Jenkins) made headway. So, it's not surprising that a lot of incumbents did well. Also, as someone said Watson has an actual base.

[kraig]

If your theory held true then Monica Conyers and Martha Reeves would have been re-elected. They were not.
The people of Detroit have spoken. With the exception of Matthew Naimi not given a shot, I couldn't be happier.

Royce's theory pretty much holds true. Dumas, Darcell or Gaddis would have made the top 18. It was just too late to take Conyers name off of the ballot. But everyone knew that she couldn't serve. Much like Mahaffey four years ago. The big difference being that Mahaffey retired due to health reasons and left with her dignity well intact while Conyers is leaving in disgrace. Reeves had too much of her dirty laundry being aired, just like Bates. The public decided now, just as then, to cut the cord.

As Detroiters, we haven't changed our voting ways.

[exdetroiter]

Detroiter probably voted for her because she hasn't been involved in the corruption scandal and she has on the job experience. As far as her tax issue, she paid the bill she was mailed. The error was the assessors fault, not hers. How many of you have received a bill in the mail and called to say I think this is inaccurate because its to low, I'm sure I should be giving you more of my money than this?

[preserve]

Watson knew her tax bill was wrong, she knew she wasn't being billed the $300 that the rest of us had to pay, that sits wrong with me, along with her foul attitude and nasty looks. She's just plain rude to most of the people who come to be
heard, unless of course, they came through her office, with a
cause she is already harping on.

[Wallins]

Detroiter probably voted for her because she hasn't been involved in the corruption scandal and she has on the job experience. As far as her tax issue, she paid the bill she was mailed. The error was the assessors fault, not hers. How many of you have received a bill in the mail and called to say I think this is inaccurate because its to low, I'm sure I should be giving you more of my money than this?

When the ATM gave me too much money, I took it back to the credit union, when my gas meter was only registering that my gas was on, I called the gas company and owed them an additional one thousand dollars. There are MANY decent and honest people in the city, so please don't give me the "How many of you would call" crap. Joann Watson knew she was not paying her fair share of taxes and the three hundred dollars a year garbage fee. There is no justification for her behavior. She stole from the city and lied about a tornado hitting her house, plain and simple, cut and dried, there is no way to fancy it up.

[Fury13]

We need someone on council who is not afraid to speak up and Ms. Watson is that person.

She speaks up all right, but she is hostile, divisive, and flat-out racist.

[detr0itkid]

I'm getting a little tired of this "Detroiters are stupid and only vote on name recognition" canard, as if name recognition doesn't count exactly as much in every city and town in America.

Let's review: This was a mid-summer election with 167 candidates, in a city without a daily print newspaper, in which only those most extremely devoted to municipal elections [[provided they have an internet connection and a lot of patience) had any chance of even researching the candidates. Therefore, among incumbents local celebrities [[Charles Pugh and Gary Brown) or people with a long political pedigree [[Jenkins) made headway. So, it's not surprising that a lot of incumbents did well. Also, as someone said Watson has an actual base.

I'm not talking about name recognition. I'm talking about just stupid.
She says that we should fix cobo by going to Obama and demanding stimulus money. This would be a good idea if it was possible, but it is not, it is dumb. Why waste time/effort/money flying to DC to ask for something we cant have. But many people support her and think this is a proactive step. Dumb
She came to our neighborhood meeting and told us to stop reporting crime/blight/abandoned houses to 311 because she said it is a bad system. She suggested that we should go to the mayor and demand a new system. Again it seems like a good idea, but this would involve taking time to disband this system, find a new one, find funding, set it up, and hope it works better. So to tell us to quit reporting issues is dumb.
I watch city council meetings almost daily on public access, she loves coming up with ideas that may be good if they were possible. Then blaming everyone else for not taking her seriously or allowing her ideas to progress. Stupid people see her as a great thinker who is being held back from her potential. And the fact that people don't realize that her ideas are retarded are, themselfs, also that way.

[lilpup]

She only came in seventh. She's hardly a lock for re-election.

[dcmorrison12]

I'm happy with the outcome. All but 1 of my choices made it to the top 18 [[Matt Naimi being the one who didn't make it, what a shame). I didn't vote for an incumbents other than Ken Cockrel. The one thing that bothers me is that 5 of the incumbents made it to the top 18, but we still have one more election to weed the crap candidates out.

[usa1]

JoAnn Watson came up under Coleman Young and is very racist. If you attend/watch council meetings you will see her vowing to go to their events and also contributing to racist groups. I hope we come to our senses and vote new council people in that will bring life to Detroit and are color blind. Jo Ann Watson did steal when she didn't own up to paying her taxes. She of all people knew just what she was doing.. She likes to bait people and keep the black/white pot boiling just as she did with Cobo Hall. Vote her OUT!

[stinkbug]

Ms. Watson speaks up alright, but what about? Nothing of substance or logic. She's simply a loud, obnoxious bully. The loudest person in the room tends to get heard the most.

"Adoption of practices and policies to facilitate Detroiters as owners-not just consumers. Detroit’s population is 85% African American and business, contract awards and investments should reflect same."

I literally just found this on her website. If we're going to be a cosmopolitan, global city, we have to move past this race-baiting bullshit. So we're supposed to award contracts based one someone's race? Bullshit. Unconstitutional.

If that's her rationale, out of the 9 council members I want one to be half white and part hispanic. They can be JoAnn Watson's replacement.

Monica and Martha down, now JoAnn Watson can go back to doing...whatever it is she is capable of doing...at least Martha had a singing career...

[Stosh]

It would only take a few well placed ads in the newspapers, and possibly a website, detailing her actual record in office as well as her other activities [[and political tendencies) for her to be replaced. Money and information talks.

[buildingsofdetroit]

Please, Please tell me why the people voted for this Clowncil person who is a known tax cheat??

Woman next to me voting spends about 2 minutes filling in her little ovals and then said, I swear to God, "Maaaaaaaaaaaan, I don't give uh fu**." And, instead of leaving the rest of the ballot blank, appeared to just "pick some" and color them in.
How did MonCon get votes? Especially when anyone who isn't an idiot knows she's a crook [[the news was EVERYWHERE and I cannot believe you could not know about it yet be registered to vote) and couldn't serve the term even if elected, something that also had been reported heavily.
Uneducated voters. Uneducated populace. Uneducated decisions. Uneducated leaders. Uneducated school board.
That's why, when anyone asks me if crime is this city's biggest problem, I always say, "No, it's the schools by a long shot."

[Downtown diva]

One of my close friends, whom many of you know, has said that she can relate to JoAnn.

As a middle aged female, she has life experiences that most of us could never understand.

Hey, would any of you deny that your opinions wouldnt be different if you were in her shoes?

[Lowell]

A lot of people who don't get Detroit politics underestimate JoAnn Watson. As noted above, she had a grass roots base, unlike the name-glommers Conyers and Martha [and Vandellas]. She is smart, speaks her mind and represents a point of view and is in touch with her constituents.

She did get a lot of well-deserverd egg on her face but she did nothing illegal with property tax. The fault for that is the City's -- if a business doesn't send and invoice, it expect to get payment. Most people will relate to that.

No matter what happens the new council portends, in my opinion, to be a more serious and focused body who will be working with a very bright and promising mayor. I hope and pray so.

[omega]

She speaks up all right, but she is hostile, divisive, and flat-out racist.

I agree. This lady should not make the top in Nov either. Matter of fact I predict she will get knocked off