Lack of Diversity Amongst Council Candidates

[tkelly1986]

Though not surprising, it is sad to see a lack of diversity amongst the final 18 city council candidates; only one non-African American candidate. With all the calls for change and Detroit turning a new leaf, has this election actually provided that? Though Detroit is a majority black city, there are pockets of significant Latino, white and Arab populations, yet none are represented on the board….And in the foreseeable future, that will not change.

I guess we do have 2 things to look forward too however; the first openly gay elected official in Detroit and the potential to change the charter to elect by district. The latter may change the homogeneity of the city council and promote increased diversity in city government.

[R8RBOB]

Though not surprising, it is sad to see a lack of diversity amongst the final 18 city council candidates; only one non-African American candidate. With all the calls for change and Detroit turning a new leaf, has this election actually provided that? Though Detroit is a majority black city, there are pockets of significant Latino, white and Arab populations, yet none are represented on the board….And in the foreseeable future, that will not change.

I guess we do have 2 things to look forward too however; the first openly gay elected official in Detroit and the potential to change the charter to elect by district. The latter may change the homogeneity of the city council and promote increased diversity in city government.

I'm not sure where you are going with this but you do know that the city council election is an at-large right?

When and hopefully very soon the at-large election will be replace with a district or ward voting structure. It is then Latinos and Arabs could have an opportunity to run for council.

[tkelly1986]

I acknowledge this where I state:

I guess we do have 2 things to look forward too however; the first openly gay elected official in Detroit and the potential to change the charter to elect by district. The latter may change the homogeneity of the city council and promote increased diversity in city government.

My hope is that election by district will promote more diversity.

[Bearinabox]

I think competence and level-headedness are more important than diversity. I don't care if there are nine green Martians on City Council as long as they do a good job.

[firstandten]

My hope is that election by district will promote more diversity.

I believe that diversity will be the first and most immediate benefit you will see once we get election by district.

[kraig]

I believe that diversity will be the first and most immediate benefit you will see once we get election by district.

It depends on how the district boundaries are drawn. For instance, if Mexicantown and Corktown are split up and made a part of 2 or more districts. That may negate the voting power of those residents to function as a bloc as they will now be a smaller percentage of a larger area.

[PSewick]

When and hopefully very soon the at-large election will be replace with a district or ward voting structure. It is then Latinos and Arabs could have an opportunity to run for council.

Is it even possible to draw a district 1/7th the size of the city where Latinos and/or Arabs and/or whites make up even 50% of the population?

Even if you could, the people drawing the district lines would see to it that no district be drawn up in such a way.

[firstandten]

It depends on how the district boundaries are drawn. For instance, if Mexicantown and Corktown are split up and made a part of 2 or more districts. That may negate the voting power of those residents to function as a bloc as they will now be a smaller percentage of a larger area.

Yes ! and what a political football that will be when the time comes !!

[jt1]

Though not surprising, it is sad to see a lack of diversity amongst the final 18 city council candidates; only one non-African American candidate. With all the calls for change and Detroit turning a new leaf, has this election actually provided that? Though Detroit is a majority black city, there are pockets of significant Latino, white and Arab populations, yet none are represented on the board….And in the foreseeable future, that will not change.

I guess we do have 2 things to look forward too however; the first openly gay elected official in Detroit and the potential to change the charter to elect by district. The latter may change the homogeneity of the city council and promote increased diversity in city government.

I do not care about color as long as we have competent leadership with integrity.

Now out of curiosity can you list how many of the 176 candidates are not black. Is this a case of voters voting based upon color [[which I duobt) or simply a lack of diversity among the people running.

So, since you started this thread i put it to you to list the ethnic/race breakdown of the candidates that were running. Only then can we determine if voters are voting on color lines [[again, I doubt it) or if very few candidates are not black.

[kraig]

Is it even possible to draw a district 1/7th the size of the city where Latinos and/or Arabs and/or whites make up even 50% of the population?

Even if you could, the people drawing the district lines would see to it that no district be drawn up in such a way.

At which point a lot of people will realize that they should have focused a whole lot more on who is on the Charter Commission.

One of the problems with City Council is that there are entire areas of the city that have not had representation [[as far as people that live in the area) for decades. The make up of the Charter Commission appears that it will mirror the City Council.

And with a number of Charter Commissioners looking to use the position as a stepping stone to City Council. Chances are that they will have the boundaries drawn to benefit themselves.

[jt1]

One additional point - If the white, hispanic and arab communities have a viable candidate that is white, hispanic or arab it is pretty sda that they could not get 8,165 votes which would have put them in the top 18.

Is it that some communities do not have a candidate that is getting their message out. Is it that the communities have a candidate but sadly can't even get 9000 people to support him or her.

If there are decent white/hispanic/arab candidates they are not getting their message out since they received less than 9000 votes

[Danny]

R8RBOB sez..

"When and hopefully very soon the at-large election will be replace with a district or ward voting structure. It is then Latinos and Arabs could have an opportunity to run for council."

NO WAY! ward systems is evil and corrupt. It would cause a city leader too become to powerful, running the its own community with a iron fist.

[Danny]

tkelly1986 sez...
"With all the calls for change and Detroit turning a new leaf, has this election actually provided that? Though Detroit is a majority black city, there are pockets of significant Latino, white and Arab populations, yet none are represented on the board….And in the foreseeable future, that will not change."

YES! as long as Detroit remains a 83% black city, there will be no change because of their culture. Fewer Whites, Arabs, Hispanics, Asians and East Indians see blacks as self centered based people with little or no solidarity. In fact we see African Americans with pre-anarcho-syndicate mind depending on the secular things in order to survive. It was through the forces of FEAR that created racial divisions between races in which it started from as a myth has now become a reality. However we can still race is a myth while people of color maintain their divisions.

We can break this trend by having Whites, Arabs, Hispanics, Asians and East Indians come to Detroit, living along the black folks, face their self center attitudes slave minds and populate. Than they could have their voices heard in Detroit City politics. When people see this race problem in Detroit, they would point blaming fingers on Black, White, Hispanic, Arab, Asian scenario. Plus from these negative senerios these group of ethnicities they created a negative xenophobic enviroment for our children to this day. Maybe one day or 100 years from now Detroit will rise from the racial ashes and people from many ethnicities will the power of Detroit politics and bring new leadership from the river to 8 Mile Rd.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

for Neda Soltani

[R8RBOB]

Danny sez..

NO WAY! ward systems is evil and corrupt. It would cause a city leader too become to powerful, running the its own community with a iron fist.

Danny, what do you suggest? If the ward systems is evil and corrupt and the at-large is broken, what do Detroit to elect its council members?

[Danny]

I'm suggesting that we leave the Detroit City Council to the people of Detroit. The Detroit City Council got rid of the evil ward system over 90 years ago for it was too corrupt. It created a strong governmental powers from the particular leader who has total rule in that community. You have to remember that in this free nation, it has to be certian checks and balances to prevent a strong central goverment or having a leader to have a dictatorship requirements.


For example T.V. has media sent a strong message to the viewing public about how wards are corrupt. If you have watch Good Times, Chicago Alderman Davis had warned the Evans Family to either support him or else lose their Cabrini Green subsidize apt. The Evans Family have to give in and bring their support to Alderman Davis and he won the election.

Detroit doesn't need a ward system and it never be a reality in the ghettohoods.

[Fury13]

Is it even possible to draw a district 1/7th the size of the city where Latinos and/or Arabs and/or whites make up even 50% of the population?

Even if you could, the people drawing the district lines would see to it that no district be drawn up in such a way.

That is exactly why I advocate more than 7 large districts. With 7 districts, your council will still be ethnically homogenous. There will be virtually no chance of electing anyone who is not African-American. No, you need at least 13 smaller districts, to allow for more ethnic diversity [[just maybe, a Latino on the council). But the proponents of changing the city charter to allow for seven districts don't seem to realize this.

On the other hand, if the goal is to keep the status quo, go with seven districts.

[R8RBOB]

I'm suggesting that we leave the Detroit City Council to the people of Detroit. The Detroit City Council got rid of the evil ward system over 90 years ago for it was too corrupt. It created a strong governmental powers from the particular leader who has total rule in that community. You have to remember that in this free nation, it has to be certian checks and balances to prevent a strong central goverment or having a leader to have a dictatorship requirements.


For example T.V. has media sent a strong message to the viewing public about how wards are corrupt. If you have watch Good Times, Chicago Alderman Davis had warned the Evans Family to either support him or else lose their Cabrini Green subsidize apt. The Evans Family have to give in and bring their support to Alderman Davis and he won the election.

Detroit doesn't need a ward system and it never be a reality in the ghettohoods.

Good Times!!! Are you kidding me? That was like 30+ years ago and like you said it was TV. My friend, Detroit had 90 years of corrupted City Council memebers because of the at-large. It has to go. Bring back the districts.

[Fury13]

I do not care about color as long as we have competent leadership with integrity.

Now out of curiosity can you list how many of the 176 candidates are not black. Is this a case of voters voting based upon color [[which I duobt) or simply a lack of diversity among the people running.

I agree, integrity is the most important quality desired in a council member.

There may be a lack of diversity among the people running, but that's probably because most non-blacks in Detroit believe they'd have a snowball's chance in hell of being elected under the current structure.

[EastsideAl]

I'm not sure what the point of this thread is. In a city that is 80%+ African-American I'm not sure why anyone would reasonably expect a racially "diverse" City Council. If one thinks of diversity solely in terms of race, that is.

Now before folks get too carried away talking about racial voting patterns, people here would do well to remember that this will be the very first time that this city - majority African-American for a very long time now - will have elected an entirely black City Council. And as recently as 2001 the top vote-getter in the City Council election, and therefore the City Council President [[until 2005), was a white person.

I agree with bearinabox that far more important than electing people of the right race is electing the right people. I have no problem at all with an all African-American City Council that does its basic job well and steers clear of the corruption that has far too often reared its ugly head in that body.

[EastsideAl]

Detroit had 90 years of corrupted City Council members because of the at-large.

And it had many years of corrupted City Council [[well, Common Council) members before the at-large system. In fact, this was why the ward system was scrapped - in response to the public outcry about its corruption. So if history, and the sad experience of other cities, is any guide, a ward system is hardly a cure for corruption. The cure for corruption under any system is electing the right people and holding them accountable for their actions.

Count me as a vote against a return to the ward system. I've lived in other cities that had council by district and all it did was create little political fiefdoms of localized interests and corrupt relationships, where the incumbent was generally unchallenged for their seat for as long as they wanted it and troubled incumbents stayed on forever screwing up the city's business because of their district ties and power. I think a return to the ward system in Detroit would look a lot like state legislative races in the city already do, or, heaven help us, like the late and [[hopefully) unlamented horrors of the regional school boards. The chance of some small amount of racial/ethnic diversity, whatever good that's supposed to do, is not nearly enough to bring me around to this idea.

[Supersport]

Who really cares about the diversity of the candidates? What is diversity, the color of somebody's skin? How about we look beyond that and simply pick a person, regardless of color, that shares the same ideals as us? Or are some people on here suggesting that skin color is the driving force behind somebody's beliefs? Personally, I have zero problem with a black candidate, or candidate of any other color, representing me...as long as they share the same beliefs, and strive to achieve the same goals for the city.

[jt1]

Who really cares about the diversity of the candidates? What is diversity, the color of somebody's skin? How about we look beyond that and simply pick a person, regardless of color, that shares the same ideals as us? Or are some people on here suggesting that skin color is the driving force behind somebody's beliefs? Personally, I have zero problem with a black candidate, or candidate of any other color, representing me...as long as they share the same beliefs, and strive to achieve the same goals for the city.

Agreed 100%

[gnome]

thank you sport.

On the subject of Council by District, it seems that several folks are a tad misinformed. True, there was graft, corruption and the wholesale selling of votes and favors. In fact, in 1914, one of the first uses of a wire recorder was used to capture several aldermen selling their votes right inside the old City Hall's Council Chambers.

The playback was inaudible and the prosecutions case fell apart. No one was convicted.

However, the drama of that corruption case, pales in comparison to the real reason behind the move to At-Large representation.

Around the turn of last century, there was a massive influx of Poles, Hungarians and worst of all: Germans. Germans had the particular bad habit of being pretty organized. They organized in beer gardens within their enclaves on the eastside. They spoke their own language, had their own newspaper [[Deutcher Abend Post which is still the USA's largest German language paper now called the Abend Post I believe) and were thriving in commerce and political power.

WWI comes along and German's aren't the most popular with their secret beirgardens and closeknit enclaves. Toss in Carrie Nation and her anti-drinking shrews, sprinkle in Women's Suffrage and you get a huge wave of discontent within the Nativist community.

The Germans, again in their cleverness, formed voting blocks within their Eastern European brethren. Pollocks, Krauts and Honkies all sharing the City's spoils of jobs and resources. The Nativists, fearing their power waning, devised the At-Large system to not just clean-up corruption, but to break the powerblocks of the Aryans.

So, before we get all freaky about corruption, keep in mind we are the only city in America with a population more than a half million that doesn't have a District system, and remember that the main push to ban district representation was rooted in the distrust for a people we were at war with.

[Fury13]

Who really cares about the diversity of the candidates? What is diversity, the color of somebody's skin? How about we look beyond that and simply pick a person, regardless of color, that shares the same ideals as us? Or are some people on here suggesting that skin color is the driving force behind somebody's beliefs? Personally, I have zero problem with a black candidate, or candidate of any other color, representing me...as long as they share the same beliefs, and strive to achieve the same goals for the city.

Of course, all this is true. But I find it interesting that everyone seems to agree that "diversity" [[meaning ethnic diversity) is a good thing to have where you live; "diversity" is trumpeted as a positive in the Detroit area. Yet most municipalities in metro Detroit are actually homogeneous. The cities of Detroit, and its mirror image, Livonia, are both especially homogeneous. It seems that people choose to live near others of similar ethnic backgrounds, for the most part. Anyway, with that kind of homogeneity, it stands to reason that you're not going to field a diverse group of candidates.

So, maybe diversity is not that big a deal, after all.

The potential of having a more ethnically diverse City Council has been cited as a reason to switch to the district system. I submit that it will increase council member accountability, and accountability only... which is still a good thing, I suppose.

[MIRepublic]

I'm confused. When the Census comes around, next year, it'll likely find that Detroit will be close to 90% black if not even slightly over that [[it was 82% black at the last Census). I happen to wish Detroit was more ethnicially diverse myself, not for diversity's own sake, but for what it brings, practically. That said, in a city as homogenous as Detroit, has no one did the simple math about how many non-black candidates would show up in the top 18? It's almost as if some are saying its some kind of conspiracy.

And, to be clear on something else concerning Detroit's lack of diversity, unlike most other places, Detroit is not lacking in non-black residents because of organized efforts to keep people out through historical prejudices and discrimination, illegal housing covenants, etc...so let's get that out of the way from the start. This is not the result of some 'reverse' discrimination. So, if someone is looking to point the finger for this dirth, hopefully, they'd know where not to point it.

Lastly, what happened to all of the folks who [[pretend) "don't see race" and speak of "judging individuals, not groups"? Apparently, it's now worth noting in a city probably near 90% black that the vast majority of the candidates also happened to be black. Wow; what a finding! Please forget that these candidates included people from vastly different classes, and employment backgrounds, etc...right? Look at all of the black folks [[that got left in i.e. not by their design) in the black city! Aha!