Council-by-districts lawsuit struck down

[Danny]

I think that the main reason to push for Proposal D with this urgency, is the timeline that it will take for the District initiative to take place. If Prop D passes, the 2013 election will be with Districts in place. Without Prop D, the Charter Commision can place Districts in their Charter Revision, which will be voted on in the 2013 election, and IF it passes, will allow for the Districts in the 2017 election.

Prompt change is what we need. Not a decade.

I don't want a EVIL ward system back in Detroit. All Detroiters must vote HELL NO on proposal D.

[Danny]

I completely agree with the recycling guy. Detroiters must act boldly and with urgency to right this ship we're in. I also completely agree with Kraig that we must do our best to educate ourselves on the best candidates for the job. We've made some real bad choices in the past few years. So it's true, no system whether all districts...all at large...or hybrid is perfect. In the end it's about the people. Like Charlton Heston once said in horror, "Soylent Green, er.. I mean City Council is People." But I digress...

In terms of Prop D specifically, it's conceivable that the original language could have been vetted more thoroughly. However, what drew me and others to the cause was that Prop D's intent couldn't be simpler or clearer: LET DETROITERS VOTE FOR DISTRICTS. And so often in these situations, there is a realization that if you really want to make change, it will likely get messy and meet with resistance. We were prepared for paper cuts and have so far negotiated the rapids intact.

Is it any surprise whatsoever that the powers that be have tried to poke holes in this from the beginning? If it wasn't "these" words that were deemed "fatally flawed" it could just as easily been "those" words. RAD works for City Council...hmmm.... Some might argue that Corp. Counsel leadership of late hasn't exactly had the best interests of Detroiters in mind. Council sat on their hands for weeks to fix what they deemed broken. They officially skirted their duty last week and this week only served to underscore their status as an ineffective body, grandstanding and hedging while the Court of Appeals took 30 minutes in their final deliberation before reaching a conclusion. It may be true that some on council acted in good faith to work towards a solution, but in the end they only have themselves to blame for not acting more expeditiously.

In terms of future suits, besides being a further drain on Detroit's resources, we'll cross that unfortunate bridge if we have to. In the meantime, as of yesterday, Prop D is headed for the ballot. In terms of district boundaries for city council, who would YOU want drawing the borders? The City Council? It may be interpreted that way by HRCA, but it would seem to me to be a clear conflict of interest to have council drawing its own lines. Call me crazy, but the election commission would seem to be far less politically inclined. Also it will be based on a new census in 2010, which will likely give us a different baseline from which to work.

It's true Detroiters for Council by Districts based its assumptions on the School Board districts for legal reasons. But besides the physical boundary similarities, the comparison really ought to end there. School Board and Council are two largely ineffective bodies, but their roles and responsibilities are quite different.

And this is where the Charter Commission comes in. They'll be in a much better place with Prop D on the books. Instead of wasting precious time arguing about whether we should or should not have districts, they'll be arguing about the best path to districts. They can discuss the nature of the beast...district and at-large totals...boundaries...roles and responsibilities...leadership...and power. A vote for Prop D will make their time much more effective and will give us all a starting position that represents a mandate from the people of Detroit.

Godspeed Prop D.

Not going to happen

[detourdetroit]

i'm sorry to break it to you Danny, but the Court of Appeals reversed Judge Smith's opinion... http://www.freep.com/article/2009092...ered-on-ballot

[detourdetroit]

i really wouldn't call our all at-large system free from corrupt politicks... conyers, bates, everett... recently come to mind.

[Danny]

i'm sorry to break it to you Danny, but the Court of Appeals reversed Judge Smith's opinion... http://www.freep.com/article/2009092...ered-on-ballot

Prop D will not pass. Detroiters, fight back against this proposed EVIL ward system. It's 10,000 times worse than the current system will are living in. It's better to have a regular city council than a district ward system.

VOTE NO ON PROP D.


WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

I would get over 60% out of 82.3% of the whole black Detroiters on my side to vote no on prop D if I have to.

In Memoriam: Neda Soltani

[Tig3rzhark]

Prop D will not pass. Detroiters, fight back against this proposed EVIL ward system. It's 10,000 times worse than the current system will are living in. It's better to have a regular city council than a district ward system.

VOTE NO ON PROP D.


WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

I would get over 60% out of 82.3% of the whole black Detroiters on my side to vote no on prop D if I have to.

In Memoriam: Neda Soltani

Then explain to everyone here why we shouldn't vote in support for it then, and please use some facts.

[humanmachinery]

It's better to have a regular city council than a district ward system.

It's ironic you should choose this wording.

The vast majority of major cities in OECD nations are run via the ward system.

An at-large council only works if a city has a very strong NIMBY culture, whereby issues that effect any region are perceived to be of citywide importance.

Vancouver has made this work. Detroit? Not so much.