Leadership and the Future of Detroit

[MotownSpartan]

After reading the news this morning I decided to compile a short list of Detroit political candidates who have had financial problems related to their mortgages. Is this list complete?

-Charles Pugh
- Kwame Kenyatta
- Santeel Jenkins
- Alberta Tinsley-Talabi
http://detnews.com/article/20091024/METRO01/910240329


This is in addition to the numerous allegations/convictions of bribery/misdealings involving Monica Conyers, Kwame Kilpatrick, the Kilpatrick family, staff members of Ken Cockrel, Martha Reeves, Cobo Hall directors as well as the criminal records of current and past council and mayoral candidates.

This is also doesn't consider the absolutely insane antics of many current and former council members nor does it consider the fraud/corruption in DPS and other major city departments [[DPD is currently under a federal consent decree for example).

For those that have hope that this city can turner the corner, what gives you this hope in spite of this leadership dillema? It seems that we would be lucky to have merely a "vacuum of leadership" here in Detroit, it appears more that our leaders are actually causing us to regress rather than merely stand still. How is Detroit going to get better in the near and long term with this kind of leadership? Can it be done without any involvement from the city council or inspite of the city council and what does this say about how efforts to revitalize the city should be focused?

With so many smart people committed to turning Detroit around, it's hard even for an optomist like me to believe that things will get better in the short term because of our horrible political leadership. It appears the council elections coming up will not change this situation as so many of the candidates have troubled histories. How can we compete against cities that even marginally have their act together? I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of the board on this matter.