Pugh new Clowncil Pres

**d.mcc** · November-03-09, 10:05 PM

Wow...What a freaking joke. Good job...

**jtf1972** · November-03-09, 10:32 PM

At least his last name is fairly descriptive of the odor coming from the City-Count Bldg.

Buy American · November-03-09, 10:36 PM

Name recognition.....that's the only thing he had in his favor and Detroiters didn't disappoint him. This man knows absolutely nothing about politics, running a city, and especially finances. I wish I could say Detroit deserves this guy, but his decisions will ultimately affect City of Detroit retirees and City employees....that is a big problem.

**English** · November-03-09, 10:40 PM

Actually, I drove down from Ann Arbor to work the polls today. The negative press absolutely ensured Pugh's victory.

Why not also note that Proposal D passed by a large margin? Or that Gary Brown came in second?

stinkbug · November-03-09, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by English

Actually, I drove down from Ann Arbor to work the polls today. The negative press absolutely ensured Pugh's victory.

Why not also note that Proposal D passed by a large margin? Or that Gary Brown came in second?

Or that 4 incumbents are back on council, and we welcomed back Reverend David Murray, Reggie Reg, and John Johnson?

I'm truly, deeply ashamed of my city.

**buildingsofdetroit** · November-03-09, 10:51 PM

I'm not shocked by Pugh winning, but I AM shocked that Cockrel Jr. fell to FOURTH place.
Here's your next Detroit City Council, folks:

Pugh [[president)
Brown [[president pro tem)
Jenkins
Cockrel Jr. [[i)
Jones [[i)
Spivey
Tate
Kenyatta [[i)
[["Get Back, Jo-Jo") Watson [[i)

**g-dub** · November-03-09, 10:58 PM

Okay, yeah, it's a testament to the dumb Detroit voter who thinks, yeah, I know that guy from TV. Let's vote himt to council. Still, though, a lot of people thought that a gay dude wouldn't stand a chance, that his orientation was still such a taboo in the community that he would be rejected. So, at least there's the minor 'victory' of a gay man having received so many votes in Detroit. Progress? Not really, but a little surprising nonetheless.

**buildingsofdetroit** · November-03-09, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by g-dub

Okay, yeah, it's a testament to the dumb Detroit voter who thinks, yeah, I know that guy from TV. Let's vote himt to council. Still, though, a lot of people thought that a gay dude wouldn't stand a chance, that his orientation was still such a taboo in the community that he would be rejected. So, at least there's the minor 'victory' of a gay man having received so many votes in Detroit. Progress? Not really, but a little surprising nonetheless.

That's true, g-dub. And I think that's huge news. But it also could be the sign of an uninformed electorate.

stinkbug · November-03-09, 11:03 PM

It makes one wonder...how many voters know he's gay, or just know his name?
So how many people really knew Sheila Cockrel was white? Cockrel is a great name to have, after all.
So is Conyers!
Or that Reverend is Reverend David Murray's first name? Congrats Mr. Reverend David Murray btw.
I mean, Gill Hill has such a nice ring to it.
And Martha Reeves...THE Martha Reeves?
Need to do some exit polling...

**EDBL** · November-04-09, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by g-dub

Okay, yeah, it's a testament to the dumb Detroit voter who thinks, yeah, I know that guy from TV. Let's vote himt to council. Still, though, a lot of people thought that a gay dude wouldn't stand a chance, that his orientation was still such a taboo in the community that he would be rejected. So, at least there's the minor 'victory' of a gay man having received so many votes in Detroit. Progress? Not really, but a little surprising nonetheless.

I posted on here a few months ago that I thought he would get on Council [[and rightly so) but no way would he be the top vote getter due to his personal beliefs [[not that that matters). Certainly after his personal finance issue I really didn't think it would happen. Well, I stand corrected.

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt but here's my concern. You were making 200 large and are used to that lifestyle. Now you make 80 and change.

Probably baseless, so I'm giving the guy a chance.

**Sstashmoo** · November-03-09, 11:29 PM

Quote: "You have to admit, it's still an improvement."

Right on. Pugh may surprise you folks.

**East Detroit** · November-03-09, 11:32 PM

I would rather have Pugh with no experience than Watson's experience.

After all, isn't it supposed to be government of and by the people, not dead weight looking to make a career out of it?

**Supersport** · November-03-09, 11:50 PM

Pugh was served eviction notices what, 5 times, while living at Trolley Plaza? Then, his loft gets foreclosed on and put up for auction. This is the change Detroit needs? This is "The Next Detroit?" What a fuckin joke. I'm convinced that the majority of registered voters are in fact idiots.

**MikeM** · November-04-09, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Supersport

Pugh was served eviction notices what, 5 times, while living at Trolley Plaza? Then, his loft gets foreclosed on and put up for auction. This is the change Detroit needs? This is "The Next Detroit?" What a fuckin joke. I'm convinced that the majority of registered voters are in fact idiots.

Maybe that's something most Detroiters can identify with?

**mauser** · November-04-09, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by Supersport

Pugh was served eviction notices what, 5 times, while living at Trolley Plaza? Then, his loft gets foreclosed on and put up for auction. This is the change Detroit needs? This is "The Next Detroit?" What a fuckin joke. I'm convinced that the majority of registered voters are in fact idiots.

Not to defend any deadbeat type behavior - if that is what it was - but.....

Sport, youve heard the stories from folks living at TP, isnt it possible that he was fighting over lack of services in those disputes ?

My theory doesnt stretch across Woodward to his Crosswinds condo though.

**gnome** · November-04-09, 05:23 AM

Agreed English, on balance it is a move in the right direction. We will soon see what kind of real leader Mr. Pugh is, fear he might not measure up to our expectations, but we can hope. English, what precinct did you work and what was the experience like? any dust-ups among opposing sides?

**EastsideAl** · November-04-09, 05:35 AM

This is actually an unprecedented result, and is evidence of a very strong anti-incumbent sentiment amongst Detroit voters.

Has there ever been a City Council election in which only 4 incumbent council members were returned? In which the top 3 vote-getters were all newcomers? Certainly not in my lifetime.

Given the list of candidates and the result of the primaries, I'm not sure what sort of miracle from the heavens people here were expecting, but this is an outcome that represents a rather significant change in Detroit's electoral politics.

**Big Dog** · November-04-09, 08:00 AM

Pugh as chairman is ludicrous. Bring back Martha Reeves.

**ScienceFair** · November-04-09, 08:56 AM

Can we maybe wait at least a week or two before we start bashing the new City Council? At least wait for them to screw something up first before we declare them as the worst ever? We no longer have Martha Rose or MonCon on the council and for me that's a good start.

**EastsideAl** · November-04-09, 10:15 AM

I'm not very happy that Pugh won the Council presidency, but it was clear from the primary that he was going to finish near the top. In addition to his obviously high visibility, he pretty much outspent everyone else in the race, and overall ran a the most active city-wide campaign.

Still, I'm far from despairing over the result. The defeat of Martha and Tinsley-Talabi, along with the disappearance of Monica and Barbara-Rose has to be a net positive. Hell, even Jo-Ann Watson very nearly lost. Detroit voters did show both the will and ability to throw the scoundrels out, and the motivation to change some things, particularly with the victory of the district plan. So, even if those changes don't meet the standards of some people around here, I really see little reason for the nastiness in this thread. What, did you think we were somehow going to go back to the days of 8 white people and Nick Hood?

**slick** · November-04-09, 11:32 AM

Can we maybe wait at least a week or two before we start bashing the new City Council?

You have until Jan 1 for the new council.
gives you time to address your concerns to the new council.

**d.mcc** · November-04-09, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I'm not very happy that Pugh won the Council presidency, but it was clear from the primary that he was going to finish near the top. In addition to his obviously high visibility, he pretty much outspent everyone else in the race, and overall ran a the most active city-wide campaign.

Still, I'm far from despairing over the result. The defeat of Martha and Tinsley-Talabi, along with the disappearance of Monica and Barbara-Rose has to be a net positive. Hell, even Jo-Ann Watson very nearly lost. Detroit voters did show both the will and ability to throw the scoundrels out, and the motivation to change some things, particularly with the victory of the district plan. So, even if those changes don't meet the standards of some people around here, I really see little reason for the nastiness in this thread. What, did you think we were somehow going to go back to the days of 8 white people and Nick Hood?

I do think its quite humorous that the most Qualified of all the candidates finished DEAD LAST in voting. Goes to show that Detroit looks solely on the familiar name and not the qualifications and goals a particular candidate has. Once again, no representation for the Southwestern part of the city, allowing their needs to be trampled over for another 4 years until they MIGHT get their own district...

**EastsideAl** · November-04-09, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by d.mcc

I do think its quite humorous that the most Qualified of all the candidates finished DEAD LAST in voting. Goes to show that Detroit looks solely on the familiar name and not the qualifications and goals a particular candidate has. Once again, no representation for the Southwestern part of the city, allowing their needs to be trampled over for another 4 years until they MIGHT get their own district...

I'm not sure about your contention that David Cross was the MOST qualified candidate [[that is who you're talking about, right?). Even if I had ever heard of him before his endorsement by the Free Press, it would be hard to find any information on him other than that he went to Wayne and Cooley Law, is in some sort of real estate business, is very religious, has basically no previous political experience, and doesn't look like he's affiliated with any of the major organizations in the city. You definitely couldn't gather any more about him from his basically information-free single-page website - which advertises a fundraiser in December 2008. He didn't seem to know how to run a campaign, and I certainly never saw or heard of him campaigning over here in this part of the east side.

Of course, the election of regional candidates and candidates with particular bases is certainly possible under Detroit's current system. Given the population density of the southwest side, if voters there could agree on a single candidate to back I don't think it presents anything like an insurmountable obstacle for them to get the 50,000 or so votes needed to be elected to the Council.

There are candidates like this. Brenda Jones, who almost no one here seems to know anything about, has largely run her successful campaigns through the backing of the city's unions and union members [[she's a former Communication Workers local president). Barbara-Rose Collins, despite being crazy, was able to sustain herself politically for years with the backing of the Shrine of the Black Madonna and an appeal to the interests of her neighbors on the east side.

**Sstashmoo** · November-04-09, 09:34 AM

Quote: "Pugh was served eviction notices what, 5 times, while living at Trolley Plaza? Then, his loft gets foreclosed on and put up for auction. This is the change Detroit needs? This is "The Next Detroit?" What a fuckin joke. I'm convinced that the majority of registered voters are in fact idiots."

The old adage that goes something like: A good manager is a person that can manage their own affairs, is a fallacy. I've seen it proven false many times. Then there is the adages: Who's sink leaks? The plumbers, and Who drives a piece of shit car? A mechanic. Him having financial problems in his personal life does not mean he will not apply himself responsibly in the role of city council. He has a good tude and I think he wants what is best for Detroit. I may be wrong, time will tell.

Anyone that can have that much trouble in their personal life [[and it may not be his fault) And can still manage to run in a public election and win, shows they have some management ability. Actually the kind that Detroit needs. Do it with nothing.

**usa1** · November-04-09, 09:48 AM

Charles Pugh has too much personal and financial baggage to be on Detroit Council. Let him live in Detroit awhile before the people elected him - What has he ever done for Detroiters to earn the title of Council President? I feel he will bring more scandal to Detroit...Time will tell.