Charles Pugh

[carman]

Have at it! I am interested to hear the defense of this guy.

[Ravine]

A fine start would be for you to specify to what the hell you are referring.

[kenp]

I played basketball with Charles once, he just wants to score.
I posted him up all night and the dude does not have a clue regarding the art of defense.

[carman]

Funny on that kenp. I was referring to his "Civic Fund", the donor community and the use of it. He seemed quite our of it last night on the news. I just wondered why the donors were obviously being protected here.

[kenp]

Just trying to get it out of you Carmen, however I have no clue on that topic, perhaps others can help you out.

[Carey]

God bless Scott Lewis. His old station, Fox2, did a story a few weeks ago on Pugh holding a birthday breakfast at the Roostertail. Tickets were $500 a piece. But no one in the local media folowed up on the story until Lewis, who, of course, is now at Channel 7. Pugh has set up the same type of non-profit as Kwame K's Civic Fund. That in itself is perfectly legal, but it raises all sorts of questions for a politician -- who is donating and what the politician is using it for, among others.
Pugh basically refuses to name the donors, and donors obviously could have business in front of the council and are angling for a special advantage. Pugh did not take issue when Lewis said there were strip-club owners at the breakfast. For a guy who promoted himself as Mr Transparency, Pugh was squirming in front of Lewis like a old-school, sleazy politician. He even blocked the Channel 7 camera person from shooting a large birthday card that was signed by the attendees.

[Gistok]

Old news... if you look down far enough on the DYES forum threads... you'll find that this topic was already discussed...

When Pugh starts acting bat shit crazy like Monica Conyers, or when his goon squad starts pushing around investigation reporters... I'll start worrying. I'm sure the he's smart enough to know that the Feds are looking over the shoulder of all local politicians "shush funds".

[SWMAP]

The Feds started looking at the Kilpatricks as early as 2005 and Bernard and Kwame knew it. But they kept up the stealing and cronyism anyway. Either Pugh is not smart [[and while he appears to be cunning, he does not appear smart) or he thinks he has the same kind of teflon armor that the Kilpatricks thought they had.

By the way ask yourself why he would give up a well-paying job in television to take a big pay-cut. Since he has never appeared to be a missionary kind of guy, maybe he is counting on rewards other than the paycheck kind from his Council position.

[Gistok]

.... or maybe he doesn't want to give the [[already alienated) "holier than thou" suburban living Detroit mega-church preachers any further ammunition against him.

I give him credit for standing up to those hypocrites... and if he annoys a few armchair computer critics in the process by doing so... c'est la vie...

As for his taking a pay cut to take on a public office... look all around you.... on the local, state and federal level to see this same scenario played out over and over again.... no news there!

[carman]

Perfecto!!! Gistok, that is exactly what I was looking for. That was way to easy.

And by the way, is the hypocrite the one that says he will be transparent and tell all and doesn't or is the hypocrite the one that asked him why he didn't?

[Gistok]

And by the way, is the hypocrite the one that says he will be transparent and tell all and doesn't or is the hypocrite the one that asked him why he didn't?

Since it was way too easy, you should figure that one out for yourself...

[fanniemae]

I am not defending Pugh here, but think about who some of his friends might be. He does have a different lifestyle if you know what I mean. Maybe some don't want to come out of the closet. I think Pugh is not all that great for the Clowncil, but he is still better than MonCon.

[SWMAP]

True, many people do take paycuts to go into public service - but its usually when they are very well-established financially - a state that Charles Pugh clearly was not in. Instead, he was very precarious financially speaking. Odd then to run for council and within only months to set up a private fund operation to fund more perks for himself.

[Detwa]

True, many people do take paycuts to go into public service - but its usually when they are very well-established financially - a state that Charles Pugh clearly was not in. Instead, he was very precarious financially speaking. Odd then to run for council and within only months to set up a private fund operation to fund more perks for himself.

^^^^THIS.

And then refuse to tell who is contributing to his "personal travel fund". There's a serious conflict of interest here and he is pretending like he can't see it. He makes me sick already. He was on another radio station naming off all of these grand places that he "needs" to travel to and how much it costs and how his budget wouldn't pay for it - well maybe your ass doesn't need to go? Is it in your job description? Is it going to help the citizens who voted for you? Or is it just so you can primp all over the nation and rub elbows with the well-to-do? He's so full of it. It won't be long before he'll be buried under the same crap that took down the others.

[ragnarok1981]

I know this sounds way to idealist but I think our public officials really need to set an example for the rest of us and behave in a way appropriate to the office. Now this criticism is not because of Pugh being gay, because I would make the same criticism of a straight council member as well. My problem with him is what is being talked about in sort of hushed tones although some people say it more openly. The problem here is that apparently he is going on with a lot of different young men and apparently has multiple "boyfriends". I had heard rumors about it before, but someone I knew told me how Pugh was his bf, and even had his number on his cell. It is fine with me if he has a boyfriend and personally I wish he could find a man and get married, but we dont allow that here. The problem is that he has multiple partners at once and I think it looks badly not just on him but makes the city look bad too.

Now aside from his sex life another issue I have with him is that he went into office knowing that we have a major budget deficit yet when he took office he spent a lot of money as did many other council members to redecorate his office and put in flat screen tvs and other equipment that he certainly has no real need for, or at the very least if they need tvs or computers they should get basic models and show that the city is taking the budget issue seriously.
Also there is the whole thing with that car that he wrecked. The car was totaled but he said that he drove it home because he did not want to hang around an area that he said was too unsafe. We all knew that his excuse was total BS, but no one pushed further on the story.

[Gistok]

OK... some folks here may not like his lifestyle... fair enough... but what has he done legislatively to piss of so many of you?? Have any of the other council folks spent money on their offices? I don't begrudge you that spartan times call for spartan measures... but let's not make his sexuality a lightning rod [[no pun intended ) for his qualifications for office.

Granted he doesn't have the millions that Gary Brown has... but until he does something legislatively that I don't like.... I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Just like all the folks that are already disgruntled with Mayor Bing [[and his decision to move into the Manoogian mansion)... Detroit wasn't broken in a year... and it sure as hell ain't going to get fixed within a year.

And let's remember... there's 9 members on the council... not 1. So lets see what the others have up their sleeves [[well we have some idea about a few).

But even the potential foreclosure situations... unless we know the specifics about the situation... it seems a might presumptuous to hold him to a higher standard when millions of Americans [[yes even affluent ones) are going thru a similar situation.

I'm sure that some folks living in the Grosse Pointes, Birmingham and Bloomfield are going thru some tough times as well... just because they make [[or made) 6 or 7 digit incomes doesn't mean that all should be well with them.... and that they're somehow not fit to hold office or run a company.

It's always easy to second guess behind a keyboard. But what I find interesting is that some folks have been critical of Pugh from the get-go.

When he pulls a "Monica", or a "Barbara-Rose" or a "Martha"... then I think that criticism is deserved... and I'll be passing out the pitchforks and torches like many of you....

[jtf1972]

I think much of the criticism Pugh received from the time he ran for council has much to do with how he runs his [[non-sexual) personal life. Did he pay his rent, etc. Is he the type of person we want to put on a pedestal and tell everybody they should look up to as a leader who has their back? I think the answer from the start was a resounding "no," and unfortunately he has done nothing but reinforce that negative feeling. You cannot point to anything legislatively that you do not like, but can you point to anything legislatively that instills confidence in the City Council President?

Name recognition means everything in politics. Detroit has proven time and again how valuable it is. I need to get my name out there, as I am sure I would be better for the city than at least half of the Council members!

[jtf1972]

In addition, I think that he is Council Prez by simply attaining the highest number of votes shows one of the most obvious flaws in the system. I favor a district/ward based council with the Council Prez voted for at large. At the very least the at large system needs to be amended to provide a separate election option for the highest position. Pugh would have won a council seat in such a system, but it's much less likely that he would have been the leader of the whole damn thing when he still might have to ask his way around the building.

[gdogslim]

charles pugh, what is the defense ? hmmmm.
defense of what???

[fanniemae]

I don't have a problem with Pugh's lifetsyle . In this world, the gay life is more common or out in the open. If you don't like it , that is your business. Not my cup of tea though. I also remember that incident with the city owned car. Charles to me is acting like he is above all the rules. That will get you into trouble.

[firstandten]

True, many people do take paycuts to go into public service - but its usually when they are very well-established financially - a state that Charles Pugh clearly was not in. Instead, he was very precarious financially speaking. Odd then to run for council and within only months to set up a private fund operation to fund more perks for himself.

Here's my guess, and its just a guess. I think Pugh came out as a preemptive move against the TV station. Maybe they were trying to get rid of him, and once he went public he knew they couldn't get rid of him. However by doing that his career was effectively over, he would never get off of weekend TV and he knew he couldn't slip up, but it bought him time to figure out his next move... career politican

[ragnarok1981]

Ok I think what I wrote did not come across the way I meant it to. I don't have any problem with his lifestyle at all. The problem I have is that I think that a public figure like himself should not go around and have multiple partners at once. Having multiple bfs or gfs at once I think is just the wrong way to go about things. If he were straight and had a bunch of gfs at once I would have the same problem.

[DetroitDad]

In addition, I think that he is Council Prez by simply attaining the highest number of votes shows one of the most obvious flaws in the system. I favor a district/ward based council with the Council Prez voted for at large. At the very least the at large system needs to be amended to provide a separate election option for the highest position. Pugh would have won a council seat in such a system, but it's much less likely that he would have been the leader of the whole damn thing when he still might have to ask his way around the building.

Maybe, but since Detroit's problems are multicausal, with no clear single solution, one might question how much of an impact it will actually have.

It is a step in the right direction though. I agree! Now, what's next?

[Buy American]

Charles Puke can't manage his own life, let alone the life of a City the size of Detroit. He was sued multiple times by his condo association for non-payment; he drove a City car into a pole or something and left the scene of the accident; he gets an additional $800,000 for his staff and can't manage that; he has a private fund raiser and won't say who attended [[shades of thug KK), and some on this forum defend him....unbelieveable!
It's obvious to everyone but those people who defend him that he is incapable of handling money in any way, shape or form. His personal life doesn't concern me but if he's paying his buddies for services rendered, other than City business, he needs to leave the clowncil....and it doesn't matter if gay or straight.

[Zacha341]

It's russian roulette for all who choose the 'multiple partners' role [[gay or straight)! The odds increase that one day your numbers gonna get called if you go that route.

Ok I think what I wrote did not come across the way I meant it to. I don't have any problem with his lifestyle at all. The problem I have is that I think that a public figure like himself should not go around and have multiple partners at once. Having multiple bfs or gfs at once I think is just the wrong way to go about things. If he were straight and had a bunch of gfs at once I would have the same problem.