Nolan Finley: Corruption at City Hall Was a Temporary Aberration

[BrushStart]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20101...ing--not-Kwame

Finley's summary: Kilpatrick = corrupt. Archer & Bing = not.

Thanks, Nolan, for giving some credit where credit is due, and for having some faith.

[Gistok]

I wonder how many time Peter Karmanos has heard the FBI knocking at his door....

[Gannon]

I'd think Archer and Bing may be the aberrations...plus the jury is still out on Bing.

[BrushStart]

I'd think Archer and Bing may be the aberrations...plus the jury is still out on Bing.

Gannon, is there any evidence whatsoever that Bing is corrupt or is involved in shady dealings? There hasn't even been a rumor, let alone an allegation by anyone that Bing is running a dirty administration. Unless some big, totally unforeseen scandal surfaces, I think the jury can confidently conclude that Mayor Bing is squeaky clean.

[Gannon]

Finney curiously doesn't mention Young.

Given the conversations we've had here about race, is HIS comment race-baiting?

And yet there are still too many Detroiters who believe "y'all's boy" got the shaft. And there are too many who view Bing as an interloper and his efforts at rebuilding a shattered city as illegitimate.

Not quite sure what he's going after here.



When is Bing going to answer for all the Kilpatrick people he's kept ON within the administration...in seemingly ALL departments?!

[Gannon]

Gannon, is there any evidence whatsoever that Bing is corrupt or is involved in shady dealings? There hasn't even been a rumor, let alone an allegation by anyone that Bing is running a dirty administration. Unless some big, totally unforeseen scandal surfaces, I think the jury can confidently conclude that Mayor Bing is squeaky clean.

Yeah, I know. I would certainly like to continue giving him the benefit of the doubt...but just cannot get past the fact that he actually CHOSE Warren Evans to lead the police department...and only got rid of him when he went Hollywood.

It put another McNamara crony at the head of the Sheriff Department, one hand-picked by Evans. Evans was the guy who gave Kwame all those favors in the clink. The Fishbones thing was a rumor, but the HEATING AND COOLING technician was direct from the guy who was waiting for him half the day!

So...is Bing corrupt? I don't know for sure, but WANT him to be above and beyond it all. I have heard of some meetings with Archer, whom I still hold in very high esteem.

Finney's column is basically centered around the businesspeople who are relieved to not have the automatic shakedown...but they'd say that they were sparkling clean no matter if they were innocent or guilty! So that isn't too strong a testimony...which one would come forth and admit any troubles IF they wanted future business with this administration?!



It took a few years for the rumors from the previous administration to take root. That one isn't too strong an indicator of Bing's nature yet, either.


I don't see him confronting the high-end troublemakers...like Matty Maroun, to put forth the biggest offender.


So, yeah...the jury doesn't have enough substantial evidence...but they sure want him to be above and beyond even the temptation of corruption. History has not shown this to be too easily achieved, unfortunately.

[dookie joe]

If I'm an honest politician looking to break away from a previous administration, then I'm not going to hire a convicted felon [[Charlie Beckham) with ties to the crook I'm supposed to be breaking away from. I'm just not.

I know everyone deserves a second chance after they've paid their dues to society and all that. But if Bing was feeling generous, then maybe he could've gave Beckham a job as a garbage man or something -- a fine job which would have enabled Beckham to feed his family, and give him a second chance after his prison stint.

No, Bing hires him as a top official in the administration, probably pulling in six figures. What message does that send?

Then, as pointed out earlier by Gannon, Bing also got rid of a perfectly good police chief [[James Barren), and installed another longtime McNamara crony. And then, after Evans was thrown out because he proved to embarrassing [[or, perhaps for another reason we don't know about), Bing brings forth yet another Kwame guy, Ralph Godbee, who headed one of the Kwamster's questionable political PACs. This was supposedly after a national search; they later admitted it wasn't much of a search.

I usually like Finley, but this column missed the mark by a wide margain. Archer had his own corruption/coverups [[including the Greg Bowens prostitute coverup).

This city is still crooked to the core. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to break me off a slice of that pie in the sky.

[pffft]

Gannon -- Finney?

[maxx]

Quote:

And yet there are still too many Detroiters who believe "y'all's boy" got the shaft. And there are too many who view Bing as an interloper and his efforts at rebuilding a shattered city as illegitimate.

Gannon: Not quite sure what he's going after here.

Maxx: Probably the obvious fact that Bing didn't live in the city when he ran for mayor.

[Gannon]

Gannon -- Finney?

LOL. You've never made a mistake before?!



OK, then...I'll go one more. FAnney. He made an ass out of himself wasting column space on this one. We'll see if he has to eat his words later or not.

[sumas]

For Finley, that column is almost touching. No doubt Bing is a good man but still have doubts about his appointment decisions.

I look about me and see many men and women of impeccable reputatations in this city in a rainbow of colors.

Really tired of seeing the same old, same old, getting appointments to jobs of responsibility when those stale turkeys have already been tainted by the "old school".

[Carey]

There's never been a whiff of rumor about Bing being dirty. He seems to be a very decent guy who made something of himself after his jock career and never stopped contributing to the community.

Yet that doesn't make him a good mayor. Posters above noted his screwy appointments. I would say he appears to be tempermentally, politically and intellectually lacking in what it takes to run the nation's most troubled big city. His dislike of the ceremonial part of the job -- kissing babies and cutting ribbons -- has limited his exposure to residents, and that, in turn, has fueled suspicions about his motives and goals, which will hurt him when he tries to institute his Detroit Works reorganization/rightsizing/shrinking of the city. He doesn't have a clue about building coalitions, which made him look silly when the council laughed at the idea of putting to a vote the plan to give the mayor control of the schools. Bing looked dazed and confused after the little girl was killed in the raid on Lillibridge and after several neighborhoods burned in September.

But at least it is unimaginable that he would ever look a buddy in the eye, and, thinking about the huge sums of money involved in city contracts, say: "Let's get us some."

[Buy American]

Quote:

And yet there are still too many Detroiters who believe "y'all's boy" got the shaft. And there are too many who view Bing as an interloper and his efforts at rebuilding a shattered city as illegitimate.

Not quite sure what he's going after here."

The Y'alls boy is a quote right out of Momma Cheeks mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFunr5TAlMA

[One Shot]

Quote:

And yet there are still too many Detroiters who believe "y'all's boy" got the shaft. And there are too many who view Bing as an interloper and his efforts at rebuilding a shattered city as illegitimate.

Not quite sure what he's going after here."

The Y'alls boy is a quote right out of Momma Cheeks mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFunr5TAlMA

DAMN that is still funny! Yet disgusting as hell too.

[kraig]

There seem to be a lot of short memories around here lately. Wasn't Bing one of those people that benefited from Kwame's "friends and family" plan? Didn't Bing receive special treatment in not having to pay back a loan to the DEGC since he's been mayor? Hasn't DTE, on which Bing served on its Board, benefitted from Bing shutting down the Mistersky Power Plant since he's been the mayor?

In a lot of ways Bing is worse than Kwame because he's more sophisticated about his dealings. But make no mistake, the corruption is there.

[English]

Is there any city politician that people would believe is NOT corrupt?

[bartock]

Is there any city politician that people would believe is NOT corrupt?

I'm down for conspiracy theories as much as the next person, but anyone this side of Bernard Kilpatrick would be minding their P's and Q's in City Hall these days. The feds are everywhere.

[Gannon]

But at least it is unimaginable that he would ever look a buddy in the eye, and, thinking about the huge sums of money involved in city contracts, say: "Let's get us some."

So...you're saying he doesn't even know how to share?!

[Gannon]

The Y'alls boy is a quote right out of Momma Cheeks mouth.

Oh, most of us remember that clearly...but thanks for the reminder! It is always good to have Momma Cheeks showing her true character, which seems to be the REVERSE of what MLK dreamt about. She wants hers judged on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character.

[Gannon]

Is there any city politician that people would believe is NOT corrupt?

There is a strong chance that Jesus and Buddha would have a tough time with this crowd...my critical self included...but they would have to understand the culture they entered into and what it would take to get the popular assumption back to positive.

Bing ain't doing it...whatever IT is. He is too silent, too shy from the media...too ready to hire tainted individuals...too easy on those still within the government who proved quite readily they have been part of the problem...

[Motor City Sam]

It's way too early to paint Bing as totally non-corrupt, particularly given his long time support for Kwame and his alliance with Beckham. After all, he's been ducking process servers since shortly after he came into office rather than face up to the bankruptcy issues of his companies. That not only looks bad; it's also embarrassing.

Finley was quite supportive of Kwame while KK was blasting the City's unions and advocating charter schools. And as far as his criticisms of the Detroit voters who put KK back in office, it would be nice to see that kind of derision heaped upon the suburban business leaders who donated big money to KK towards the end of that 2005 campaign for that last media push to enusue he got re-elected and continued to support him with secret "loans" and even employment after he got out of jail. If you are going to paint the voting public of the City as ignorant because KK got re-elected, use that same type of venom when discussing those business leaders who spent much more time with him and should have known him better than the average Detroiter.

[Gannon]

After all, he's been ducking process servers since shortly after he came into office rather than face up to the bankruptcy issues of his companies.

Well, at least now we know why he keeps such a low profile!

[Gannon]

Also why he publicly claimed to take NO salary for the job.

[Motor City Sam]

Good points, Gannon. :-)

[daddeeo]

Nolan sure has gotten the holiday spirit lately. Did the ghosts of Christmas visit him?
Seems to me that corruption at City Hall had been a time honored thing as far back as I can remember [[Louie Miriani).
There were a few other like Boles who really cast a stain on the office.
Seems like we've had some really great mayors and some really bad ones in our history.