Inspector General Report on Mayor Duggan & Make your Date

[DeLemur]

Interesting story. No wrong doing, but favorable treatment was provided to Make your Date.

The most troubling element is the attempt to cover something up with deleted emails. I think most Detroiters are really wary of corruption with Kwame, Louis Miriani and others, but this isn't enough to warrant anger. Happy to have a strong media watchdog in the Freep and DetNews, but in all the smoke, not a lot of fire. I wonder what will happen to Alexis Wiley. Curious to hear your thoughts.


https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/10/21/detroit-mayor-mike-duggan-deleted-emails/4054764002/

[Jimaz]

Whenever I hear any story about deleted emails I always wonder why no one mentions back ups. If there were no back up files, that's serious negligence for several reasons. If back up files exist, it would be pretty difficult to surgically delete just the emails from those back up files.

What am I missing?

[DeLemur]

Maybe they are backed up, because they found them somehow through Dave Massaron is my understanding.

[Gistok]

Oh geeze... I hope this Dr. Sonia Hassan is not another Turkia Mullins...

[Smirnoff]

Two-tiered justice system.....common folk 1st be fired, then arrested, charged, & thrown in jail.

[ParisianLesion]

Two-tiered justice system.....common folk 1st be fired, then arrested, charged, & thrown in jail.

Not sure what your definition of "common folk" is but considering there were no laws broken, no one is going to be charged or put in jail for anything.

As for Alexus, what she did is a head-scratcher. I personally know a few of her colleagues and they all say she acted on her own. Additionally, anyone these days knows that nothing can be truly "deleted," so the act accomplished nothing but to give the impression of impropriety.

[1953]

After reading all this, and knowing professionally some of those involved, I'm not really sure there is much of a story here. The Freep really wants there to be one, and the OIG says there is one, but a lot of this seems like insinuation and sour grapes, other than the whole deleting emails thing, which is clearly not acceptable.

[Hypestyles]

Reportedly, Ms. Wiley will not face sanction by Mayor Duggan:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ey/4061654002/


Despite the obvious ethical breach involved, I suspect that part of this is Duggan being mindful of the optics that a black woman is the person identified as the highest ranking person beyond Duggan himself-- and if Duggan were to suspend or fire her, then black Detroiters would immediately begin to lose sympathy for his administration for throwing a black staffer under the bus.

[ParisianLesion]

Reportedly, Ms. Wiley will not face sanction by Mayor Duggan:
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ey/4061654002/


Despite the obvious ethical breach involved, I suspect that part of this is Duggan being mindful of the optics that a black woman is the person identified as the highest ranking person beyond Duggan himself-- and if Duggan were to suspend or fire her, then black Detroiters would immediately begin to lose sympathy for his administration for for throwing a black staffer under the bus.

Very politically astute observation.

[Meddle]

Michigan executes search warrant on Detroit's IT office
AP | Fri Nov 08, 2019 23:15 UTC

DETROIT [[AP) — Michigan's attorney general has executed a search warrant on the city of Detroit's information technology office. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office, Dan Olsen, confirmed the search warrant Friday to the Detroit Free Press but could not say what was taken or give details about an investigation.

City Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia said the city is “cooperating fully with the attorney general’s investigation.”

Last month, Detroit’s inspector general said a group called Make Your Date enjoyed special treatment from City Hall and that Mayor Mike Duggan’s chief of staff Alexis Wiley ordered the deletion of emails related to the nonprofit prenatal health program.

Duggan said the order to delete emails was a “mistake in judgment” by Wiley to protect junior staffers from possible records requests by a Duggan critic.

https://apnews.com/6aa3d8cf4b284841b68ecf1ad3d3b62e

[Lowell]

Has this risen to the label of scandal yet?

Following on Meddle's post above I notice that it is the headline article of today's Free Press as State Attorney General Nessel has now entered the probe. This has all the scent of scandal--an affair, a divorce, preferential of treatment of a partner, and now deleted emails. Mayor Duggan has done a great job and I hope and pray for Detroit that these pieces don't come together.

A spokesman for Nessel could not describe what authorities took during their search, but did confirm the search warrant involved the city's information technology operations at the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters on Third Street. Michigan State Police assisted in the execution of the warrant.

“I can confirm that a search warrant was executed today on the City of Detroit's IT department,” spokesman Dan Olsen told the Free Press.

For several months, Nessel's criminal division has been investigating allegations that city employees were ordered to delete government emails to hide the city's support of the Make Your Date prenatal care program.

https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com/?pub...a0766c_13411a9

[Honky Tonk]

More fuel for the fire:

"Despite recent claims that the City of Detroit’s handpicked program to fight preterm birth is uniquely successful, the city’s preterm birth rate is now at a 13-year high, according to the latest statistics from the State of Michigan.
The newest state data comes on the heels of Mayor Mike Duggan's vigorous public defenses of the Make Your Date program's efforts to fight preterm birth. The mayor was compelled to defend the program after a critical inspector general's report found that the mayor gave Make Your Date preferential treatment when teaming up five years ago.
This week, the March of Dimes ranked Detroit the second-worst city nationally for its preterm birth rate in 2017, earning the city an "F" grade."

https://www.freep.com/story/news/inv...te/4156777002/

[stasu1213]

Could this be a form of "Pay to Play " or some special kickback that the Mayor had received from the Make your Date program"?

[aj3647]

Could this be a form of "Pay to Play " or some special kickback that the Mayor had received from the Make your Date program"?

It's a non-profit program run by Wayne State, what would be the motive here? Profit? They aren't a business.

[401don]

Could this be a form of "Pay to Play " or some special kickback that the Mayor had received from the Make your Date program"?

You wish.

[DeLemur]

Duggan made the error in not cleaning house after the 200 email deletions. He's already got the image of an aggressive Mayor. Not dealing with wrongdoing, puts him in an area where he thinks he's untouchable. That's when the target and attention grows - especially with this city's history.

The legal question is if they broke state law when deleting emails.

[Honky Tonk]

It's a non-profit program run by Wayne State, what would be the motive here? Profit? They aren't a business.

Good call, no way to skim money off of a non-profit.

[Honky Tonk]

Could this be a form of "Pay to Play " or some special kickback that the Mayor had received from the Make your Date program"?

It could be as simple as Duggan just trying to make his date...