DETROIT: THEY are trying to take over...

Didn’t take long for a Detroit issue to get me screaming at the TV again; this time it concerned the Detroit Water Department.

Recently, I reported that the feds uncovered long time corruption in the department most recently by ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his buddies. The department has faced corruption charges before and that is why the department was overseen by federal judge John Feikens since 1977. Now we know ole’ Feikens was not paying too much attention to the department letting all sorts of shenanigans go on under his watch.

The Detroit water and sewer department services the suburbs and charges the suburbs for the services at an increasing rate. Now some of the suburbs and specifically Oakland County’s L. Brooks Paterson, are saying that the city of Detroit can no longer be relied on to run the department as evidenced by the corruption and mismanagement revelations. That makes logical sense to me.

A bill has been introduced in the state legislature to create a regional (city & suburbs) authority to govern the system.

Mayor Bing has said that he and the city will handle the department’s problems and many want to give him the chance to do just that and I tend to agree with that but I can understand others saying that because of the culture of corruption in Detroit, it would be unwise to let Detroit and Detroiters handle the problem, not when the suburbs are paying ever increasing fees that appear to just feed the corruption and mismanagement there.

What got me on my feet and screaming at the TV news was not the above described dilemma but video of Detroit leaders screaming against the attempt by the “suburbs” to “steal” the water department from the city and its citizens with one leader screaming that “they” took our schools and now “they” want to take our water department.”

Well that just makes my blood boil.

How dare they complain that “they” took our schools away when it was they – Detroit and Detroiters – that allowed the school system to be so corrupted and mismanaged that parents were sending their children to the suburbs just to get a basic education with real pencils and books and computers; something unavailable to Detroit students because their teachers and principles stole their supplies to re-sell them.

I admire Mayor Bing and do believe he deserves a chance to make things right but those screaming meemies, inciting emotions by accusing “outsiders” of trying to steal city “treasures” when it is they that want to steal from the city treasures, need to get a kick in the ass and a dose of painful reality.

I applaud L. Brooks Paterson for pointing out that the emperor has no clothes on.

Related articles

• Feds Indict Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com)
• Kilpatrick in Trouble Again (politicalwire.com)