1. Jenny Adkins
11-11-09
The newly-elected Detroit City Council met in a show of solidarity at WWJ Newsradio 950 last
Thursday, eager to tackle issues concerning crime, the budget deficit, and education.
Attendees included new Council President-elect Charles Pugh, incumbents Brenda Jones and
Kwame Kenyatta, and candidate-elects Gary Brown, James Tate, Andre Spivey, and Saunteel Jenkins.
Ken Cockrel Jr. and Joann Watson were not in attendance.
The new council stressed that the next phase of Detroit's future as a safer community will
involve community policing.
“Community policing is very important...they are the eyes and ears of what's going on,” said
Jones.
“We concentrate on Angel's Night being one weekend of the year,” she added. “We know that
crime is definitely cut down on Angel's Night weekends...why can't we do that 365 days of the year?”
The council said it has already taken other steps to reduce crime in Detroit. Jenkins released a
youth violence reduction plan last month. Pugh said that organizing another Angel's Night by the end
of January will further reduce crime.
But aside from crime, the council stressed that Detroit's $300 million budget deficit is another
obstacle to Detroit's future well-being.
Several departments over-spend or do not generate money, said Jones, making consolidation a
necessary reality. She also stressed that the council must be stricter about procedural violations,
including violators who operate without business licenses.
Pugh highlighted other revenue possibilities that have been previously overlooked, such as
bottling and selling city water, and ensuring weekend parking enforcement.
But when the discussion turned to sacrifices the council could make to reduce the city deficit,
dissensions surfaced.

2. The stipends, car, and bodyguard protection that he receives as the president-elect are his to
stay, said Pugh.
“During this campaign, we had to get the police involved because someone said that they
wanted to hurt me,” he said. “You know, I am not going to apologize for having access to a city vehicle
to do the city's work, nor police protection if indeed that's needed.”
Jenkins argued that sacrificing the cars is simple when other city workers are being asked to
make even bigger sacrifices. Brown and Spivey agreed.
But Pugh's opinion that the community's school board should be elected by the mayor and
council drew differing comments from the group. Some blasted it as over-stepping its bounds.
“We have enough issues to deal with, as city council and as men...the school has enough issues
to deal with, with all the problems that they're having. The citizens spoke loud and clear when they
elected a school board,” said Jones.
Other candidates yielded to Pugh's ideas.
“We've given the school board four years now,” said Spivey. “If we want families to move to
our city, they're not going to move to a viable city with a poor school system.”
The council begins its term Jan. 5.