May 2005 op-ed published by The Windsor Star (Canada) about former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his bad behavior and the level of disappointment felt about his tenure as mayor.

1. On the Outside Looking In: Detroit Mayor’s Bad Press is Hurting the Region
By Tawana Jacobs
Like Mayor Kilpatrick, I grew up in Detroit during the 1970s and 80s. And I, too, would
have attended Cass Tech had my father’s advancing career not required my family to
move out of town. Even though my life is now centered in Washington, DC, I’ll always
consider Detroit home. That being said, the controversies surrounding the Kilpatrick
administration have me deeply concerned.
My family here in DC celebrated Mayor Kilpatrick’s victory as if we were in still in
Detroit. We were confident that the youngest black mayor of a big city in the United
States would successfully move the city forward by forging a new covenant with both
businesses and citizens. That is happening to some extent, but all the bad press he’s
received over the past two years has done a great deal of damage, not only to the mayor’s
reputation, but to the city he is supposed to advance and protect.
The excessively loud fallout from what Mayor Kilpatrick has referred to as “rumors and
innuendo” is drowning out the applause he should be getting for the national recognition
he’s been receiving for his great work – particularly with the Mayor’s Time after-school
program.
If Mayor Kilpatrick hopes to be re-elected, I would suggest that he begin an extended
period of penance and really make an effort to reach out to the citizens in each and every
part of the city.
The mayor has given his rivals plenty to use in the argument against his re-election: The
rumors about wild parties. The cronyism. The excessively bloated security detail. The
Navigator. The size of the budget deficit. The profile in TIME magazine. And here in
DC, the Washington Post ran a story about the mayor’s visits to town and the local police
department’s decision to pull his police-provided security. The security detail was offered
to him as a courtesy, but was rescinded because the mayor supposedly put officers at risk
of being in ‘improper situations.’ Now there are pesky credit card rumors. He’s got a
significant amount of fence mending to do.
No enemy strategy – even one initiated by some firmly entrenched adversary on the City
Council – could generate as much bad press.
What I, and probably countless others, don’t understand is why the mayor couldn’t just
go out and buy his wife a truck? He makes a handsome salary and lives in the city’s
fabled Manoogian mansion. Why did he lie about the lease? And while I realize that parts
of Detroit can be dangerous at times, the author of the TIME profile has a point: Just why
does the size of his security detail dwarf the mayor of Chicago’s?
All of the drama surrounding mayor’s administration makes me wonder if he’s drunk
with power or just truly naïve. The failings of former Washington, DC mayor Marion
Barry and the fraudulent administration of Bill Campbell, Atlanta’s former mayor, should

2. act as a cautionary tale for Mayor Kilpatrick and motivate him to change some of his
behaviors.
While much has changed for the better in Detroit during the mayor’s first term, much
work remains. The average citizen isn’t reaping the benefits of the boon of economic
development. The schools are still god-awful. Crime is still too high. And a good number
of the neighborhoods that were bad and dangerous twenty years ago are just as bad and
dangerous today. If Mayor Kilpatrick should be so lucky as to be re-elected, it is my hope
that he will devote a lion share of his energy during his next term to improving the lives
of those who have been his staunchest supporters, but have not benefited from recent
improvements.
The city needs Mayor Kilpatrick’s youthful energy to continue on its path toward
becoming a city with a world-class reputation. His intelligence, talent and ability to do
the job are evident. His political pedigree is unrivaled. And he’s been able to achieve a
level of success that many of his 30-something peers – in Detroit and elsewhere – aspire
to. It’s time for him to grow up, get his house in order and make all of the citizens of
Detroit and the surrounding cities in Michigan and Windsor proud to call the area home.
And, I hope he remembers that the world is watching.
Tawana Jacobs is a communications professional in Washington, DC. She may be
reached by e-mail at tjacobs@popact.org.