Since Detroit City Council member Saunteel Jenkins announced her impending departure last week to take a CEO job at THAW, The Heat and Warmth Fund, my phone has been ringing with names of individuals who could succeed Jenkins. I’ve also received texts recommending certain candidates.
Jenkins’ departure has created a perfect opportunity for many who have long eyed a seat on the council but could not get elected to now seize this moment to be a part of Detroit’s legislative body.
But the question is, does it even matter who succeeds Jenkins given that city council started off badly anyway? We had the George Cushingberry drunk scandal, which lasted for weeks. We recently were treated to another unfortunate scenario with council member Scott Benson arrested for drunk driving.
When the new city council was elected, no one expected a flawless council. But people expected a dignified council that would carry the integrity and the eminence of representing the largest legislative body of its kind in the state.
We did not expect to have council members driving around with an open alcohol bottle in their cars and getting pulled over by police like Cushingberry, and in the case of Benson, sleeping drunk in the middle of traffic, motionless beind the wheel of a running city-issued car. That is not the kind of behavior acceptable from elected officials who must demonstrate high moral standards.
Everyone has a pretty good history of what the former council was like. It is nothing that anyone of us would even want our kids to watch because it is not an example of good leadership or how to resolve conflicts. But that’s the past. Yet some of the events that manifested themselves with the arrival of these new city council members give me less hope for this legislative body.
However, I’ve been impressed so far with Raquel Casteneda Lopez. She is brilliant, confident and non-combative in her making her case whether you agree with her or not. Last week I watched her maiden appearance on “Flashpoint,” the WDIV Sunday morning program. She wriggled through the contentious issues, explaining her positions clearly without appearing tense or upset with the interviewer, Devin Scillian. That is one of the attributes of a city leader — the ability to disagree and still entertain the viewpoint from the other side.
I recalled two months before she was elected to the city council, a colleague requested that I sit down with her to hear her concerns and aspirations for serving the residents of Detroit.
I agreed to meet with her. During our meeting she was very clear about what she plans to do — ensure that the community that elected her is at the table when it comes to the issues shaping their lives.
With Jenkins about to leave the 13th Floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the individual to succeed her must be someone with impeccable character and sterling qualities. It must be an individual who would not surprise us when a police raid is conducted. It should be someone who will make everyone in the city proud based on their current accomplishments and what they will do when they enter the arena of public service as a councilperson. It should not be just another gig.
As the city prepares to exit bankruptcy, it needs leaders who are ready to tackle the challenges of a post-bankrupt Detroit instead of their own challenges. If their own personal challenges will be a distraction in serving as a council member, they should not be applying for this position. You can’t separate your own overwhelming personal issues from your vocation, especially when they are intertwined.
Those who are already canvassing and lobbying to replace Jenkins should really do a self-introspect of what they can bring to the council. Certainly, we are not looking for prophet Amos or a saint in the next council member.
But Detroiters deserve to have someone who can represent eminent dignity, knowing that their role on the legislative branch is a matter of high public importance and can translate that into whatever they do both on and off council.
There is something called electoral dignity and everyone who is in elected to office has an inescapable obligation to show that. The Detroit City Council is no exception. The next council member has no choice but to give us reason to be hopeful, both in terms of personal conduct and in the delivery of public service to the residents and businesses invested in this city.
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle and author of a forthcoming book on Detroit. His most recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” deals with the politics of the religious right, Black theology and the president’s faith posture across a myriad of issues with an epilogue written by former White House spokesman Robert S. Weiner. He is a senior political analyst at WDET-101.9FM (Detroit Public Radio) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York. Email bthompson@michronicle.com or visit https://www.bankolethompson.com.
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