auditor0007
Gold Member
So I was having a discussion with my father about Detroit and Detroit politics. He told me something that I could not believe but actually makes it easier to understand how Detroit went down the shitter over the years. We were discussing how Detroit finally has a white mayor and that he is actually doing some things that may be positives for the city.
What I learned during our conversation is that for the past 100 years or so, Detroit's entire city council has been elected at large rather than by district. When he told me that, my jaw dropped as I was thinking just how absolutely stupid that is. Basically, the entire city council represents nobody specifically. Well, in 2012, Detroit put through a new city charter where all but two of the council members will now be elected by district and were so in the 2012 election.
I thought back to all the time I lived in Chicago and how our Alderman (that's what they call them in Chicago) was really important to the local community. When a business needed something done, they went to the Alderman. With no direct representation, who do you go to? I'm still baffled at how Detroit allowed such a thing to continue so long to their own detriment, but that does explain so many of Detroit's problems to me.
What I learned during our conversation is that for the past 100 years or so, Detroit's entire city council has been elected at large rather than by district. When he told me that, my jaw dropped as I was thinking just how absolutely stupid that is. Basically, the entire city council represents nobody specifically. Well, in 2012, Detroit put through a new city charter where all but two of the council members will now be elected by district and were so in the 2012 election.
I thought back to all the time I lived in Chicago and how our Alderman (that's what they call them in Chicago) was really important to the local community. When a business needed something done, they went to the Alderman. With no direct representation, who do you go to? I'm still baffled at how Detroit allowed such a thing to continue so long to their own detriment, but that does explain so many of Detroit's problems to me.