Sheila Cockrel was a member of the Detroit City Council from 1994 to 2009. She wrote an editorial for last Sunday's Free Press responding to some of the opponents of the Emergency Manager now appointed for the city. Her first two points appear to be aimed at Mike Duggan, candidate for mayor and opponent of the EM system. Cockrel wrote that not all EMs have been failures (though she doesn't elaborate). And if EMs shouldn't be used because they "don't work" how does that compare to elected officials with policies that "don't work?"
Most of Cockrel's comments are aimed at those who protest the EM law as destroying democracy -- those that say the right to vote is of highest importance. Let's compare that to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Detroit's underfunded services are so bad that when cops are called there is a 50-50 chance they'll actually show up. The local gov't can't insure safety. What good is the right to vote if you're dead because the city is so violent? Compare the vote to losing liberty because you're too afraid to walk around the block or sit outside. Can you be happy when all that fear leads to emotional exhaustion?
It's time to fix Detroit, she says, and if it takes an Emergency Manager, well, let's help him all we can.
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