Detroit thread. Post Kwame, Monica, and $1 houses here.

[jimmy olsen]

 

From what I've read Bing deserves to be Mayor of better city than Detroit.

[DontSayBanana]

So why has the Detroit school board not been dissolved yet?

[Darth Wagtaros]

From what I've read Bing deserves to be Mayor of better city than Detroit.

True.

[Ed Anger]

So why has the Detroit school board not been dissolved yet?

The Emperor needs them to maintain order.

[Savonarola]

So why has the Detroit school board not been dissolved yet?

Politics, the governor needs to maintain the illusion that there is some local control of the school system in Detroit.

[Savonarola]

49

They probably have to retain a full-time squad of negotiators for that.

Strong arming the city unions is a right of passage for any mayor of Detroit.  Bing is much more entertaining than Kwame or Archer when he does it since he's such a straight shooter.

[Darth Wagtaros]

So why has the Detroit school board not been dissolved yet?

The Emperor needs them to maintain order.

Fear will keep the schools in line. Fear of this mayor. 

[Savonarola]

Is children learning?  Detroit syle:

Does DPS leader's writing send wrong message?

The president of the Detroit school board, Otis Mathis, is waging a legal battle to steer the academic future of 90,000 children, in the nation's lowest-achieving big city district.

He also acknowledges he has difficulty composing a coherent English sentence. Here's a sample from an e-mail he sent to friends and supporters on Sunday night, uncorrected for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. It begins:

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.

The rest of the e-mail, and others that Mathis has written, demonstrate what one of his school board colleagues describes, carefully, as "his communication issues." But if these deficits have limited Mathis, as he admits they have, they have not stopped him from graduating from high school and college. In January, his peers elected him president by a 10-1 vote over Tyrone Winfrey, a University of Michigan academic officer.

"I'm a horrible writer. I know that," says Mathis, 56, a lifelong resident of southwest Detroit. His difficulties with language were spotted as early as fourth grade, when he was placed in special education classes. His college degree was held up for more than a decade because he repeatedly failed an English proficiency exam then required for graduation at Wayne State University.

In another city, these revelations might be grounds for disqualification. But Mathis is liked and defended by many of his peers, who cite his collegiality, lack of defensiveness and leadership as more important than his writing skills. Even Winfrey, his defeated rival for the presidency, declined to criticize his qualifications.

But the story of Mathis speaks directly to Detroit's educational conundrum, as officials try to raise standards and the proficiency of its students.

Is Mathis a success story? A man who beat the odds to win political success and career opportunities on the strength of his personality and judgment? Or is he an example of the system's worst failings -- a disinterested student who always found ways to graduate, even when he didn't meet the requirements -- likely to perpetuate lax academic standards if the board wins its court battle with Bobb over control?

"It's kind of scary to even talk about," says Patrick Martin, 49, a Detroit contractor whose 12-year-old son is a student at Noble Middle School.

"If this is the leader, what does it say about the followers? It explains a lot about why there's so much confusion and infighting with the board and Robert Bobb."

Another e-mail
Here's another mass e-mail from Mathis, from Aug. 11, 2009:

Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?

"I told him just last week that he should have his e-mails read by somebody before he sends them out," said fellow school board member LaMar Lemmons Jr., who praises Mathis as a leader he can trust.

"I said, 'If somebody gets ahold of this, it will become an issue that you can't read or write. It will go around the world.' "

Can Mathis read?

"Yes, I can read. I'm capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation," says Mathis, who told me he sometimes needs to read documents two or three times to fully comprehend their contents but then masters -- and memorizes -- them.

Engaging and honest
Mathis is an engaging man. When I asked him about the grammatical deficiencies in his e-mails, he didn't waffle or grandstand, instead honestly answering questions about his difficulties in school.

High school saw him bouncing back and forth between schools. "I was kicked out and kicked in and kicked out," he says with a chuckle. He credits a high school English teacher with encouraging him to graduate, getting him to attend school "once a week instead of every two weeks" by giving him an audio version of Alex Haley's "Roots," one vinyl record at a time.

He graduated from Southwestern High School in 1973 with what he says was a 1.8 grade-point average but was previously reported as a .98 average. After serving in the Navy, Wayne State placed him in a special program to help academically unqualified students move forward, on the G.I. Bill.

He stayed at Wayne for 15 years, as a student and a counselor, becoming a virtual "prisoner of Wayne," as he jokes, unable to graduate.

Mathis and another student unsuccessfully challenged the use of an English proficiency test as a requirement for graduation. In 1992, when the case went to trial, the lawsuit gained national attention. Mathis said then his failure to pass the test "made me feel stupid." The requirement was eventually dropped in 2007, and Mathis applied to get his degree the next year, after his election.

Understands struggling kids
Mathis, who can be a persuasive public speaker, retired from Wayne in 1995. He's served as a substitute teacher in Detroit schools, run a nonprofit and served on the Wayne County Commission.

In his career, Mathis has compensated for his rudimentary writing skills by seeking help from others and working on his listening and speech skills. "We picked him (to be president) because we thought he has the intelligence for it and the tolerance for disruptive behavior," says Reverend David Murray. "He has that type of calm."

Is it absurd for a man who cannot write a simple English sentence to serve as the board president? Or to lead the elected board of a district that ranks at the nation's bottom for literacy?

The questions are more likely to elicit complex answers than criticism of Mathis.

"I know he's a terrible writer. Oh wow, I've seen his e-mails," says Ida Byrd-Hill, a parent and activist who runs a nonprofit and is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ group.

"His job, though, is to represent the community. His lack of writing skills is prevalent in the community. If anybody does, he understands the struggles of what it's like to go through an institution and not be properly prepared."

Mathis and some of his supporters say his story is about someone who manages his limitations, just as others manage physical disabilities.

"Instead of telling them that they can't write and won't be anything, I show that cannot stop you," Mathis says. "If Detroit Public Schools can allow kids to dream, with whatever weakness they have, that's something. ...It's not about what you don't have. It's what you cando."

Because of his struggles and perseverance, Mathis describes himself as a role model.

But is he?

[DontSayBanana]

English proficiency exam?  English Composition I and II are both required for all students at my college, and I'm assuming something along those lines was in the curriculum at Wayne State.  If he couldn't pass the exam, how did he pass those classes?

[Savonarola]

Kilpatrick case turning biblical
Both sides use scripture to make their point
BY JOE SWICKARD and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

If Wayne County prosecutors are trying to throw the book at former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his lawyer is replying with biblical scripture.

The Kilpatrick probation violation battle turned into a case of Verse versus Verse late Wednesday afternoon as defense attorney Michael Alan Schwartz used the Book of Psalms to parry prosecutor arguments in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Schwartz argued for judicial charity as authorities allege Kilpatrick violated his probation when he did not meet a deadline for a $79,011 payment on his $1-million restitution.

He repeated the argument that Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner is demanding payments that Kilpatrick cannot meet.

"Yet he, because he is full of compassion, forgave their sin and did not destroy; many times he turned away his anger and didn't rouse all his wrath," Schwartz wrote concluding his 12-page motion citing Psalms 78:38.

"We have the Bible, too," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Schwartz's riposte was aimed at Timothy Baughman, head of the prosecutor's appellate division who invoked scripture last week in asking that Groner be allowed to proceed with the violation hearing that is now on hold.

"All things should be done decently and in good order," Baughman wrote last week, turning to I Corinthians 14:40.

Baughman also pooh-poohed defense attorney Daniel Hajji's appellate filing as a rant.

Schwartz wrote Wednesday that prosecutors were piling on and "reveals a penchant for kicking an opponent when he was down."

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Prosecutor Kym Worthy, declined to comment, saying she hadn't seen the filing.

David Crumm, editor of ReadTheSpirit.com, an online magazine of religion, faith and popular culture, said the text message scandal that toppled Kilpatrick and sent him to jail has become "a saga of sex and corruption of true biblical proportions. It all can be found in the Old Testament record."

However, Crumm cautioned that for lawyers, "tangling with biblical references often just leads them into trouble. They might want to look over their shoulders for lightning bolts."

[Berkut]

Do the Luttuce's of the world read threads like this and say "See, we told you so!"

[Savonarola]

They're always trying to put a black gal in a gang, but yo, Monica Conyers ain't going out like that:

Angry Conyers vows to appeal 37-month sentence
Paul Egan and Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News

Detroit --Former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers was sentenced to 37 months in prison today, but not before controversy and confusion erupted when she announced she wanted to withdraw her guilty plea to bribery.

In a loud and lengthy tirade that targeted federal prosecutors and the news media, Conyers said the court was trying to make an example of her and sentence her for crimes she did not commit.

"I'm not going to be made the scapegoat for other people," Conyers told U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn. "I'm sorry that the newspapers have put pressure on you to make an example of me."

"I'm just not going to jail for something I didn't do."

Conyers' shock announcement -- "I want to withdraw my guilty plea" -- created uncertainty whether her sentencing would go ahead as a courtroom packed with media, relatives, supporters and others waited, as did a large crowd in the corridor that had been turned away from the courtroom.

But Cohn, who read aloud a transcript from Conyers' plea hearing in June, said he believed her plea was made knowingly and he would not allow her to withdraw it at what Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow called "the 11th hour."

An angry Conyers left the courtroom vowing to appeal.

"I'm walking out the front door and I'm appealing this case because he didn't have no right to do that," Conyers said.

But it's not clear whether she can. Her plea agreement said she waived her appeal rights provided Cohn did not sentence her to more than five years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for bribery conspiracy.

Cohn said she does not have to report to prison before July 1. After her prison term, she is to serve two years of supervised release, he said.

Conyers' Detroit attorney, Steve Fishman, asked to withdraw from the case immediately after the sentencing hearing, saying Conyers may have appeal rights and he could be a witness at any appeal.

"This case is over for me," Fishman said.

Conyers, 45, admitted in June she took at least $6,000 in cash bribes in connection with her vote on the $1.2 billion contract the council awarded to Synagro Technologies Inc. of Texas in 2007.

She had originally spoken out against the controversial deal, but her "yes" vote proved to be the deciding one as the contract passed 5-4.

Part of the controversy over the attempted plea withdrawal stemmed from Cohn's comments that he would consider other "relevant conduct" such as alleged shakedowns of a strip club, a technology company and a real estate developer with matters before the City Council or the General Retirement System, where Conyers sat as a trustee.

Those alleged acts involved more than $60,000 in illegal payments and increased Conyers' sentencing guidelines -- which are advisory only -- from 30-37 months to 46-57 months, Cohn said. Those allegations were detailed at the recent corruption trial of political consultant Sam Riddle, a former top aide to Conyers accused of working with her to shake down businesses. Riddle's trial ended in a mistrial in February.

Conyers protested vehemently, saying she denied all the allegations, and Cohn relented, saying he would not consider the other conduct and would leave Conyers' sentencing guidelines at 30-37 months.

But that did not dissuade Conyers from wanting to withdraw her guilty plea.

"Everything Sam has done he has done on his own," she said.

She cited what she said was the unfairness of West Bloomfield businessman Karl Kado recently receiving probation after admitting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments. She pleaded for her two sons, saying they are young and that her husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, who was not in the courtroom, is an older man.

And she said that while the government has wiretap evidence against her, she has her own tapes that point to her innocence. She said she recorded conversations with Detroit businessman Rayford W. Jackson, Riddle and others.

It was disclosed for the first time today that Conyers has attempted to cooperate with government prosecutors. According to Cohn, prosecutors said they are still checking out information she gave them but so far do not feel it is valuable enough to warrant a recommendation for a reduced sentence.

"If I have to go the jail for what I've done, I'd love that," she told Cohn. "But I'll talk to my family and I don't want to go to jail for things I didn't do."

Conyers told the judge he had received a report from a doctor the judge sent her to, which revealed she was vulnerable to badgering.

"You had me go to see a doctor," Conyers told the judge. "She talked about why I pleaded guilty ... I think that is the basis for withdrawing my plea."

Conyers' anger contrasted with her calm when she arrived for the 2 p.m. sentencing in sunglasses. She popped her head into the courtroom from the adjacent jury room, wearing sunglasses.

"I just want to say hi to my family. Hi everybody," Conyers said, blowing kisses.

About a dozen family members and friends and her pastor were in court. Lennie Jackson, a paroled drug felon and the brother of Detroit businessman Rayford W. Jackson, testified at Riddle's trial that he acted as a courier for his brother, delivering cash to Conyers at a west side Detroit McDonald's and the Butzel Family Center on the east side. Jackson also testified he delivered Conyers an envelope outside a Mr. Fish restaurant, though he didn't know what the envelope contained.

An FBI agent testified about another 2007 incident at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in which he saw what he believed was cash passing hands from Rayford Jackson to Riddle to Conyers.

Rayford Jackson, Synagro's Detroit partner on the sludge deal, refused to cooperate with investigators and got the maximum five-year sentence. He is now locked up in a federal prison in upstate New York.

James R. Rosendall Jr., the former Synagro vice president who assisted investigators by making secret audio and video recordings, was sentenced to 11 months. He has yet to report to prison.

Lennie Jackson was not charged but could face trouble for violating parole from his drug case.

Riddle's trial ended in a mistrial in February. His retrial is set for July.

I think I'll send her some Ilsa movies in order to help her prepare for the next three years.   

[Malthus]

Conyers, 45, admitted in June she took at least $6,000 in cash bribes in connection with her vote on the $1.2 billion contract the council awarded to Synagro Technologies Inc. of Texas in 2007.

$6000 on a $1.2 Billion contract?

Damn, it is cheap to bribe a Detroit Council-critter.   

[garbon]

Yeah, it is sad how little they received.

[Savonarola]

Conyers, 45, admitted in June she took at least $6,000 in cash bribes in connection with her vote on the $1.2 billion contract the council awarded to Synagro Technologies Inc. of Texas in 2007.

$6000 on a $1.2 Billion contract?

Damn, it is cheap to bribe a Detroit Council-critter.   

It's a low cost high volume business, like McDonald's.  One of our former councilwomen allegedly sold her votes once for a day at the spa and another time for a case of sausage.