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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE


Prime Politics All The Politics That Matter to You


Will Black voters snub Obama?


By Michael Cottman Four weeks before the much-anticipated


mid-term elections, President Barack Obama is on the road trying to rally the faithful — African Americans and college students who supported Obama enthusiastically in 2008.


What a difference two years make. Obama’s


approval rating is down, and even staunch lib- erals say they are weary of defending Obama, his policies and rhetoric.


At rallies around the country, Obama is


sounding the alarm: Get out and vote in No- vember, he says, or suffer under a Republican congressional assault.


Obama is creating a sense of urgency, and


he’s warning African Americans and other mi- norities that if Republicans win big in Novem- ber and reclaim the House, life for many Ameri- cans will be even more of a struggle.


The president’s challenge, however, is to


convince voters that it’s worth turning out in large numbers in November and that a Demo- cratic-controlled Congress, with Obama at the helm, can right the ship.


“You can’t sit it out,” he told a conference


call of college student journalists last week. “You can’t suddenly just check in once every ten years or so, on an exciting presidential election, and then not pay attention during big mid-term elections where we’ve got a real big choice between Democrats and Republicans.”


“The energy that you were able to bring


to our politics in 2008,” Obama said, “that’s needed not less now, it’s needed more now.”


Obama has been talking tough these past


few weeks, and he has also taken his fellow Democrats to task.


He fears apathy among the electorate — and sadly, he’s right. Barack Obama Democrats “need to buck up” because it


would be “inexcusable” for them to stay home and not vote in November, Obama told Rolling Stone magazine.


And Vice President Joe Biden, known for


his no-nonsense rhetoric, told a friendly group recently that Democrats should “stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives.”


If Obama sounds more spirited than usual, it’s because the November elections are seri-


Sports and politics


By Tim Skubick You could not come up


with two more controversial issues during this election year, but there were the four candidates seeking a seat on the State Board of Education going where fools fear to go.


They have unceremoni-


ously waded into the flap over the job that Dr. Robert Bobb is doing in the Detroit Public Schools and as if that is not enough, they have taken a very controversial stance on school funding for the arts and sports.


Since sports, unfortunate-


ly, trumps politics, let’s jour- ney there first.


Chances are this will be


your only exposure to the ma- jority party contenders for the state education board. They are Liz Bauer, a Democrat and an incumbent; Eileen Weiser is a former GOP board member seeking a return; Lupe Ramos-Montigny is vice chair of the state Democratic Party; and Dr. Richard Zeile resides in Detroit and is making his second bid for this office.


They showed up the other


night at one of those infamous candidate forums. This one was sponsored by the Macomb County Intermediate School District and here is one of the questions that could spell trouble.


“You are friends with a local


school superintendent who calls you for some advice. He is faced with eliminating the band or the local football pro- gram. One has to go. What would you say?”


A little background on the


importance of athletics in our school system. Over the years, various governors and lawmakers have demanded the consolidation of school dis- tricts in order to reduce em- ployees, save tax dollars and generally make the system more efficient.


With 530-plus districts dot-


ting the state, you could make the case that maybe there are a few too many.


Well, the consolidation


“movement” has had its de- tractors. You would think the


Tim Skubick


various labor unions would be at the top of the list as they fight privatization and other means of getting rid of work- ers.


You would think that, but


you’d be wrong. The biggest impediment is


the parents who fear the loss of their local football team.


“You touch our Raiders and


we’ll recall you from office,” is the not-so-gentle threat to local superintendents and school board members if they even dare to consider such sacrilege


In some towns, the local


football team is the only social event of the week. It is the only way that some parents “get in- volved” in their kid’s educa- tion and to eliminate that in the name of saving money is downright un-American, some might argue.


So against that backdrop


the four candidates were asked to pick the band or the jocks. Obviously the politi- cally correct answer is get rid of the horn tooters.


But they saved the band! Mr. Bauer was direct: “I’d


eliminate football and keep the music program.”


Ms. Ramos-Montigny: “I


would cut football.” Can you believe this? Dr. Zeile: “I’d say eliminate


the football program and Ms. Weiser, with a Master’s Degree in piano, concurred.


There they were, four very


intelligent candidates taking the “wrong” stance if they had any hopes of being elected.


You don’t mess with foot-


ball around these parts, but they did, believing it was the right thing to do.


They disagreed however, on


whether it was the right thing to do to send Dr. Robert Bobb into the DPS to save it from fi- nancial ruin.


The split was along partisan


lines as the two Democrats are not happy and the two Re- publicans loudly applaud the move by the state to hire Bobb for the job.


Democrat Bauer fears, as


many Detroiters do, that the financial manager has en- croached into the academic realm with “no real oversight.... he has expanded his power beyond what was intended.” If she was awarding grades, she’d gave him a “B” for the work he did on the finances but an “F” for everything else. She argues some of his deci- sions were “unforgivable.”


“A-plus” is what Dr. Zeile


gives Bobb adding, “We thank God in Detroit for Robert Bobb and we are praying for his suc- cess.”


Not joining him in that


prayer, is Democrat Ramos- Montigny who gives Bobb an “F” for infringing on local control which she contends should remain firmly in the hands of the local superinten- dent and school board.


She even took a swipe at


her own governor who has warmly embraced Bobb’s tenure. Asked point blank if it was wrong for Gov. Granholm to do that, the candidate fired back, “In my mind, yes.”


The other GOP candidate


believes the “state must do this” in order to save another “generation” from being lost. Ms. Weiser gives Bobb an “A- minus to a B” for his efforts.


So in one night’s work, the


quartet of candidates managed to hack off the entire sports community and on the DPS issue, they pretty much reflect the sharp division in Motown on whether Dr. Bobb is a savior or a devil in disguise.


CBC renews calls to focus on Black unemployment


By Frederick Cosby On the heels of Septem-


ber’s mixed unemployment report, the Congressional Black Caucus renewed its call for President Barack Obama and Congress to do something to specifi- cally address the nation’s high Black joblessness rate.


The country’s unemploy-


ment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economic monthly report was a mix of good news and bad. The good: The private sector added 64,000 jobs last month.


The bad: Government agen- cies cut 159,000 jobs, many of them federal Census workers and state and local employees.


Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.),


chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the Sep- tember numbers highlight the need for Congress and the White House to take more concrete steps to reduce unemployment, especially in the Black community.


“Unemployment rates for


African Americans and Lati- nos remain unbearably high at 16.1 percent and 12.4 percent; chronic unemployment is also


a very serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Lee said. “Forty-one point seven percent of unemployed persons have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, signifying the need for job creation in minority com- munities that are most seri- ously affected by a recession.”


The black unemployment


rate is close to twice the na- tional average. Some Black jobless categories — most no- tably among teens — hovered in the 40-50 percent range. chronically unemployed.”


• B.A. in Urban Planning, Public Administration, Political Science or related discipline. Salary commensurate with experience


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Interested candidates mail or email a cover letter, resume and 2 writing samples by October 15, 2010 to:


Congressman John Conyers 231 w Lafayette Suite 669 Detroit, MI 48226


Elected officials and political candidates can send


information regarding issues to bthompson@michronicle.com


ous business. Polls show many Americans are angry with Congress, and some Republican candidates have a shot at beating their Demo- cratic opponents.


According to the latest Rasmussen Report,


the president’s approval dropped to an all-time low — 45 percent — in September. Most polls, however, continue to show that African Ameri- cans still support Obama even though the Black unemployment rate is a stunning 16.3


percent. As some civil rights activists criticize


Obama for not creating an urban agenda for Black America, several political observers and journalists question whether some frustrated Black voters will abandon Obama the way Black residents in Washington, D.C. turned on Mayor Adrian Fenty.


Fenty lost the Black vote — and the mayoral


race — to City Council member Vincent Gray after Black residents accused Fenty of looking out for big business and not addressing the needs of D.C.’s Black citizens.


“What has taken a toll is the perception that


the president has consistently seemed more concerned about the needs and interests of those who are already well off, who are hos- tile to policies that would help working people and ethnic minorities, and who in many cases would like nothing better than to see Obama fail,” Bob Herbert wrote recently in the New York Times.


“Many Blacks are unhappy that Obama


hasn’t been more forceful in the fight to create jobs,” Herbert wrote. “And there is disappoint- ment over the dearth of Black faces in high-pro- file posts in the administration.”


There is no substantial indication that


Blacks will ditch Obama for a Republican candi- date in 2012. African Americans are still largely supportive of America’s first Black president, although some of the bloom has fallen off the rose.


The November elections will be a critical test


for Obama. Will he be able to rally Blacks to the polls in large numbers to support an embattled Democratic Congress?


And if Obama asked Black Americans if they


are better off today than they were two years ago, how would they respond?


Mike Illitch possibly purchasing Pistons creates possibilities for Detroit


By Gary A. Brown I am certain you heard in


the local and national media that Mike Ilitch is in discus- sions to purchase the Detroit Pistons in the next 30 days. The possible deal also in- cludes Palace Sports & Enter- tainment (PS&E) with venues The Palace of Auburn Hills, DTE Energy Music Theater and the management rights for the Meadowbrook Music Festival.


What do I believe will be


the impact on Detroit? First, Mike Ilitch is one of


the most respected pro sports team owners in the nation, so I have no doubt the Pistons will be in capable hands. His pos- sible ownership ensures that Southeast Michigan keeps the Pistons here.This possi- ble deal opens up the door to bring the Pistons back to De- troit through a new combined Detroit Red Wings and Pistons arena.


I do not believe, however,


that local public funds should be used to build the arena. If the deal can be consummated there is tremendous upside for the city of Detroit.Take a look at how the building of Comerica Park and Ford Field revitalized the northern part


Gary A. Brown


of the downtown area. An ad- ditional 80 events in the area, between the Red Wings and Pistons home games, will in- vigorate business by driving more people to area restau- rants, shops, hotels and casi- nos.


The possibility of a stadium


can create a national premier sports entertainment destina- tion that is second-to-none with four major league sports teams within walking distance, along with one of the nation’s leading theatre districts.


A recent financial report


revealed that this acquisition would make Ilitch Holdings the sixth largest entertainment company in the United States.


This is significant for Detroit. It elevates the city’s profile in the lucrative entertainment industry. Ilitch would add the Pistons and PS&E to the De- troit Tigers, Red Wings, Fox Theatre, Olympia Entertain- ment and Motor City Casino which is independently owned by his wife Marian.


No one project can change


the fate of our city. While the possible return of the Pistons and a new downtown arena is exciting, it will not completely alter our city. In order to make Detroit stronger, it takes many pieces coming together.


We must continue to im-


prove public safety, enhance education, balance the budget, have involved citizens, and a business climate that attracts new companies.


Detroit must have a thriv-


ing manufacturing industry, commit to adopting green technology, while encouraging more assistance to the fledg- ling film industry and local entrepreneurs as we seek to maximize our sport and enter- tainment venues.


Together, we possess the


power to become the best of Detroit.


Gary A. Brown is president


pro tem of Detroit City Coun- cil.


Congressman John Conyers wants to notify you of job opportunities. This job services Detroit and Pontiac areas and pays between $35-45,000 per year with a complete benefit package.


Economic Development Program Manager October 2010


Required Qualifications


October 13-19, 2010


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