Detroit Greens City Council Candidates Public Meeting

Join MWRO at the Detroit Greens City Council Candidates Public Meeting to discuss alternative visions and strategies for improving our city!

Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 1-3pm
International Institute (111 E. Kirby, adjacent to the DIA)
map

The 2009 elections are approaching and Detroit at the crossroads: What direction should it take? Continue the corporate-dominated agenda of layoffs, privatizations, reductions in services and continued poverty or commit to a people’s agenda of jobs, environmental protection and an end to poverty?

Help us put an end to the Corporate Agenda and let's begin to create a People’s Agenda! And green jobs!

Join Green candidates for City Council, Derek Grigsby and Clyde Shabazz, and community organizations including Call ‘Em Out , Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Detroit Greens, and more. For more info call 313-580-4905

(Image courtesy of Detroit Greens, a local of the Green Party of Michigan)

Videos of Call'em Out's Detroit Mayoral Forum

A community website called Detroit IP TV has posted three video sections of the Detroit Mayoral Forum hosted by Call'em Out on January 6, 2009. Hear what the candidates and residents have to say for themselves. Check them out!

Residents Pack Detroit Mayoral Forum

Photo by William Archie/Detroit Free Press


By Gwendolyn Gaines and Sylvia Orduno

Nearly 300 Detroit residents packed the Northwest Community Center for the second part of the Call'em Out's mayoral forums. The event was a follow-up to the November 2008 mayoral listening forum where candidates could only listen to residents' concerns and ask clarification questions.

Ten of the 12 candidates attended--Donald Bradley, Stanley Christmas, Warren Evans, Freeman Hendrix , Joseph Holt, Nick Hood, Duane Montgomery, Coleman A. Young Jr, Sharon McPhail, Jarroll Sanders. Missing (again!) were Dave Bing and Interim Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrell, Jr. Dave Bing is a member of a business group urging the sale of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept.

Following the first mayoral listening forum, each candidate was asked to respond to questions and concerns by regular residents--not business leaders or other high profile, elite groups. All attendees signed in and received a score sheet so they could rate the answers from each candidate on a variety of issues such as: home foreclosures, ownership of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept (DWSD), bulk trash pickup, eliminating the $300 garbage fee, and more. See the Detroit Free Press coverage of the event.

The forum was moderated by Agnes Hitchcock, Chair of Call 'em Out. NHK News reporter, Takurna Yoshioka, from Japan was a special guest covering the evening's event along with other grassroots issues in Detroit. John Riehl, President of the water workers' AFSCME Local 207, spoke on the efforts to takeover the DWSD. His union local is calling for a demonstration January 7, 2009 at 4:30pm in front of the Detroit City-County Bldg.

Call'-em Out!!! Mayoral Forum in Detroit

By Gwendolyn Gaines and Sylvia Orduño
Call’-em Out!!! and MWRO members

Call’em Out!!! is a Detroit-based community political action group “dedicated to the mission of stamping out samboing and selling-out of our community by elected officials.” For the past several years, Call’em-Out!!! has held various meetings, pickets, and community actions to hold elected officials accountable to the people with the motto:

When Elected Officials in the City of Detroit Do Not Serve in the Interest of the People in the City of Detroit, Call'em-Out!!!

Last Tuesday, Call’em-Out!!! organized a mayoral forum, “An Agenda for the People of Detroit.” All of the 18 candidates for next year’s special election were invited to sit and listen to the community’s concerns. Mayoral candidates were not allowed to give any campaign speeches and could only ask clarification questions. Seven candidates attended—Wayne Co Sheriff Warren Evans, Rev. Nicholas Hood, Freman Hendrix, state Rep. Coleman Young II, Sharon McPhail, D. Etta Wilcoxon, and Jerroll Sanders—and spoke to the gathering of over 200 people.

The program opened with a welcome and forum introduction by Agnes Hitchcock. Janella Frazier was the mistress of ceremony and she began with the introduction of the mayoral candidates. This was followed by brief presentations from community activists: Jerry Goldberg, [foreclosures], Maureen Taylor, [water affordability program], Denise Hearn [southwest Detroit], Dee Dee Harris [recreation], Marie Thornton [public school education], Sam Riddle [grassroots organizations and the work that they do], and Emanuel Roberson [youth]. After all the presenters spoke on issues of concern to Call’em Out!! members and other Detroiters, they were given the chance to meet and talk with the candidates. Prior to this, Call’-em Out!!! had been doing surveys about our issues, the candidates were there to listen and to ask for clarity on an issue.

The next Call’-em Out!!! program will be January 6, 2009 when the candidates will respond to community issues and questions. It was a good program and a nice size group that attended!

(Image from Call'-em Out!!! web-archived site. A new site will be up soon.)