Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh, the city's first openly gay council member, says he'll hang up his career at the end of the year as a politician and return to broadcast television.
"No, I don't have something lined up. It's still a ways out," Pugh told columnist Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press. "But I think it's high time I do start conversations."
Pugh, 41, who had worked for Fox2, told Riley he also decided not to run for mayor this November. A poll last fall placed him in the top three among possible mayoral contenders. He was elected to the council in 2009 to a four year term that ends this year.
Riley wrote:
In an interview, Pugh said he was proudest to achieve his main goal of "restoring dignity and respect and order to the council."
The council's reputation "had spiraled to an all-time low with public fights and unethical decisions by people who are now returning from prison," he said. "I am Detroit! ... I wanted to help restore a level of respect and trust."
