Here’s the deal, writes Nancy Kaffer of the Free Press, after listening to Detroit's mayoral candidates discuss the issues at the Mackinac Policy Conference:
The City of Detroit has no money, services are close to rock bottom, crime is out of control, a state-appointed emergency manager is in charge, and residents continue to leave the city in droves.
The editorial page writer summarizes the candidates' positions:
- Mike Duggan says that in his first 100 days, he’d reduce police response time, get street lights on and fill empty houses.
- CPA and former state Rep. Lisa Howze says she’d manage the city’s debt.
- State Rep. Fred Durhal Jr. says people must learn to live in a community without tearing it apart.
- Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon says it’s important to reduce the crime rate.
These are all great ideas. They’re also not particularly new — or particularly practical.
There’s no money coming. The city has to balance its books with the cash and resources it has. And while the candidates talked about a variety of real problems that the city faces, I’m hard-pressed to see how any of the quasi-solutions the quartet proposed could be implemented without money.