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Crisis
in City Hall *
The Gang of Five has close ties to the Council On African American Leadership (CAAL) which is run by Mike Webster, the husband of Karen Lawrence-Webster. I know this from attending their candidate training workshop in 2003. I naively sat through the session not realizing at the time that the goal of the organization is to place African Americans in public office. Those
in attendance or presenting at the CAAL workshop included: Hampton and Thurin described each other as close friends during the workshop. In fact the News has endorsed Thurin, O'Neal, Mayor Ham and Lawrence-Webster in past elections. Bragging about the political power of the News endorsement Hampton reminded us that the endorsement process is not democratic. When it comes down to a split decision regarding who to support, she makes the call because she is the head of the newspaper. So what role does Hampton play in CAAL if any? It
appears that the
Saginaw News, City Hall
and CAAL have a substantial connection. This question needs to be
answered by the
Saginaw News.
2004 CAAL Executive Officers
consist of Roma Thurin (President); Sylvester Payne Jr. (STARS
Director); Eddie Fox (Secretary) and Karen Lawrence-Webster
(Treasurer).
Perhaps most troubling is a segment in their mission statement entitled 'The
Five Points of CAAL'. Under the segment 'Elected Servants' it
states:
"Pre-election candidates shall be identified early based on their support of the
African American community agenda, while the post-election accountability,
will be administered by the NAACP's report card." Given
the close ties between CAAL's leadership and the significant players in the
controversy surrounding the 'midnight termination' of former City Manager
Debbie Kimble, it is particularly disturbing that CAAL places a priority for
accountability not to the people of Saginaw, but to the 'NAACP report
card.' Regarding concern of Saginaw News publisher Renee Hampton, when the 'News' ran this letter in their Sunday, August 15th edition, they added an 'editor's note' stating that the publication has no connection to City Hall or CAAL. They go on to state that 'other community members & leaders attended the multicultural workshop, which was open to the public, and that Hampton was one of the presenters, along with Carl Williams and Saginaw County Clerk Susan Kaltenbach.'
They
conclude their remark by stating 'for editorial endorsements in question, the
editorial board reached consensus.' Given
new revelations that have come to attention of The Review, this
'disclaimer' is rather disingenuous, raising ancillary and disturbing issues.
Interestingly enough, The Review has obtained copy of an e-mail from
Mary Lawrence (sister to Karen Lawrence-Webster) who is employed at
The Saginaw
News. This
e-mail is dated
March 19, 2004
and is sent from Mary Lawrence to Karen. It states: "As
long as we don't control the purse strings it will never be equal. That's why we
still need affirmative action. We can't count on white folks to do the right
thing. And we can't count on black folks to do what needs to be done, like vote
in leadership that's looking out for the well being of our communities and
neighborhoods. We don't like crime and ignorance any more than they do. "What
do you think would happen if we started a People of Color third party? That's
what needs to happen. We need to organize to have some control." A
follow-up e-mail from Karen Lawrence-Webster to Roma Thurin on
March 27,
2004 states
simply: 'Mary is on to something. Are you the one, or should we look for
another?" The
Review phoned Hampton and asked for a statement regarding these e-mails, but
she declined comment, noting, "Our position has already been stated." A
subsequent call was received again from Hampton stating that Mary Lawrence
was not working in any capacity as an agent of the publication and that a
letter would be faxed from Lawrence explaining the situation, however The
Review received no such fax prior to deadline. From
these along with other e-mails between Lawrence-Webster and Thurin that have
been discussed in The Saginaw News, it is obvious that some form of
'separate agenda' was in play to derail Debbie Kimble that was divorced from the
time honored principles of democracy that we all pledge our allegiance to. However, while there are obvious concerns with the agenda of CAAL, it would also be a mistake to lump all black leaders in with the bunch that has undone Kimble. Historically, we've had Lou Oates, Roosevelt Ruffin, Carl Poston, Henry Marsh, and Henry Nickleberry, none of whom can be lumped in with 'The Gang of Five'. Charles Coleman proves there is still independent thought, and he deserves praise for his courage. Indeed, an argument can also be made that in the old days of the Committee of 50 seated Council, there was definite and conscious exclusion of blacks from leadership, which is also part of Saginaw's history. It happened as recently as 1987, when anonymous individuals mailed a flyer for John Dankert, Bob McIntyre and Tom Crampton to west side only voters. Henry Nickleberry was on the ballot that year, yet was not supported. CAAL's racial agenda is significant and one that all citizens need to become more aware of. But as this story unfolds in many ways it is no more than a back room dealing cabal by individuals who are self appointed spokesmen for the black community, as much as Jack O Schmidt appoints himself for the west side. While we should extend them no sympathy, I think a strong case can be made that their color is incidental to their corruption. Well, perhaps it is more than coincidence, but now is the time to bring us together. To their credit, I haven't seen 'The Gang of Five's' actions defended by any black leader of noteworthy reputation.
Regarding the reasons behind Kimble's dismissal, we must now let the Council
investigation (along with that of the auditor's and the State) take its course. First, the comments and behavior of Roma Thurin were outrageous. Her audible snickers and sighs, and, more importantly, her paranoid and racially inflammatory comments are evidence of the source of cancer that infects this council. The city and the council would benefit by her return to private life. Second, it is time to end the cult of personality that surrounds the position of mayor. Under the manager-council system used by Saginaw the mayor is one of nine equal members of the council with certain additional honorary duties. There is no place under the current system for gag orders issued by the mayor or comments such as "my council" and "my manager".
To be fair to
Councilperson Wilmer Ham, she didn't originate this trend. Her
predecessor treated the office almost as if it was his private fiefdom and a
majority of previous councils allowed him to do so. Enough is enough. |
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