By Richard C. Clement
I knew this day would come.
Turn in your badge, keys, and parking passes. It was a real blast! I met a lot of wonderful people and got some
things done for the City. Starting with the Detroit Fire Department in 2014,
they were paying for software that did not work. In 2017 they are using the
latest technology and it works for a change.
Firefighter health care will be subsidized by the Marijuana Excise Tax Fund that will pay into the First Responders Presumptive Care Fund managed by the Michigan Department of Treasury. We also helped to fix a few drain
issues for constituents during the flood 2015 and, got the garbage picked up when the Advanced
Disposal trucks would miss a house or two.
I truly enjoyed correcting Detroit News Editor Nolan Finley
regarding the selection of Council President Jones and, Council President Pro
Tem George Cushingberry in 2014. I told him that he was wrong, where he could
go, and how he could go. Four years later, I proved to be right by saying that
“Jones and Cush will lead a new push for a better and brighter Detroit”.
One of my proudest moments was on August 12th, 2014,
when I went to Windsor Canada on behalf of American Cannabis supporters to give my deepest apologies to Marc Emery and
his wife Jodie, for the cruel treatment that the United States of America
inflicted upon him for selling Marijuana seeds. He is a Canadian Citizen who
lived in Vancouver British Colombia and was arrested on behalf of the DEA in
1999.
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| Richard Clement and Marc Scott Emery 2014 |
He was held in a Federal prison in
Mississippi for 5 years and unlike other international prisoners who are flown
directly home, he was being humiliated by being forced out of the country
through the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel 3000 miles away from his home. He arrived in Windsor CA from Mississippi in
shackles and chains with $170.00 US dollars and a brand new pair of Nikes. This
cruel and un-usual punishment inspired Mr. Emery to embark on the largest voter
registration drive to elect Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to office in 2015.
We were proud to stimulate the further development of
Detroit City Airport as an Airport. We hope that hometown investors like Marcus
Channey of Metropolitan Airways are allowed to invest millions into the property so that he can operate
his airline from the location creating jobs. We also hope that the new Council
does not foul up the progress being made for Benjamin O. Davis Aerospace High
School to be relocated to the Airport grounds. When this happens, the school
can restore their FAA/FCC certification program that was stolen by the mismanagement
of the Emergency Managers.
We are glad that we helped Tindal Center reopen in Northwest
Detroit. We also feel that Johnson
Center will be open one day. We wish Councilmember Roy McCalister the best to get
this job done, along with the AMTRAK train station at State Fairgrounds. This land is long overdue for development and
it is time to quit screwing around with it.
As I leave this 13th floor office for the final
time, I can say that we did “Free The Weed for the jobs we need”. All
naysayers, doubters, and talk about-ers were wrong. Despite a few in the neighborhoods
who come to hearings presenting falsified data and forged documents in
opposition, both Marijuana ballot proposals passed by 60%. In every precinct in
District 2, voters overwhelming chose to opt-into State Marijuana laws and
decide where businesses will be located and, how they are operated. The additional revenue from this industry can
help Detroit City Retirees restore some of the damage inflicted upon them by
State of Michigan financial mismanagement.
Finally the experience was real and thank you all for the
memories:
Sincerely,
Richard C. Clement
Legislative Aide to Council President Pro Tem George Cushingberry Jr.
2014-2017
