Managing the EFM / How to defend against the damage of un-accounted decision making

By The Friends of Cushingberry



       Some of you out there are wondering why someone would want the job as a City Council member in Detroit. The word from Lansing is that a City Council is not needed because we have been assigned a new leader from the Governor. Now this new leader can finally attack the pension system without impunity or accountability to anyone but two or three people within State Government.


Former Pension board managers have been charged in Federal Court for bribery, and mismanaging the fund for personal gain. Mayor Kilpatrick borrowed funds during the height of the financial fraud and deceit in the housing and financial markets. The result of their tenure in office was damaging the reputation innocent and caring legislators who represented Detroit in Lansing based on lies and mis-truths. Depending on who the accountant of the day is, the City pension is fully funded or close to being insolvent. Being on the city council will be a challenge, but a challenge that George Cushingberry Jr. will handle if elected to the job.

Like a baseball team that have hacked the signs from the catcher to the pitcher, signs from the first base coach to the runner, every move and counter move has been plotted and planned on by the Management of the Emergency Manager. With help from the Michigan Attorney Generals office, the pension board will be replaced by appointees of the Emergency Manager. The massive attempts to alter, or eliminate costs on the backs of the workers by reducing benefits and services will begin.

Mayors in the State of Michigan are going through the same dilemma with their employees regarding pensions. Cities like Lansing, Allen Park, and others are having the same issue regarding pension funding. Pension systems own land and other assets that can be utilized to manufacture products to compliment the funding of the fund by their employees. To resolve the funding issue, new funding sources must be investigated and implemented so that retirees and current employees can live with quality health care without the worry of being put out in the streets. City employees did not come to work for over 30+ years to give their time and lives to make their work meaningless.
 

For instance City retiree funds could be used to fix, upgrade, and maintain Belle Isle with upgraded facilities. Just like a senior discount at the fast food places, City retirees and residents would get a discount on services and events on the island. Investments in City assets like Coleman Young International Airport with regional flights to cites in the US and Canada will enhance the fund with increased business is a possible revenue generator.   Another possiblity is investing in Michigan's farmland for the purpose of growing crops of plants that can be manufactured into useful products for sale.

City residents have the power of the ballot initiative to force change on government when the Mayor and City Council cannot make a decision in a timely manner. This is the perfect counter-attack from the people on a rouge State Legislature and City Leadership. The bottom line is that we have to look at ways to maintain and add value to the employee pension system with innovative thoughts and sound planning. Making sure that city retirees don't become sacrificial lambs at the hands of the wolves is my priority. It's time Push change with Cush on the City Council for the rebirth, revitalization, and re-investment into the land that we know as the City of Detroit

 

Restoring The Revenue: Managing the Emergency Financial Manager with a Push from Cush.

Reclaiming and Re-Investing Detroit

By George Cushingberry Jr.

Candidate for Detroit City Council District #2

Kenneth Orr the appointed EFM for the City of Detroit, was on Cynthia Canty's show on public radio WUOM 91.7 FM.  He was again trying to assess what the city needs. What Detroit does not need to do is to attack its retirees and employees by balancing the budgets on the back of their labor.  If I am elected to City Council, I will not let that happen and do the following for the citizens of the City of Detroit, especially the ones in the new District #2.

First, stem the tide and make plans to refinance quickly by finding NEW WAYS to RAISE revenue. Continuous cutting does not grow anything, if you don't do any long term planning and investment. Statutory revenue sharing can’t be promised past two years. John Engler was a pro and Dennis Archer was a neophyte when it came to legislative issues. (Engler) knew the law reducing income taxes would stay and the appropriation would only be bound for two years. (Article 4 Section 31. Michigan Constitution). To fully understand this situation please read David Ashenfelter (a man I respect as a journalist since I still have a press card) article on the Handshake deal in "Bridges Magazine" (click here to read it) as reported on Canty's program.

Expand the 911 charge to cell phone towers so that each call may be assessed a fraction of a penny as an amendment to the utility users tax. (Review the House Fiscal Agency reports on the Restitution of Revenue 2007-2010)

Accept that property taxes invented in the 19th Century have run their course and must be allowed to cease to exist.

Take a look at the federal carbon tax proposed by President Obama.

Add our health care coverage to the exchanges so that we can piggyback the city and its retirees.Immediately apply for federal grants which we have neglected asking for like safe routes to school. When Rev. Mike Murphy ran the program they had planned to tear down Greenlawn between Fenkell and Puritan so the new combined school children in Ellla Fitzgerald/Mary McCloud Bethune wouldn't be subject to the devastation in their young psyche.

Get the water dept. to replace manhole covers! 

Apply for a state recreation bond grant to build a new state of the art recreation facility and regional health resource center at the Old Johnson Center facility on Cherrylawn and Chippewa. This can be accomplished with co-operation from corporate health systems and insurance providers with a pledge match the funding. We all need more physical exercise! Our regional health in Metro Detroit could be a model for others. We had a swimming pool in the 50's and 60's why not now!  Next to violence, one of the biggest killers in our community is the lack of ability to swim or stay afloat in deep water.

Getting treatment on demand for people suffering from substance abuse and mental illness is a priority. This can and will help reduce crime.  This will also help move money from corporate prisons to schools and health care needs because as Sheriff Benny Napolean once stated, a large number of the people that his employees encounter have substantial reading problems that lead to a frustrated person committing crimes because of being comfortable with the lifestyle, giving them temporary success.

To gain legitimacy, Kenneth Orr should be seen picking up paper on the streets in the neighborhoods instead of being a behind the desk dictator sent in from Lansing to loot the resources of the City of Detroit. Now you see why we need some, smart, sophisticated, stable, and stallions on city council. If you choose me to represent you on City Council in 2013, I will make sure that this happens for the benefit of the people of the City of Detroit.

What it takes to Make a Great City: Neighborhood Residents and Business working together to bring peace and prosperity.

Supporting City of Detroit Business Establishments

By George Cushingberry Jr. Esq.

Candidate for Detroit City Council District #2

My people, how lame and anti-Detroit y'all can be by saying you can't come to Will’s Place or other food operations cause they sell alcohol. Some of you will go to places that refuse to come to the city like Red Lobster that sell alcohol but that's ok.  Some of you complain that I do not have events at Black Business and that is not true.  Baker’s Keyboard, Mr. Mapps, Will’s Place, Penthouse, and other businesses have been Detroit institutions for a very long time.  These business owners and others have long weathered the storm of the economy while others have failed.   I also encourage and support the young business owners (35 and younger) who are stepping up to the plate.  We need more young (and old) Magic Johnson types to come in or evolve from the streets and schools of Detroit for the public good.

How long will this self-hatred last! Black Entrepreneurs in Detroit are suffering and they have the best food.  These business owners have been around Detroit for a very long time.  Some of them could have been franchise owners and CEO’s but chose to stay in the city because of the loyalty of customers, love for the city, and wanting to be their own boss. Kenisha, Channele and I were very pleased with the food at the Penthouse (Varsity Lounge on Google). Youngsters can eat too!  We marveled at the ingenuity of Detroit black business who have merged and worked together to survive. We all liked 7 Mile Shrimp from Dot and Etta’s and, it has been reborn inside Wills Place on 7 mile and Greenfield. 

Mother Cushingberry is still getting fresh food and produce cooked to order from down south. Welcome to the new user friendly Detroit that supports business in the neighborhood. Support Local Businesses and by doing that, you money gets circulated within the community in which you live by; owners maintaining their property, owners paying property taxes, and owners creating jobs and stimulating the neighborhood economy.  This will draw more people to the city and increase the need for people to be hired for the purposes of being police, firefighters, and other jobs as needed to sustain the City of Detroit.

Righting the Wrong in Detroit with Financial Accountability

By George Cushingberry Jr. 

Your Candidate for Detroit City Council District #2

A true public servant and friend Saul Greene came and asked me to introduce a bill to rationalize pensions.  This was shortly after Ken Cockrel lost the election to Dave Bing. According to the administration, the pension was underfunded and unstable. This was a stark difference to what the pension plan participants were saying.  Pension plan participants knew that The City of Detroit’s pension plan is solvent and, this has been an ongoing battle with administrations in the past and present to loot the fund to reduce costs and responsibilities to plan members.

With the data that I had at the time and, under extreme concern for my constituent’s well-being, I introduced this bill for sole purpose of pocket vetoing it.  A pocket veto is a dignified method of making sure that a bill never sees the light of day of a vote. As chairman of the powerful House of Representatives  Appropriations committee, I had the power to make sure that this happened in an orderly manner. The plan was to have City Retirees, UAW, D.P.O.A., and A.S.F.C.M.E. members to attend the hearing, call legislators, and just raise the holy roof in Lansing opposing this bill.   This would have been it for ANY bill that would have attacked the retirees in the City of Detroit.

To my shock and dismay, Mayor Bing gets rid of Saul and left me hanging out to dry in 2010 with my current and potential constituents. The Mayor allowed the lie to be perpetuated that his bill proposal was all mine. They claimed they had a plan that I sponsored and it became by law a deficit reduction bond. This failed administration as my friend Malik Shabazz calls it sold the bond and didn't make the course correction the council told him we had to make to keep things afloat.

What we need is someone with political, academic, and practical experience in city and all levels of government. So the derivative bond, deficit reduction bond, Republican anti Obama care plus, the current feather bedding with turn around experts by the state has indeed created an emergency. While I believe the people of Detroit will come out to vote and rectify the situation, I DO NOT support the Emergency Financial Manager because it creates more bureaucracy and even more lack of transparency. In 2014 we must focus on firing the current Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. I also asked Mike Duggan to run for Governor in 2014. We should invest first in those who stayed here in Detroit with loyalty credits on their property taxes based on length of time in the City.  This and other ideas are what it’s going to take to get the state right.

Now that we have an un-elected manager in control of the finances in my City, my voice on the council will serve as an ELECTED Financial Manager/Activist for the people. Therefore I am asking you to Push with Cush and support me for Detroit City Council in District #2.

The Committee to Elect George Cushingberry Jr. to City of Detroit City Council, District #2

A Reflection on the Felony Conviction of Kwame Kilpatrick

           A sad chapter of Michigan history closed with the felony conviction of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. He's added his name to the dubious list of  former Detroit mayors Richard Reading and, Louis Mariani as those of convicted felons. All of the danger signs were there but we prayed for him and, tried to get him to listen to those who helped his formation. We all lost a piece of our hopes and aspirations because of the filthy and lucrative love of money. Make no mistake about it, his actions took on the fake history of "that's the way its always been", and this is simply not true.

George Cushingberry Jr.

List of Mayors of the City of Detroit via Wikipedia

Re-energizing a new Detroit on the land that was known as the Michigan State Fair.

By Hardcore Detroit,

               A coalition of community groups and developers have different visions on what should be put on the land that once occupied the Michigan State Fair.  At the time of this writing, there are two groups that are vying for the rights to redevelop the land. The first group Magic Plus LLC, led by Magic Johnson and Marvin Beatty would include a shopping mall and a new Amtrak station among other things. The second group Michigan Energy Technology Agriculture (META) Group wants to place more homes and office buildings on the same land.

               These are the issues being discussed with the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority and developers to revitalize the land between 7 and 8 Mile road, between Woodward and John R. Currently, this area is a tragic outgrowth of what happened during the foreclosure crisis with streets full of abandoned homes. Some of the homes were absolutely gorgeous and structurally sound, only to be turned into slums by the banks that let them get looted for pipes, water tanks, and other home fixtures.

               Omni-directional transportation is a must in the city.  While focusing on north and south issues in Detroit, there is an east and west issue too.  The mile roads in Detroit deserve the same respect as Woodward Avenue in regards to transportation.  If there is going to be a light rail system, let it run up and down Gratiot and Grand River.  This would also include east and west rail from places like Fairlane all the way east to the Eastland Mall property for instance.  Everyone does not live close to 8 mile and this would be a solution for getting to destinations from the east and west. 

Both plans include a new AMTRAK Train station. The current AMTRAK station on Woodward and Milwaukee is too small and lacks the parking needed to serve customers. People are currently going to Dearborn to get on the train because of the condition of the station, parking, and not having to climb the stairs to get to a train.  By putting an AMTRAK Station at the fairgrounds, this would be a complete transportation hub for busses and, a people mover type of light rail system in the City of Detroit and surrounding areas. AMTRAK connections to  Chicago, Flint, Pontiac and beyond will be greatly enhanced with the new Amtrak station.

META Technology Group has a YouTube video presentation regarding their plan to re-develop the area(click here to view video). As of this writing, Magic Plus LLC does not have a video presentation available to view to show their plan.  Otherwise the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track authority is taking public and written comment on the State Fair property. You can contact them at landbank@michigan.gov or by calling (517) 335-8212. Either way you choose, the future of Detroit is looking very promising.

Elect George Cushingberry Jr. to Detroit City Council in 2013? - A question to my friends..

Dear Friends,

An exploratory committee has been formed by concerned citizens of Northwest Detroit regarding the election of our friend George Cushingberry Jr as a member of the Detroit City Council, representing District #2 in 2013.  Our friend George has been a longtime supporter of the City and it's people.  If elected to City Council he promises to restore the roar of the City by investing in it's assets. 

Air Force 3 parked at Coleman Young International 

The Coleman Young International Airport (formerly known as City Airport) will be enhanced and upgraded  with enhanced runways to handle commercial, private and, corporate aircraft for quick access to downtown locations and events.  A new international passenger terminal with the Red Tail lounge named in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen and Mayor Young, will welcome passengers and guests to the city as they wait for their bags, transportation, or flights.



Mr Cushingberry is totally disgusted with the home situation in the city also.  Revitalizing neighborhoods with lighting and materials to restore or build new property is a must. Consumer friendly bankers who really want to re-invest into the community are essential for the financial protection of  residents.  Programs to train interested youth and adults how to become home construction builders and inspectors will create opportunities for all.

Given the overwhelming support of marijuana decriminalization in the City of Detroit, Mr. Cushingberry is willing to look into urban farming and manufacturing opportunities with the cannabis plant.  This is an old idea that was once created by Mayor Coleman S. Young. Mayor Young used recreation centers as neighborhood hubs of activity. There are over 25,000 products that can be made from the male cannabis plant. Manufacturing jobs are the ticket to economic stability. By creating manufacturing jobs with cannabis products, the City of Detroit unemployment numbers would drop from 2 to 5 full percentage points. As a side note to legalization, the annual firing of guns on New Years Day activity subsided noticeably in 2013.

Belle-Isle will remain an asset of the City of Detroit with Detroit residents given preference points of up to %100 to be hired for any State of Michigan job contracted to island services.   Bell Isle must be upgraded and treated with respect from the people who faithfully use the island's beauty to relax and rewind from the stress of the daily grind. Therefore Mr. Cushingberry believes that funding for maintenance and development can be created from agriculture research and bio product manufacturing..

If you are concerned about the direction and the future of the City of Detroit, we encourage you to let George know by casting your vote in our online poll.



Sincerely,
The Exploratory Committee to Elect George Cushingberry Jr. to Detroit City Council