Greg Bowens, a former journalist and press secretary to former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, is a local political and public relations consultant. His clients include labor unions, politicians and progressive groups.
Kevyn Orr and Rick Snyder [AP photo]
By Greg Bowens
Kevyn Orr: Quit. You need to.
You might be smart but you are not slick. You are not going to beat the man at his own game. This is his game. These are his rules. The odds are stacked against you. No good will come of you trying to best him.
We see it. You were trying to be a smarty pants with your Wall Street Journal“ dumb, lazy, happy” comments. Very sneaky. Since you were talking to the WSJ, corporate types think you were talking about big labor. Black people think you were talking about them. But you were really talking about the benefactors that got you your job as EM – rich white people.
Yes, the rich white people who ran the automotive companies in the ground and had to be bailed out. You were talking about the rich white people who controlled state and federal policies that encouraged divestment in urban areas.
You were talking about rich white people living comfortably in the suburbs who were complacent with having a labor force of workers with an 8th grade education. In short, you were talking about the use of wealth as power.
Black people don’t control wealth in this country as you know. You said as much when you responded to criticisms, and insisted you weren’t talking about black people because you too came from humble beginnings.
You’re trying to play all the angles. Work for the man. Pretend to fight the man.
You’re a lawyer. You’re playing everyone. It wasn't the first time.
You knew when the bosses at your law firm, Jones Day, approached you about this Detroit emergency manager gig, something wasn’t right. You talked about your reluctance to take the job in the paper. But see, you only said it publicly after secret emails between you and the governor’s people leaked out to the public.
Those emails were never supposed to get out (damn that Robert Davis guy). They put you on front street by exposing your concerns about the creation of the new emergency manager law. You saw it as an end run, subverting the will of the people who successfully voted to repeal it.
Not that you care about the shenanigans of Republican politicians as a bankruptcy lawyer.
It looks like you put your concerns in writing for two reasons – security and leverage. First you needed evidence protecting your pedigree as a Democrat and educated black man should this thing go south. Second, you needed leverage to secure your future after Detroit. Turning your nose up in righteous indignation fit nicely.
That sound about right?
Then everyone knew they needed someone black to pull this off. Detroit is the biggest blackest city in America. No way they could have displaced the elected African-American leadership with a white person.
A Front Man
And finally, the chance at a big contract was in play. If the firm could get out front with the biggest Chapter 9 in history, it would be a nice setup for the firm, and you. All they needed was a willing patsy – a front man. If not you, they would find another black person.
Yep, they would play you. But you hoped to flip the situation to your advantage; help the black folk out along the way and get away clean.
Not quite working out that way, is it?
You must believe they set you up to fail. They promised you would have local political support from the elected officials, even after the mayor had already gone ghost.
They put you up in the Book Cadillac Hotel eating crab cakes while you tried relating to regular black folk, by telling them you’re a Popeye’s fried chicken man.
They goaded you into the job, telling you anyone using a little common sense can run a city.
They put you in the untenable position of having to live up to their promises to reduce crime, fix every streetlight, tear down every empty building and basically turn water into wine.
Save Your Butt From Flames
But that’s not working out.
You keep getting yourself in hot water, with latest problem being your comments to the Wall Street Journal.
This is at least the third time the governor has had to publicly reach down and pull your butt out of the fire. First it was your tax snafu back home in Maryland.
Then it was smoothing over Wall Street with your 10 cents on the dollar nonsense about secured bonds. Now he’s issuing statements about how you didn’t mean to offend black people with your "dumb, lazy" comment.
Yes, I think you were taking a shot at the white folks. You got one in for the home team. Thanks. But everybody knows you can’t beat the man at his own game.
Quit before they come down hard on you as a reminder that you can’t beat the man.
And don’t worry. They can always find somebody else.
