Fox 2's M.L. Elrick digs into the backgrounds of Detroit's City Council members and finds some foreclosures, bad debt and a couple drunken driving charges.
Yes, council members have flaws.
Elrick begins his report:
City council has been a problem for Detroit in the past, but this is supposed to be a new day, with a new and better council.
So how does this council measure up? It's an important question, especially now that they have their power back.
Council will need to be at their best to help a troubled city put its bankruptcy behind it but bad debts, foreclosures, drunken driving, drugs, and more are coloring the past of six of Detroit's nine city council members.
He says he found nothing of note on three council members: President Brenda Jones, James Tate and Raquel Castaneda-Lopez.
Elrick's report mentions City Council President Pro Tem George Clinton Cushingberry's trouble earlier this year when he was pulled over and caught with an open bottle of booze and a couple joints. He got a ticket for a minor infraction and later paid a fine. Elrick also reports that people claimed they were cheated by him, but he says refused to talk.
Elrick points out that a collection agency sued Councilman Andre Spivey in July for failing to pay Capital One more than $3,700. Spivey says he moved and the correspondence got lost in the mail. That debt was settled, the newsman says.
He also points out that Spivey owed more than $127,000 on a house on Detroit's west side and abandoned it, saying he couldn't make payments. He then turned around and bought another house with $35,000.
Elrick also mentions that Councilwoman Mary Sheffield was busted in 2011 for drunken driving. She had an alcohol level of .17, which is more than twice the legal limit.
"I was 23 years old, it was a mistake that I made, I'm sure we've all made mistakes," Sheffield told Elrick. "It was a very trying time for me and I've moved forward."
Elrick also reported that in 2000, Councilman Gabe Leland was a student at East Lansing High School. His lost backpack had marijuana in it. Aside from that, he was charged in another incident with a felony for controlled substance, delivery and manufacture. Authorities alleged that he possessed drugs with the intent to deliver controlled substances.
