Virtually everyone in Metro Detroit feels strongly about the judgments delivered Monday in Judge Nancy Edmunds' federal courtroom. Here's a sampling of views from people paid to share opinions.
Nolan Finley, The Detroit News: "For a while, he was Detroit's savior. The hip-hop mayor who could rally the city's talented young people and channel their energy into building a better city. . . . The kid with a large future. . . . There was so much potential still to be developed, so much good that might have been done, such soaring heights that could have been reached. Instead, Kilpatrick allowed his insatiable appetites to destroy it all. . . . He deserves to be behind bars. But what a waste."
Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press: "It's tragic that the former mayor, who had such promise and potential, will see this city's future from a prison cell. But it's clear that the palpable energy and the focus around Detroit's rebirth is not hampered by his downfall. . . . The death of his personal dreams and the downfall of his administration aren't holding this city back any more."
Jack Lessenberry, Michigan Radio: "Years ago, Detroit had another mayor, Richard Reading, who also went to prison for corruption in office. Today, his name is all but forgotten. Let’s hope Kwame Kilpatrick’s will someday be the same."
Laura Berman, News columnist: "The jury offered an uplifting lesson in American citizenship, a startling example of the system, working. . . . Their unanimous, carefully deliberated verdict is a salve for a decade of wounds. At the very least, it hints at a way forward."
Free Press editorial: "The era of emergency financial management scheduled to begin in Detroit this week is, at least in part, a product of Kilpatrick's neglect of Detroit's urgent fiscal problems while he was lining his own pockets. . . . Detroiters are eager to wash their hands of Kilpatrick and everything he and his self-serving sycophants stood for."
News editorial: "Kilpatrick's shakedown of developers stamped the city with a pay-to-play reputation, turning off many businesses that otherwise might have considered coming here. His preoccupation with lining his own pockets kept him from acting in the best interest of the city. He was in office to serve himself, not his citizens. . . . This should be viewed as the week Detroit puts its failed past to rest and moves toward a better future."
Dustin Block, MLive commentary: "It's a good day for Detroit. Monday's verdict washes the city's hands of a hustler who used city government to enrich himself, his family, and his friends. . . . We're tired of the old ways and ready for a new approach. We suspect a strong majority of Detroiters are with us. "
