Detroiters I am now convinced, are far dimmer than most of the country if not the world.
Not having enough of their elected "leaders " participating in crime, graft, blackmail, sex scandals, perjury, bullying, etc, etc, etc...they have now decided to throw convicted murderers into the mix.
Source_______________________________________
Ex-con Detroit council candidate seeks second chance
Raphael Johnson was the high school quarterback and homecoming king. He threw it away over a piece of cake, his ego and a gun.
At a private birthday party on a cool night in November 1992, a fight erupted after Johnson and friends playfully tussled over cake. He and three others were escorted outside to Wyoming Street. In the commotion, a chaperone, Terrell Eastman, knocked Johnson to the ground.
Johnson was ashamed. A friend had a pistol in the car. Johnson fired when he thought he saw a man reaching for a gun. Instead, he shot Johnny Havard, 40, a man in the alley cleaning up some trash, in the face and legs.
"I saw the man and I blindly shot the gun in his direction and (Havard) ended up dying, a man I never knew (and) never said anything to me," said Johnson, who attended Detroit Jesuit High School.
No he didn't "end up dying" you killed him, don't start bending the facts until you get into office.
Didn't you see how Kwame, Christine, Monica, and Sam did it?
Seventeen years later -- including 12 in prison for second-degree murder -- Johnson, 34, is a finalist in the Nov. 3 City Council election.
Welcome to Detroit
Admirers like Police Chief Warren Evans call Johnson a "prime example" of the promise of rehabilitation, a family man with two children who earned two college degrees and spent his years outside of prison motivating youngsters and organizing neighborhood watches.
But should his second chance include running the city?
Ummm No, kinda a no brainer don't you think?
The debate has percolated since Johnson emerged this month as one of 18 candidates to advance past the primary for the nine-member panel. His story of redemption and hope resonates in a city with nearly 17,000 felons -- including one, Charlie Beckham, who is Mayor Dave Bing's top aide, and another, Tom Barrow, who is Bing's challenger.
Do you believe this? Is every 3rd person working for the city a felon?
Are you unemployed? Perhaps you need a stint in prison to get ahead in Detroit?
Detractors say the city is sick of criminals, pointing to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and ex-Councilwoman Monica Conyers who were charged with felonies in office. Johnson points to TV Judge Greg Mathis and world-renowned surgeon Benjamin Carson, two Detroit icons who were lawless as teens and then led exemplary lives.
Lawless?...did they commit murder too?
"If Detroiters don't see the need to give a man like me who's redeemed himself beyond what anybody has ever wrote about or portrayed on a Hollywood screen, then what does it say to the thousands of men and women who come home who just want to do the right thing?" asked Johnson, who has a side job with Maury Povich counseling troubled teens on TV.
PULLEEZE...I do not base all MY decisions on what I have seen or not seen on television or in the movies.
Judge Mathis, Maury Povich, TV, Movies...is this argument valid against common sense?
Detroit, like other cities in Michigan, has no law against onetime felons serving in office. Johnson finished 15th in a field of 268, collecting nearly 11,000 votes.
"That reflects poorly on the city that our leaders are criminals," said Marcus Harris, who lives downtown. "The last thing we need is another criminal on City Council."
THANK YOU Marcus Harris!
Should you choose to run you already have my vote as you are apparently smarter than most of Detroit.
The issue is so charged that the state's oldest African-American newspaper, the Michigan Chronicle, devoted its front page last week responding to critics of its endorsement of Johnson. ARISE Detroit! founder Luther Keith said he hears the naysayers, but they just don't know Johnson's body of work.
...Really?
...and your serious Michigan Chronicle?
...who on your staff had a family member murdered by a person who is now running for a major Detroit political office?
"I'm not saying every person who did something similar should be turned loose on society and let them run for City Council. (But) I know Raphael Johnson and those folks don't," said Keith, a former Detroit News editor.
Efforts to reach Havard's relatives were unsuccessful, but his mother said at the sentencing she could never forgive Johnson.
I am positive the Havard's are pleased as punch that Johnson's life has just soared while their loved one's life was snuffed out over a piece of cake.
Setting a new path
( or how to win at politics in Detroit while getting free college degrees in prison )
Johnson was a baby when his father went to prison. Johnson was first arrested at 12, then turned around the first time after winning a scholarship to the private Detroit Jesuit.
He went to prison on the same day he was to start at Marygrove College, spending six years in solitary confinement -- an experience he calls his "college dorm."
The Nation of Islam member read about Nelson Mandela, Marcus Garvey, and 1,300 books. He became a certified electrician, plumber and carpenter. He was sentenced to 8-25 years and promised Parole Board member the Rev. James Atterbury that he would dedicate his life to helping others.
Upon his release in 2005, Johnson volunteered to speak to block clubs and schools before Goodwill Industries hired him for $40,000 to help ex-offenders. Johnson now runs the Total Lifestyle, a company that offers professional speaking and fitness training. He is also an author.
Now keep in mind his victim is still dead while all this positive affirmation is going on.
Others took notice, including entertainer Steve Harvey, who named Johnson the nation's best community organizer in 2008. In appearances for Maury Povich, Johnson scares straight promiscuous or drug-using teens.
"He has the ability to hear the pain in their heart," said Paul Faulhaber, executive producer of "Maury."
More TV references in place of common sense.
"Raphael has proven he's honest, dedicated and he is a leader. People should give him a chance."
'You'll never say I sold out'
( just that I killed an innocent bystander over a piece of cake )
In high school, Johnson led groups such as People Against Cigarette Smoking. In prison, he defused arguments that could have turned violent over ramen noodles.
These days, he's on the streets, leading neighborhood brigades to reduce crime.
A month ago, a group of men led by Johnson canvassed an eastside neighborhood with radios and sirens, efforts that Evans said led to the arrest of a rape suspect.
Last Thursday, Johnson led about 50 men on the east side looking for suspects in the drive-by shooting of 13-year-old Dreia Davis, who was injured in the gang-related incident.
They gathered five blocks east of Pershing High School, handed out leaflets, prayed and encouraged teens to speak to police, saying "don't snitch, just tell." The group tracked down cars that matched the description of a vehicle used in the shooting and forwarded the details to police, who are still investigating.
"If it don't stop with my daughter, it could be yours tomorrow. It's time to take back our streets," said Curtis White, 39, the girl's father, who joined the search.
Crime is central to Johnson's council campaign, which he vows will include no mudslinging and rely heavily on door-to-door campaigning. He said he's often up until 3 a.m., spreading his message to take back the streets.
"We talk about Cobo, regionalism, privatization and city assets, but most citizens in the city are concerned about pulling up in their driveway and wondering if somebody is lurking behind a bush or a garbage can or their home because they can't even see because we have lights turned out," Johnson said.
"I'm not perfect by far, but you'll never say I sold out. Most people have not been tested. (Detroiters) need somebody who's already been tested. I'm unbreakable at this point."
WHAT? Unbreakable? Is that what they call murderers in the big house or is that what they called you at the funeral service for your victim?
If anything has be tested, it's that your uncontrollable rage has killed once already.
Regret is not the same as redemption.
Johnson spoke from his campaign offices on Van Dyke near Seven Mile, where he plots his latest comeback -- jumping from the back of the pack to the top nine in the council race. His favorite poem, "Invictus," is prominently displayed.
It reads in part: "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."
(come betwixt my cake and I and feel my unbreakable wrath.)
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You want to redeem yourself and your life after murdering someone over a piece of cake by doing good the rest of your life then great, go do good.
But it certainly doesn't mean you'll ever be worthy of the respect and trust demanded to lead law abiding citizens.
It certainly doesn't mean you should be entrusted by the public you hope to govern because you've realized the errors of your ways for such a spontaneous, emotional and ego driven crime
It doesn't mean the Michigan Chronicle needs run to the defense of a man they DID NOT lose a loved one to.
As I said.
Regret doesn't mean redemption.
You have paid your debt to society.
But paying your debt to society at large does not mean you have repaired the moral, ethical and emotional damage caused by your crime and its ever lasting effect on the victim and the victims family.
Welcome To Detroit
