By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 13, 2009 – The Motor City could have nine new members on city council on Election Day. I was in Detroit this past weekend to serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for Midwest Coalition of African American Police Officers (MCAAPO) annual awards dinner.

 The event was honoring law enforcement officers with careers spanning up to 30 years in crime fighting in the metropolitan area.

Detroit once the Mecca for the automotive industry and the Motown sound is now plagued with double digit unemployment [estimated to be at 17 percent] abandon homes, and the highest rates of city flight in country. 

But none of these negatives have discouraged the five top law enforcement officers honored Saturday evening by their peers for the tough jobs they perform daily. 

The  MCAAPO honored top law enforcement  officers ; Darryl Boykin, Chief of Police in South Bend, Ind., Gregory Gaskin, Chief of Police for Inkster, MI, Theodore G. Caldwell, Chief of Police for Highland Park, MI, Benny Napoleon, Wayne County Sheriff and Warren C. Evan, Chief of Police for Detroit.

The awards event was also a magnet for political hopefuls wanting the support with this important constituency less than a month before Election Day.   I acknowledged several candidates in attendance with hopes of filling the vacant seats on the embattled Detroit City Council.  

Former Detroit City Police officer Gary Brown is one of those candidates.  Brown is one of the candidates who received a sizeable percentage of the vote during the primary.   He’s also one of the two officers who was fired by former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick following the scandal that led to mayor’s  trial and conviction.   Brown sued the city and reached a million dollar settlement and now hopes to start a new career in politics.

Brown spoke passionately about what he would like to see in the city’s future – but told me expectations need to realistic.  “We can still have a great city, it might not ever get back to a population of 2 million, but we can have a smaller successful city.”

Detroit City Council President Kenneth Cockrel, Jr., is also on the ballot in November.  He was acting mayor during the turmoil with former mayor Kilpatrick, but lost in the special election to former MBA basketball player and businessman Dave Bing. Bing is also running for re-election.

Cockrel thanked the organization for hosting the conference in the city of Detroit saying he was fully aware they could have select other  “Midwest” towns.

The wooing of these officers also brought Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to the dinner to offer his well wishes to the men and women in blue.  Conyers has had his own political battles this year in light of his wife’s guilty plea to bribery charges.  If former city councilwoman Monica Conyers is convicted she could face up to five years in prison. 

As a native Detroiter I hope to see things improve for the city and for the people whose lively hood depend on it bouncing back. Election Day could be is a fresh start the city needs to make it happen.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

June 11, 2009 – Republicans seized control of the New York Senate  this week  and may have delivered a crushing blow to the state’s first African-American governor, who had hoped to run for the state’s top job in 2010. 

The floor of the Senate erupted and the live television feed went black when the Republicans seized control in a coup-like power struggle with Democrats.  The Dems then locked the chamber’s 15-foot brass gates, hid the keys and forced the GOP rebels to meet outside of the chamber. 

All of this drama unfolded with just a few weeks remaining in the legislative session.  New York Gov. David Paterson said, “Once again, Albany’s dysfunction has raised its ugly head.” The pandemonium all began on Monday.  “This is despicable,” Paterson said.

So what brought about such drastic actions by the two fighting factions? 

The Republicans complained that the Democrats were planning to raise taxes and increase spending, so 30 Republicans in the Senate pulled off the coup by luring two of the least savory Democrats in the 62-member chamber to their side of the aisle. They even went so far as to install one of the turncoats as the new Senate president.

The two Democrates who jumped ship have problems of their own: Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr, of the Bronx, the newly-installed Senate President, is under investigation over thousands in fines for violations in the health care clinics he operates.

His colleague, Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens, who also jumped to the other side of the aisle, has been charged with slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass.  If he’s convicted, he’ll lose his seat in the Senate.

The Dems might just want these two to stay with the GOP. 

Back to what happened….

This plan was the brainchild of billionaire B. Thomas Golisano, owner of hockey’s Buffalo Sabres.  He bankrolled the Democrats’ victory in the Senate last fall, but grew angry earlier this spring over Majority Leader Malcolm Smith’s support of a budget that would increase spending and raise taxes on the wealthy.

The now-ousted Democrats say all of these actions and maneuvers are illegal. The Dems are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the Republicans from taking power, and plan to boycott the chamber in the meantime.

While the Democrats’ “ousted leadership” say they are ready to get to work, Austin Shafran, a spokesman for them is calling foul. “[We are] fully prepared to go back to the people’s work, but will not enter the chamber to be governed by unlawful rule.”

As the drama continues, the governor could find himself in a tough spot.  The state could again end up in legislative gridlock and that could reflect poorly on Paterson.  If a recent The New York Times poll is any indication, Paterson is in trouble already.  A poll of more than 1,000 New Yorkers found only 21 percent have a favorable view of the governor and seven out of 10 respondents said he didn’t deserve the job as governor.

I’m sure this situation isn’t going to help.

Marine Gen. Charles Bolden, Jr., named to head NASA by President Obama.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

May 28, 2009 – President Obama is on a roll this week beginning with the nomination of the first Latino to fill a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court and following up with naming Gen. Charles Bolden, Jr. as the first African American to head  NASA.

Bolden will fill a post that has been vacant since January 20th, and will face a tough job at the space agency.  The once fearless agency has been hit hard by budget limitations, the lack of a comprehensive strategy for space travel and waning interest in space travel overall by the general public.

Bolden, a former marine General and Space Shuttle pilot, will need to determine what NASA will do next, establish priorities and get the agency’s public relations back on track.

This appointment will add another “first” to the space veteran’s resume.  The former Marine aviator was also the “first” African-American shuttle pilot.  This appointment comes a week after NASA sent a team to space to work on the Hubble Space Telescope. A mission Bolden knows too well.  He flew the space shuttle on four missions, including the one that released the telescope into orbit. 

The Congressional Black Caucus is pleased with Obama’s choice.  “Gen. Bolden has a long and distinguished résumé of military and NASA experience including flying more than 100 sorties in Vietnam and flying two space shuttle missions as pilot and two missions as commander,” Rep. Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the Caucus said.
 
How important is space travel to you?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Nov. 10, 2008 – Now that Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been elected, all eyes are turning to the governors of Illinois and Delaware who have the task of appointing someone to fill vacant Senate seats.

There appears to be no shortage of potential candidates in either state, so the governors will have plenty to choose from.  Both states appointees will fill the post until 2010 when they will then have to run for the office on their own merit.  But what a boost an appointment would give a relative “incumbent.”  

Illinois Gov. Ray Blagojevich (D) will have the tough job of selecting Obama’s replacement.  During his first post-election news conference last Friday, Obama was asked his thoughts about who his replacement should be. He told reporters, “I think that the criteria that I would have for my successor would be the same criteria that I would have as voter,” he said. “Somebody who is capable, somebody who is passionate about helping working families in Illinois meet their dreams. And I think there will be a lot of good choices out there.”

It will be a tough call. That’s why Obama made in clear he’ll stay out of the selection process and leave it to Blagojevich, reminding reporters, “It is the governor’s decision, not mine.”

Obama has represented Illinois for four years, and names swirling as potential candidates to fill the seat include two African-American lawmakers: state Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a close friend and mentor to Obama in the mid-1990s,  Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was Obama’s campaign co-chairman, and long time family friend, Valerie Jarrett, an attorney  currently co-chair of the president-elect’s transition team and considered to be the frontrunner for the appointment.  CNN and MSNB are reporting Jarrett will be the appointee.

Jackson, whose political aspirations are no secret, came to Obama’s defense when the young lawmaker’s father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, was caught on tape criticizing Obama for “talking down to Black people.”

Others on the list in Illinois include Attorney General Lisa Madigan; Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois director of veterans affairs, an Iraq war veteran; and Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

As for Biden’s seat in Delaware, the selection of his replacement might also have a few elements of drama.  Biden won twice on the ballot last Tuesday winning the veep spot along with his seventh term in Congress.   

It’s not clear if the outgoing or the newly elected governor of Delaware will make the appointment for his seat.  But there is certainty the appointee filling the seat until the 2010 mid-term election will both be Democrats.

Her successor Gov.-Elect Jack Markell (D) could add Minner to the list along with several other folks in the running, including Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of the vice-president elect. 

But other names have also surfaced, including: Lieutenant Gov. Jack Carney, Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele and Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor.

Blagojevich told reporters last week that he’s looking for a senator who will share the values of Obama and fellow Democrats.  “I believe that we should find the best qualified person, whoever he or she may be, wherever he or she may come from,” he said.