Just got back from the NAACP meet the Candidates Fair tonight at the Northwest Activity Center, and once again I took the world by storm. I had one minute to make a speech, and I made the most of it.
I don’t like it when candidates pay for endorsements; this to me is a bribe plain and simple. We are the candidate you are supposed to pay us, not the other way around. I let everyone know how I feel about candidates buying their way into office. This is an unfair practice that has to stop, and it has with me.
If I had sued the city for $3 Million, I would pay for endorsements.
If I had quit a $200,000 a year job, I would pay for endorsements.
If I were one of the lucky candidates who got a piece of $300,000, I would most definitely pay for endorsements. But I didn’t, and wouldn’t if I had.
I understand that the money the slates get is to offset the cost of printing and other things, so I don’t blame them at all. I encourage their input into the political process. I applaud their efforts in keeping the public informed, this is not a stab at them, it is a stab at the candidates for their ‘Pay to play’ politics before they even get into office.
I ran a grass roots campaign from the very beginning, in November when MOST other candidates were only dreaming running for office. I was one of the first twenty or so candidates, now there are 167. The top ten or so are buying their way into office, will they do the same in office?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
We need volunteers!!!
Herbie Felton is looking for someone to work the polls on 4 Aug 2009. This is your chance to make a difference. Just drop a line to me. herbie_felton@yahoo.com Thank you all, looking forward to meeting you. Come one, come all.
Getting close, let's go VOTE.
This is the last week of the biggest election in Detroit for some time. Go ask all your friends and family to vote, this is your voice, use it. Pick your candidates, tell others, and vote. Don’t let the media steer you toward the big names of the race (most of which are buying their way into office.) while other candidate such as myself refuse to play the “pay to Play” game of politics in Detroit. Paying for an endorsement is not how you get into office, save for Detroit. Paying people to say you “Are a good guy looking out for Detroit’s’ interest.” is not who I want in office representing me in the council chambers. Any endorsement that I have, I earned. Any votes I get, I will earn. Your respect, I will earn.
Nuff’ said.
You get who you vote for Detroit.
Vote 4 Aug. 2009
Nuff’ said.
You get who you vote for Detroit.
Vote 4 Aug. 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
167 Citizens, 167 Candidates.
The race for Mayor?
More is being made of the race for city council that the race for mayor is being totally dismissed.
Now for my follow candidates: Why are you letting the media beat up on us as if we don’t have a right to run, like we don’t care for Detroit? We should we just sit back and let all hell break loose. Let the people in office ‘sing and dance’ and do whatever their little ‘sticky fingers’ and hearts want them to do. Should we care that they taking envelopes fill of money, that their singing in London and commenting on Michael Jackson while their co-workers are pleading guilty in the courts. We should sit back while the ones we vote in office are treating it like a second part-time job. Stand up to the media and say “I’m running because I care about Detroit and its people! I care what happens in the neighborhoods, the schools, and the streets of this city.” I haven’t heard any of this from any of the candidates. Just “Vote for me, vote for me, vote for me.”
What will happen when we vote for you? Will you “sing and dance” take money for a vote, treat the people who put you in office like a second job. Treat this city like a second job. I hope not.
The 6 running for the top job of Mayor (not including any write ins.) this race is for you also. Where is the Mayoral Debates that we have all come to know and love? There are three names that did not run in the special election. What do they stand for, who are they, and why haven’t we heard from them? Only two of you will survive the primary, perhaps then we will have Mayoral Debates as well as city council debates. Perhaps then this will turn into a normal race and not a bash-a-thon for the 167. The 167 citizens who said “Let’s make a difference.” Not all are sincere, neither about the campaign nor the city, but most are. I am.
I don’t care who you vote for, weather it is me or the other 166 candidates in the race, just vote.
Herbie Felton
City Council Candidate
More is being made of the race for city council that the race for mayor is being totally dismissed.
The media are saying that just because there are 167 candidates in the race that it is not legitimate, they can’t give everyone equal time. Stop your crying. it is not the media’s job to give us equal time; it is not the media’s job to interview each and every one of us. This is the candidate’s job; we have to talk to the people, the voters, and the ones that will put us in office.
The Mayor runs the city, but this more important job is being ignored by the media. Why? When 15 people were trying to be Mayor just six month ago, they couldn’t wait to interview, debate, and investigate the field. Now with 167 city council candidates, not to mention the 44 for charter commission, The Mayor’s race is void. The media might as well say, just vote for city council, Dave Bing is a shoe-in.
The Mayor runs the city, but this more important job is being ignored by the media. Why? When 15 people were trying to be Mayor just six month ago, they couldn’t wait to interview, debate, and investigate the field. Now with 167 city council candidates, not to mention the 44 for charter commission, The Mayor’s race is void. The media might as well say, just vote for city council, Dave Bing is a shoe-in.
Now for my follow candidates: Why are you letting the media beat up on us as if we don’t have a right to run, like we don’t care for Detroit? We should we just sit back and let all hell break loose. Let the people in office ‘sing and dance’ and do whatever their little ‘sticky fingers’ and hearts want them to do. Should we care that they taking envelopes fill of money, that their singing in London and commenting on Michael Jackson while their co-workers are pleading guilty in the courts. We should sit back while the ones we vote in office are treating it like a second part-time job. Stand up to the media and say “I’m running because I care about Detroit and its people! I care what happens in the neighborhoods, the schools, and the streets of this city.” I haven’t heard any of this from any of the candidates. Just “Vote for me, vote for me, vote for me.”
What will happen when we vote for you? Will you “sing and dance” take money for a vote, treat the people who put you in office like a second job. Treat this city like a second job. I hope not.
The 6 running for the top job of Mayor (not including any write ins.) this race is for you also. Where is the Mayoral Debates that we have all come to know and love? There are three names that did not run in the special election. What do they stand for, who are they, and why haven’t we heard from them? Only two of you will survive the primary, perhaps then we will have Mayoral Debates as well as city council debates. Perhaps then this will turn into a normal race and not a bash-a-thon for the 167. The 167 citizens who said “Let’s make a difference.” Not all are sincere, neither about the campaign nor the city, but most are. I am.
I don’t care who you vote for, weather it is me or the other 166 candidates in the race, just vote.
- Vote for Mayor.
- Vote for City Clerk
- Vote for City Council
- Vote for Charter Commission
- Vote for Board of Education at large.
Herbie Felton
City Council Candidate
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Detroit Police: Serial Rapist Under Arrest
Updated: Saturday, 25 Jul 2009, 5:26 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 21 Jul 2009, 1:45 PM EDT
Detroit Police believe they've captured the serial rapist who has been terrorizing women in the city. Investigators say DNA from the 39 year old links him to at least one of four sexual assaults on women on Detroit's East Side. The suspect, who is on parole for several violent crimes including second degree murder, also has a past history of sexual assualt.
Police Chief Warren Evans held a news conference this afternoon. Tune in to Fox 2 News for more information and check back here later to hear the police chief's remarks.
Published : Tuesday, 21 Jul 2009, 1:45 PM EDT
Detroit Police believe they've captured the serial rapist who has been terrorizing women in the city. Investigators say DNA from the 39 year old links him to at least one of four sexual assaults on women on Detroit's East Side. The suspect, who is on parole for several violent crimes including second degree murder, also has a past history of sexual assualt.
Police Chief Warren Evans held a news conference this afternoon. Tune in to Fox 2 News for more information and check back here later to hear the police chief's remarks.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Cop who arrested black scholar is profiling expert
Cop who arrested black scholar is profiling expert
Thursday, July 23, 2009
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The white police sergeant criticized by President Barack Obama for arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his Massachusetts home is a police academy expert on racial profiling.
Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy.
Academy Director Thomas Fleming says Crowley is "good role model" who was hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black.
In the class, Crowley teaches officers not to single people out based on their ethnic backgrounds.
Obama has said the Cambridge officers "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates last week after a woman reported a suspected break-in at his home.
Crowley has maintained he did nothing wrong.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NATICK, Mass. (AP) - A white police sergeant who arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Thursday he's disappointed President Barack Obama said officers acted "stupidly," despite acknowledging he didn't know all the facts.
Sgt. James Crowley responded to Gates' home near Harvard University last week to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded Gates show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused and accused the officer of racism.
Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday, and Gates has since demanded an apology from Crowley.
Obama was asked about the arrest of Gates, who is his friend, at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night.
"I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three - what I think we know separate and apart from this incident - is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
In radio interviews Thursday morning, Crowley maintained he had done nothing wrong in arresting Gates.
"I support the president of the United States 110 percent. I think he was way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts as he himself stated before he made that comment," Crowley told WBZ-AM. "I guess a friend of mine would support my position, too."
Crowley did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Gates has said he was "outraged" by the arrest. He said the white officer walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.
"This isn't about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," Gates said.
He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are "to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman."
Crowley, 42, said he won't apologize. And his union has expressed "full and unqualified" support for him.
On Thursday, he told WBZ that Gates verbally assailed him. The police report says Crowley asked Gates to talk outside, to which he responded "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside."
"There was a lot of yelling, there was references to my mother, something you woulnd't expect from anybody that should be grateful that you're there investigating a report of a crime in progress let alone a Harvard University professor," Crowley said Thursday.
Fellow officers, black and white, say he is well-liked and respected on the force. Crowley was a campus police officer at Brandeis University in July 1993 when he administered CPR trying to save the life of former Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis. Lewis, who was black, collapsed and died during an off-season workout.
Gates' supporters maintain his arrest was a case of racial profiling. Officers were called to the home by a woman who said she saw "two black males with backpacks" trying to break in the front door. Gates has said he arrived home from an overseas trip and the door was jammed.
The president said federal officials need to continue working with local law enforcement "to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias."
"What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately," Obama said. "That's just a fact."
Gov. Deval Patrick, who is black, said he was troubled and upset over the incident. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who also is black, has said she spoke with Gates and apologized on behalf of the city, and a statement from the city called the July 16 incident "regrettable and unfortunate."
The mayor refused Thursday to comment on the president's remarks.
Police supporters charge that Gates, director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was responsible for his own arrest by overreacting.
Black students and professors at Harvard have complained for years about racial profiling by Cambridge and campus police. Harvard commissioned an independent committee last year to examine the university's race relations after campus police confronted a young black man who was using tools to remove a bike lock. The man worked at Harvard and owned the bike.
Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.
"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society," Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."
---
Associated Press writer Melissa Trujillo and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The white police sergeant criticized by President Barack Obama for arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his Massachusetts home is a police academy expert on racial profiling.
Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy.
Academy Director Thomas Fleming says Crowley is "good role model" who was hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black.
In the class, Crowley teaches officers not to single people out based on their ethnic backgrounds.
Obama has said the Cambridge officers "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates last week after a woman reported a suspected break-in at his home.
Crowley has maintained he did nothing wrong.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
NATICK, Mass. (AP) - A white police sergeant who arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Thursday he's disappointed President Barack Obama said officers acted "stupidly," despite acknowledging he didn't know all the facts.
Sgt. James Crowley responded to Gates' home near Harvard University last week to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded Gates show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused and accused the officer of racism.
Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday, and Gates has since demanded an apology from Crowley.
Obama was asked about the arrest of Gates, who is his friend, at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night.
"I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three - what I think we know separate and apart from this incident - is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
In radio interviews Thursday morning, Crowley maintained he had done nothing wrong in arresting Gates.
"I support the president of the United States 110 percent. I think he was way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts as he himself stated before he made that comment," Crowley told WBZ-AM. "I guess a friend of mine would support my position, too."
Crowley did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Gates has said he was "outraged" by the arrest. He said the white officer walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.
"This isn't about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," Gates said.
He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are "to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman."
Crowley, 42, said he won't apologize. And his union has expressed "full and unqualified" support for him.
On Thursday, he told WBZ that Gates verbally assailed him. The police report says Crowley asked Gates to talk outside, to which he responded "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside."
"There was a lot of yelling, there was references to my mother, something you woulnd't expect from anybody that should be grateful that you're there investigating a report of a crime in progress let alone a Harvard University professor," Crowley said Thursday.
Fellow officers, black and white, say he is well-liked and respected on the force. Crowley was a campus police officer at Brandeis University in July 1993 when he administered CPR trying to save the life of former Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis. Lewis, who was black, collapsed and died during an off-season workout.
Gates' supporters maintain his arrest was a case of racial profiling. Officers were called to the home by a woman who said she saw "two black males with backpacks" trying to break in the front door. Gates has said he arrived home from an overseas trip and the door was jammed.
The president said federal officials need to continue working with local law enforcement "to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias."
"What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately," Obama said. "That's just a fact."
Gov. Deval Patrick, who is black, said he was troubled and upset over the incident. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who also is black, has said she spoke with Gates and apologized on behalf of the city, and a statement from the city called the July 16 incident "regrettable and unfortunate."
The mayor refused Thursday to comment on the president's remarks.
Police supporters charge that Gates, director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was responsible for his own arrest by overreacting.
Black students and professors at Harvard have complained for years about racial profiling by Cambridge and campus police. Harvard commissioned an independent committee last year to examine the university's race relations after campus police confronted a young black man who was using tools to remove a bike lock. The man worked at Harvard and owned the bike.
Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.
"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society," Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."
---
Associated Press writer Melissa Trujillo and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Vote with your heart.
You get who you vote for. Remember that when you vote on 4 Aug 2009. I'm no angel, I'm not a saint, but what I am is an honest voice with a genuine love for this city. I know who I’m going to vote for on 4 Aug 2009 besides myself, and can do so with a clear heart. I have talked with a number of the candidates myself and although I don’t agree 100% with all of them, some stand out more than others. The people I’m going to vote for is not in today’s story in the Detroit News, but the ones I had a bad feeling about are.
I pray that they are changed; people make mistakes in their lives all the time. Repent, and try not to repeat the same mistakes again. As far the taxes and liens go, this has been a very hard year for some of us. Detroit has the highest unemployment rate in the state, but the people with jobs are the ones that have the tax liens. Councilwoman Martha ‘Dancing in the streets’ Reeves hasn’t paid taxes in years, this from a person who makes $81,000 a year plus whatever she makes from her singing gigs. Her liens currently total $209,966. Councilman Kwame Kenyatta walked away from his home, and Councilwoman JoAnn Watson has been getting a real bargain on her house for years. You get who you vote for. Remember that when you vote on 4 Aug 2009.
I love Detroit just as much as the 167 other candidates in the race, but very few will actually do what it takes to make this a world class city again. Many will give you a long political answer to a very simple question, this is what I call ‘dazzling the people with BS.’ This may work in national politics, but here in Detroit we need and want more from our so called leaders.
I could care less who you vote for, just vote for the person you think will do good for Detroit. Vote with your heart. Vote.
Herbie Felton
You get who you vote for. Remember that when you vote on 4 Aug 2009.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Budget cuts and raising taxes.
There are three ways for Detroit to come out of the $300 million deficit we are in. None of which will make Detroiters happy.
1. Make cuts to city services trim spending,
2. Raise taxes to get more money or,
3. Both, make cuts and raise taxes.
Can we get the money we need from somewhere else, maybe? We have to take a close look at the budget and see if we can ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. This is a one time short term solution. What we need is a long term solution. We should lower taxes not raise them, in this way in the long run the population will rebound. This could mean better schools and more police, and a bigger tax base for the city.
We should redevelop our neighborhoods, not just tare down vacant houses, but rebuild houses on vacant land. Bring back our neighborhoods by bringing back the people. Talk to the business community and have them come back to Detroit. Together we can bring back Detroit, but this will not happen overnight. It takes time. Join me and lets bring back Detroit.
Thank you
Herbie Felton
City Council Candidate
1. Make cuts to city services trim spending,
2. Raise taxes to get more money or,
3. Both, make cuts and raise taxes.
Can we get the money we need from somewhere else, maybe? We have to take a close look at the budget and see if we can ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. This is a one time short term solution. What we need is a long term solution. We should lower taxes not raise them, in this way in the long run the population will rebound. This could mean better schools and more police, and a bigger tax base for the city.
We should redevelop our neighborhoods, not just tare down vacant houses, but rebuild houses on vacant land. Bring back our neighborhoods by bringing back the people. Talk to the business community and have them come back to Detroit. Together we can bring back Detroit, but this will not happen overnight. It takes time. Join me and lets bring back Detroit.
Thank you
Herbie Felton
City Council Candidate
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Riddle & Waters Arraigned on Federal Charges
Last Update: 5:19 pm
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Political consultant Sam Riddle and former State Representative Mary Waters have been arraigned on federal charges a day they were named in indictments.Riddle and Waters had not guilty pleas entered on their behalf in their separate arraignments. Riddle was arraigned first, and he waited in the courtroom for Waters. They were both released on $10,000 bond.Riddle is facing multiple felony counts in two indictments. The first relates to numerous allegations of corruption tied to his time as an aide to Monica Conyers. Among the allegations are that he and Conyers extorted money from a local restaurant owner, a national strip club and a local high tech company. Allegations related to Synagro are also included in the indictment.The second indictment relates to allegations of corruption surround the moving of Zeidman's Jewelry and Loan from Detroit to Southfield. The charges against Mary Waters relate to these allegations. Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore has also been indicted as part of the Zeidman's case.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/Riddle-Waters-Arraigned-on-Federal-Charges/eY8Cs8CVtU6bRjqy3GtSGw.cspx
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Herbie Jay Felton - City Council
Herbie Jay Felton - City Council: "EDUCATION: High school, current student at Kaplan University. OCCUPATION: Delivery driver."
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