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Veteran Expediter
Seems anyone can, why not you??
Many City Council candidates have blemished records
David Josar and Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Many City Council candidates have blemished records | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Many City Council candidates have blemished records
David Josar and Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Many City Council candidates have blemished records | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Detroit -- Nineteen candidates running for the Detroit City Council owe a combined $2.4 million in unpaid income and property taxes, nearly one in seven has filed for bankruptcy and 12 have lost homes to the bank, according to court, tax and property records.
The names on the Aug. 4 primary ballot also will include three felons, including one who served 81 months in a federal prison for racketeering related to prostitution and another convicted of second-degree murder.
With 167 candidates, voter advocates say ferreting out those with the best qualifications is difficult.
"One thing it says is that democracy is at work where anyone can run for offices," said Dale Thomson, director of the Institute for Local Government at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, which teamed with Detroit Public TV to put candidate interviews on the Internet and on the air.
"But when you have 167 candidates you can't screen them out. I think everyone is pretty passionate, but I also think you have some folks who are just looking for a job."
The majority of the candidates don't have such blemished backgrounds. The records of those who do, however, raise questions about whether they can oversee Detroit's troubled finances if they couldn't successfully manage their lives. The candidates say their experiences give them unique perspective on the city's problems.
Topping the list of those with financial problems is Donald C. Goodson, who, according to liens on file in Wayne and Oakland counties and Arizona, owes $1.44 million in unpaid income tax and unemployment insurance taxes. Goodson also filed for bankruptcy in 1994.
"I hope people can see that while this may have been caused by poor judgment, I work strongly in the community and with community groups," Goodson said.
On the campaign trail, Goodson has touted his 18-plus years of "law enforcement experience" running a company that provides security guards.
He explained the liens by saying he had a contract with another company, but the contract was not enough for him to cover staff salaries and taxes. He chose to pay his employees.
Personal issues
Some miscues have to do with personal behavior.
Walter James Hart Jr., who ran for a council seat in 2005 and now has a nonprofit business training service dogs, spends his time on the campaign trail talking about redemption, something he says he knows about first-hand.
Hart served 81 months in federal prison in the 1990s after being convicted of transporting a 16-year-old girl to Washington, D.C., to "train her" to be a better prostitute. According to the girl's testimony, whenever she gave Hart the money she earned, "I had to bow down to him, kiss his feet, call him 'oh messiah,' tell him, 'I love you oh daddy.'"
He later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges for being part of a Detroit-area group that found young women in strip clubs and forcing them into prostitution.
More recently, in 2006, Hart was found guilty in Oakland County court of a felony charge of failure to pay roughly $130,000 in child support. He remains on probation.
"I believe in giving people a second chance," Hart said. "My campaign is about reform. That's what Detroit needs."
Another candidate, Robert L. Webster, the owner of Buffalo Soldier Transport, owes $53,860 in federal taxes, has lost two homes to foreclosure, owes the city $280 for a blight court violation and in April filed for bankruptcy, according to federal and state records. Webster blamed his woes on poor office management and the sluggish economy. "I've had my accountant take care of it, and I'm trying to get caught up," he said.
Then there is Hilanius Phillips, a now-retired longtime city planner, who has a $127,576 federal tax lien and owes $3,126.75 in city and county taxes. Phillips said he was hit with a debilitating medical condition around 2000 that strained his finances and forced him to tap his IRA to help cover nursing care costs.
"I am working to pay everything back," he said, adding that he is refinancing his home to pay off the debts.
Councilwoman Martha Reeves' struggle to get current on her state and federal income taxes has been common knowledge for years. Her liens currently total $209,966. Councilman Kwame Kenyatta walked away from his Rosedale Park home earlier this year after his mortgage payment was set to accelerate to an unaffordable level. And Councilwoman JoAnn Watson recently entered into a property tax repayment plan after it was disclosed recently that her house was unexplainably reassessed at an artificially low level several years ago. All are seeking to return to the council.
Council members earn $81,312 and get free use of a city car.
Federal, state troubles
Overall, nine candidates owe $2,353,341 in unpaid taxes, according to liens. Among them:
• Matthew Naimi, a midtown entrepreneur and resident who operates Recycle Here. He has embraced urban agriculture and cracking down on illegal dumping in his campaign. He owes $406,977.
Naimi said the revenues from his business, which employs about 15 people, have shrunk, resulting in a struggle to pay income and other taxes.
He said he is working out a deal with the Internal Revenue Service in which the agency will get the proceeds of a piece of land he hopes to sell. "When the price of commodities went down, that really hurt," Naimi said. "But that is what being a small business is about. I know about the challenges and I deal with them."
• Saunteel Jenkins, chief of staff for former Council President Maryann Mahaffey. She faces a lien for $6,180 in unpaid federal taxes, interest and penalties. She said the debt is a result of mistake made by her tax-preparer.
Jenkins had a fellowship with National Institute of Mental Health but forgot to report the value of the program as income. She said she is now making monthly payments on the lien.
"When you pay a friend $15 to do your taxes, this is what happens," Jenkins said.
Property tax problems
Eleven candidates owe a total of $84,910 in back property taxes on their homes. And four have cleared their debts since being contacted Friday by The News. According to the county treasurer, among those still in arrears are:
• Arganae Foster tops this group. She owes $25,517.82 on her home on Fiske. She also sought bankruptcy protection in 1998.
Foster, 39, who owns a property management company, said she recently bought the home in the Berry Subdivision Historic District on a land contract from a friend and didn't realize back taxes were owed. She said she's also contesting the assessment because she thinks it's too high, adding she's ready to pay what's owed once it's resolved.
"It's in dispute," said Foster. "It's not something I wanted to avoid, I just want it to be right."
According to land records, Foster bought the property on July 1, 2008, for $330,000.
• Debra Williams owes just under $14,000 in back taxes to the county from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The single mother of three underestimated the cost of having an adjustable rate mortgage and fell behind in payments, said her spokeswoman, Brenda Moragne. But she is working setting up a payment plan with the county, Moragne said.
"She has no intention of defaulting or walking away from it," Moragne said. "The fact that she didn't ignore it and is taking care of it speaks to her character."
And the experience may just make her a better councilwoman, Moragne argues.
"Since she's gone through the process, she can be more compassionate to others facing these issues."
In addition to Hart, the lengthy ballot contains two others who have served time in prison.
• John Cromer, who was convicted of retail theft and now works to find people jobs, said he has grown from the experience. "A lot of our local politicians have gotten into office and then gone to prison," Cromer said.
• Raphael Johnson, who served time for second-degree murder as a 17-year-old "misguided youth" and now works as a motivational speaker. "I am running for City Council because I owe Detroit," Johnson said. "I want to be used as an asset to get through to the young people."
Twelve candidates have lost their homes at some point either through a sheriff's sale because they could no longer afford the mortgage or because they had forfeited the home to the county after repeated chances to catch up on back taxes.
• Renita Edmonds had lived in a multi-unit apartment in the 1700 block of East Grand Boulevard but decided to turn it over to the bank after her tenants could no longer afford their rent payments, forcing her finances to crumble. "It's a harsh economy," said Edmonds. "But this city can come back.
• Sigmunt Szczepkowski blames a "bad marriage" on the loss of his home in the 13000 block of Charest. While he was married, he mortgaged the house to get the cash to bring his former spouse's dog and son over from Russia. "It wasn't the best decision ... I just let her have anything in the divorce," he said.
• Clinton Griffin Jr. turned the deed for a home at 226 Arden Park over to the bank in lieu of foreclosure in September 2006 for an unpaid mortgage and other fees that had grown to $363,057. Griffin, who works for the city's planning department, said: "We cried when we had to move out. We expected to stay here until after we retired.
He had owned the home since 1985 when he bought it for $82,500, according to Register of Deeds, and in September 2003, took out a mortgage for $343,000. Griffin began having problems after he lost his city job but was then rehired at a $30,000 per year salary cut.
Griffin said he and his wife tried everything they could -- including trying to sell the house for five years -- before doing what they did.
"We did the right thing. We didn't walk away. We worked it out," said Griffin.
• Yolanda Jack lost a rental property on Webb to foreclosure after she lost a job at Home Depot. Eventually she was hired at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. While she lost her investment property due to her financial problems, she and her husband found a way to keep their residence. "I was like a lot of people and got caught up in a bad economy," said Jack. "I understand the help people in the city need."
