 |
| Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman |
I remember meeting Deirdre Waterman for the first time in 2001. I had known her husband the great, late William Waterman. He had been in practice with my uncle, up until he became a district court judge in Pontiac. I had never met his wife. It seems that she was a ghost. I knew other politicians in Pontiac, whose mates that I had never met, before. Politicians are often outgoing, and because opposites attract, their mates are usually in no way interested in the public eye. Dr., Mrs., "Your Honorable" Deirdre Waterman seemed to be the same way. Her husband was a fiery man, and a Civil Rights leader, too. He was the man that fought and won against L. Brooks Patterson. Remember, the White woman didn't want her children going to school with the Black students in Pontiac. There had been a bus initiative. Children were going to be bused into districts that were predominantly White, from Black neighborhoods and vice-versa. This woman wanted to stop it from happening, and hired Patterson to represent her in a court case to stop the initiative. It was only a few years that had passed that the showdown happened that I was being shipped over to Webster from "The Projects" Lakeside Homes. It was still fresh in the minds of the people of Pontiac in 1978. My teacher couldn't stand me and dug her fingernails in my arms. I was just having problems at home. But she was used to teaching little White girls and had no time for my Negro shenanigans. Waterman had fought for my right to be abused by that woman, Mrs. Matous. L. Brooks Patterson, still the racist "Master" of Oakland County, didn't want that to occur.
William "Bill" Waterman, in his forever tenacious spirit beat him and beat him good. With the state of our school system today, I think he would be sorely disappointed and ashamed of what has happened in the schools in Pontiac. I know this is a blog about our Mayor. I know she wants to get out from up under his legacy and create one of her own, and I don't think she can, because his fire is a testament that she can stand the test of time. She is smart and beautiful and a clear example of everything that Waterman was all about. She's a fighter, and when you live with an attorney, fighting is in their DNA. You learn how to take a jab and give a hit. You are stunned sometimes, by the zeal of their rebuttal and hard pressed to bring one of your own. You win some and you lose some, but you not only learn the rules of the game, but you learn how to build your case. I would like to say that our Mayor is the wife of one of the best litigators in Michigan of old, and it shows every time I turn on one of the city council meetings. She wins and when she loses, she regroups and is a formidable opponent to the Council President, Kermit Williams. A man that if her husband was still living would be handled by now, he knows the rules, but for some reason doesn't believe they apply to the Mayor and makes up new ones as he goes along. Rude, crass and rules that have no respect for her office or her womanhood, which makes me question his manhood.
Now, he has his cronies, Doris Taylor-Burkes and Gloria Miller that he puts up to fight with the Mayor. Taylor-Burkes who has an advance degree, but not in Government and Miller that doesn't have any degree at all. Miller has no idea what her job actually is. I think she believes that her "heart" will open parks, fix roads and attend to her constituents. The job of a City Council is to pass laws to help keep the city in order and moving forward. Things like downtown-development, parks and recreation and city roads. Sitting in council meetings every Tuesday night and fighting with the Mayor is not one of their goals, but like the other legislative bodies in this country, both State and Federal, lots of time is spent trying to sabotage the Leader with their legislative antics. Kermit Williams is a master at starting confusion, and then making it seem like things are still getting done. An attorney, Reginald Turner of Clark-Hill law firm,
came to the council meeting last Tuesday, 1-8-2019, and he gave a presentation. On top of that, he was very rude to our Mayor. Interrupting her comments, when she never uttered a word during his. Likewise, Kermit Williams, as council president, allowed the disrespect and never forced the man to stand down. He allowed him to disrupt the Mayor, while making a point that was a moot one, because he has not been retained by the council. But then moves forward and passes two of the Mayors initiatives with ease. Like he didn't have the worse display of a presentation that's worse than his last. Tricks of an evil leader.
The Mayor was in the midst of making a fantastic point. Turner had not been engaged by the city. He had no business sending bills to the City Finance Director, because he had no contract with the city to demand payment for anything. If he's counseling Williams, City Council President, and it appears that he's only had contact with Williams. None of the other council members seemed to know what was going on. He has been doing all of that for free. The Mayor does not have to pay anyone that she hasn't hired! Kermit Williams has no power to hire an attorney for the City Council. The Mayor wants to know why the Council is seeking an attorney. She says that if there is a conflict between her and the Council then she would like to know what it is. That way, she could try to solve it, before any legal action is taken that involves a clash, between the Executive and Legislative branch of the city's government. That's only fair to her and her administration and the people of the city who will pay. I think that Williams needs some money. The Mayor said that the bill went from $4,000 to $60,000. Turner has actually sent bills to a person that never hired him. How presumptuous is that? The Mayor told him that he's been trying to get the money for months in court. She says that O'Brien told him, "No!" Then she told him to go take it up with O'Brien, because the city isn't paying him anything. As far as the courts go, WE don't have to.
Kermit Williams can't just take up with a lawyer and then say the Mayor is stopping the man from being paid. The Mayor caught Turner, when he kept saying he's not "engaged". Right, he hasn't been retained. If he tries to once again take her to court, she's going to tell the judge that he admitted in an open-forum that he has not been retained. If you have not bee retained, and send a city a bill that's "Fraud" in my humble opinion. I think that he'll get that money and they'll split it four ways, however not evenly, with Turner and Williams getting the bulk of it and Taylor-Burkes and Miller getting a smaller portion. There is no other reason for a "respected" attorney to stand before a city and lie and say that we owe his firm money. Then the uneducated Miller stated that we would go back into receivership, if we don't pay him and find out where all the money is going. Paying people you don't owe, would surely cause someone to go bankrupt. Like the Mayor alluded to people would show up at our front-door saying we owe them all the time. They would just right up invoices, send them to our Finance Department and get paid. NO...A lawyer must be retained. Williams, as zealous as he may be, does not have the power to retain Mr. Turner and his law firm.
Now, back to where I first met our illustrious Mayor. She was at a fundraiser to elect her husband and his good friend Judge Christopher Brown. She had on a delightful yellow dress and she was simply smiling at everyone and taking pictures. I had no idea that there was a women in that pretty yellow suit that could bring our city out of receivership, and out of a financial crisis. But there she was taking pictures. Supporting two of the most powerful men in Michigan. I knew that she was smart, because her optical shop was on the first floor of her husbands building. I knew that she was resilient, because she was his wife and a man so strong wouldn't marry a wuss, but his equal. Fighter love a good fight, and the chance to lose, every now and again. One afternoon when we were talking, he told me that he had to go. He had promised his wife that he would take her to a movie. She would do the driving, because poor health had him unable to, but I know she didn't mind. She was not only capable, but willing to help and give to a man that she loved dearly. I believe with all my heart that she loves this city dearly, and that she's willing to take us to new heights if we are willing and fair. I think she will, and I pray that we will give of ourselves to help our city.
This video will be played on Facebook. This is the meeting with Attorney Turner and the once again, blatant disrespect of President Kermit Williams.
