
How many voices does it take?
By: Andrea Trapani
For the past six months, not a day has passed where news about Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has not dominated the local headlines. And, I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone, anywhere who is not familiar with the ongoing saga revolving around him and his problems. As a public relations professional, I could write a book about how this entire episode has been an example of how NOT to handle a problem. That said, even the best “public relations” plan wouldn’t have fixed the main problem. As a leader, the Mayor needs to acknowledge that the situation he has created — legal arguments and savvy interpretations of the “law” aside — needs to be resolved so that the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan can get back to doing what they need to do, namely working together to get the region back on track. The only way that will happen is if Mr. Kilpatrick does what more and more people every day are pleading with him to do; step down and let everyone get back to their day jobs.