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michiganchronicle.com
Volume 80 – Number 9
November 9-15, 2016
WTF!
‘The Donald’ pulls off biggest upset in modern history
Detroit chooses Proposal B By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
In a hard-fought race that drew a stark and heated dividing line between passionate Detroiters in a battle to determine what was the most sensible way to craft a community benefits ordinance that would actually benefit the community, a majority of the city’s voters sent a clear message early Wednesday morning that when it comes to how best to regulate and control community development projects in their neighborhoods, Proposal B is what makes the most sense. With 98 percent of all precincts reporting, it appeared likely Proposal B was the victor by a margin of 7 percentage points, 54-36 percent. A bit of background: The community benefits ordinance which eventually became Proposal A was first introduced to City Council two years ago and was designed to give Detroit citizens more say-so in the development process. The original ordinance required that all $15 million development projects with at least $300,000 in subsidy be reviewed by host committees within Detroit communities. The ordinance grew from a petition by a grassroots campaign, Rise Together Detroit. The campaign believed that the ordinance would help ensure that “those within ‘old Detroit’ are not left out” as the city continues to be developed. Rashida Tlaib, former Michigan House representative,
See PROPOSAL
B page A-4
By Roz Edward
And while the overwhelming majority of political polls indicated Clinton had more than a 98 percent chance of becoming the nation’s next president, with her receiving receive 323 electoral votes and Donald Trump only garnering 215, major battleground states that included North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, went to Trump, while Clinton picked up Nevada and won a slim victory in Pennsylvania. Michigan, which became a critical holdout state during the course of the vote tally, kept the candidates neck and neck, while the late count from Wayne County and Detroit gave Clinton a much needed win in the 11th hour.
Managing Editor
As election night progressed and Hillary Clinton’s hopes of becoming the first woman president faded, despairing Americans conceded that the thing they didn’t think possible was indeed happening. In a nail biter of a presidential contest, and a bizarre concession process, Trump won a surprising victory over Clinton, the political veteran who all polls predicted to win the 2016 presidential election. In the end, Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric and vitriolic speech convinced a majority percent of American voters to take a chance for the next four years and the foreseeable future and put theirs — and the nation’s — fate in the hands of the controversial real estate mogul from New York. Devoid of any political or military experience, Trump’s hair-raising campaign promises of deporting 11 million immigrants, denying entry to the country and access to the American dream based on religious beliefs, and building a wall to protect the U.S. border from Mexico proved to be the political fodder that millions of American find reasonable, whether
those policies are constitutional or not. In addition, Trump has pledged to take away health care coverage from 20 million people, with no actual plan to replace it. The record numbers of newly registered voters, including Millenials and Latinos as well as African Americans, traditionally considered the disenfranchised, was no match for the unprecedented numbers of voters in rural areas who believe that a Trump presidency would be good for the economy.
In a national poll of African American voters conducted by the National Newspaper Publishers Association and Howard University, and released just days before the 2016 presidential election, pollsters found that more than 90 percent of registered black voters across the nation declared their intentions early on to vote for Clinton. Trump and Clinton, both candidates from New York, organized campaign victory parties at venues only a block and a half from each other. In Michigan, the race remained close
See TRUMP page A-4
Regional Transit Ballot Initiative at press time is too close to call By Donald James Special to the Chronicle
After months of weighing the pros and cons of the Regional Transit Millage Proposal, and decades of going without a comprehensive mass transit system that connects Southeast Michigan counties, voters in Southeast Michigan still did not know the results of this important initiative as of press time at 6:13 a.m. Wednesday morning. With 90 percent of the precincts reporting, the “no” votes were at 855,496, and the “yes” votes registered at 833,066. Proponents of the proposal are still hopeful of it passing, as they believe favorable votes from Washtenaw and Wayne counties yet to be tallied will ul-
timately be counted in the “yes” column. If true, the passage of the Regional Transit Millage Proposal would mean that Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties will be connected by a seamless mass transit system, all outlined by the new Regional Master Transit Plan. The passage of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) Proposal would call for residents of the aforementioned counties to pay a property tax assessment of 1.2-mil for 20 years. The 1.2-mil equates to $1.20 of property tax for every $1,000 of taxable value of a home in Southeast Michigan’s four counties. Therefore, if a home’s taxable value is $100,000, the yearly payment is about $120. “This passage will allow seniors and
people with disabilities to be more independent in getting to various locations throughout the four counties,” said Shaun Wilson, spokesperson for Citizens for Connecting Our Communities, a local non-profit coalition that advocated for “yes” votes. “This proposal will also significantly help people get to and from jobs throughout Southeast Michigan in better ways.” If successful, within the first five years of the 20-year timetable, an appreciative expansion of local and regional commuter bus services should occur, according to RTA. For Detroit residents, this would mean major improvements in every aspect of bus service, which will include additional/newer/schedule-friendly
See RTA page A-4
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