| Author | Message | ||
| Stephen Goodfellow
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http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0309/15/a02-2710 26.htm By Luther Keith / The Detroit News The few voters who cared sent a message last week to Linsey Porter, the long beleaguered mayor of financially troubled Highland Park whose political career is down if not entirely out. Porter, who was serving his third term after taking office in 1992, polled just 412 votes in the primary in a city with 11,671 registered voters. He finished third behind police Officer Eric Hollowell, who had 416 votes, and Highland Park City Councilman Titus McClary, who led the field with 703 votes. McClary -- who would appear to be the front-runner -- and Hollowell will face each other in the Nov. 4 general election. Officially, Porter has filed for a recount with the Wayne County Clerk's office, but he talks with an air of resignation, like a man who accepts his fate and knows it's time to take his life in another direction. "Sometimes, God sends you a message for a reason," Porter said. "When the vote totals came out, I was shocked and disappointed. I've been through a lot, mentally and emotionally, in the last few years. I became a diabetic and almost went into a coma twice. I think about all the struggles I have gone through trying to do the best for my hometown. ..." Unfortunately, Porter's best in the estimation of state officials and many others was not nearly good enough, even if all of the reasons were not of his own making. Once a grand town and the storied home of the Chrysler Corp., Highland Park became a textbook example of urban decline, population exodus, poverty and crime over the last half of the last century. Surrounded by the city of Detroit, Highland Park now has a population of about 16,000 people spread over 2.5 square miles. There has been some modest development success over the years but it has suffered from massive debts and tax base losses, highlighted by Chrysler moving its headquarters and jobs to Auburn Hills in the 1990s. With the possibility of bankruptcy looming, two years ago then-Gov. John Engler appointed CPA Ramona Henderson Pearson as the city's emergency financial manager. Pearson said she was astonished at the city's seemingly haphazard investment and fiscal management policies. The city's accumulated general fund debt is pegged at $30 million, but it now has a balanced operating budget of $13 million for the current fiscal year. Pearson stopped paying the salaries of Porter and other city officials in June 2001 and instituted temporary layoffs of city employees and public safety workers. The public safety force is now back on the payroll, assisted by the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, which now has a service contract with Highland Park. Porter accepts responsibility for some of the decisions that contributed to the financial difficulties, but he insists most of the problems stemmed from circumstances beyond his control. "Even before Chrysler left, the city was $13 million in debt," he said. "Then we got an $11 million bill from the Detroit water department. We were able to settle that for $7.5 million, but people still got huge water bill increases because of that settlement. We also had increases in our transient population and more renters in our neighborhoods." To support himself, Porter has been working as a counselor in an adult foster care home in Wyandotte. He has filed a claim for $135,000 in back pay with the state. While acknowledging widespread apathy and saying "people pretty much have given up" in Highland Park, Porter remains passionate about his hometown. "I've always had a dream that everyone in Highland Park would have a nice car in their driveway and a beautiful home," he said. No matter the outcome of the recount vote, Porter is likely to resurface with a run for Wayne County commissioner or state representative. The question is, will voters want to see him in a sequel? Luther Keith is senior editor of The Detroit News. His column appears Mondays and Thursdays. He can be reached at (313) 222-2675 or lkeith@detnews.com. |
