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Volume 81 – Number 9
michiganchronicle.com
Detroit legendary advocate for justice, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor takes her leave By Lee Claire On Monday, Nov. 6, Michiganders received the sad news that Michigan’s first black female federal judge, Anna Diggs Taylor, had died at age 84. “It was with sadness that we have learned that Judge Anna Diggs Taylor passed away over the weekend,” Court Administrator Dave Weaver wrote in an e-mail to staff.
November 8-14, 2017
Winfrey Wins
Duggan gets second term, McCalister newest councilmember
Taylor first rose to national prominence when she deftly defended civil rights workers in the South during the tumultuous 1960s. She was appointed to the federal bench in 1979 by then-President Jimmy Carter. The prudent jurist solidified her legacy of championing civil liberties Hon. Anna Diggs Taylor when she blasted onto the national stage in 2006. Amid a hail fire of controversy, when she and the American Civil Liberties Union valiantly led the charge that struck down the Bush administration’s covert practice of warrantless wiretapping to spy on Americans. Taylor’s decision determined that the administration’s policy of secretly listening in on phone call and intercepting emails under the pretext of pursuing terrorism suspects was unconstitutional. In declaring the program unconstitutional, Taylor wrote: “It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.” An appeals court, however. overturned the decision, saying the ACLU didn’t have standing to sue. And a little closer to home, although Taylor preferred to maintain a relatively low-profile during her six decades long career she frequently shed the private persona and presided over several high-profile, controversial cases, In 1984, she sentenced Ronald Ebens to 25 years in prison for beating 27-year-old Vincent Chin to death with a baseball bat outside a Highland Park bar. An appeals court overturned the verdict and Ebens was acquitted at retrial. In 1984, Taylor banned nativity scenes on municipal property in Bir-
See ANNA DIGGS TAYLOR page A-4
Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
Three-term incumbent City Clerk Janice Winfrey managed to fend off a surprisingly tough challenge from political newcomer Garlin Gilchrist to retain her seat for another four years. Despite enduring intense criticism of her performance during the 2016 Presidential Election, Winfrey’s reliably strong base of supporters came out in sufficient numbers to deliver her the opportunity to move the office forward in a race that went down to the wire as too close to call until nearly 11:30. In the end, the voters decided that perhaps it was too soon to crown Gilchrist as victor based solely on the overwhelming adoration heaped upon his campaign by most political observers and media outlets. Winfrey proved that if you have a strong enough connection to the community, it’s not as difficult to weather a media storm. Still, for someone with such little name recognition to have gotten so close to victory on his first time venturing into the fray in a tough political arena like Detroit speaks volumes about his potential future in politics should he chose to pursue that career. It was also a sweat-inducing moment for Winfrey, reminding her yet again how much one mistake can sometimes cost in politics. But as Winfrey made certain to point out, her entire time in office has not been defined solely by what happened in November 2016, even if that is what
City Council At Large Brenda Jones
the epitome of culinary excellence
See Page C-1
has received the most media attention. Ever since her surprise defeat of the late Jackie Curry in 2005, whose administration was mired in corruption, Winfrey has made noticeable strides toward cleaning up the reputation of the office and making commendable changes. In a recent interview with the Chronicle following her primary victory in August, Winfrey defended her office against charges that her staff has been poorly trained and that lack of adequate preparation was the primary reason for the November debacle. “I take great offense when people say our poll workers are not trained, when
City Council At Large Janeé Ayers
District 1: James Tate
District 2: Roy McCalister
District 3: Scott Benson
District 4: Andre Spivey
“I’ve administered nearly, if not more than, 24 elections. Twenty-four elections. And probably, for every election that I’ve administered, I’ve gotten some kind of praise and recognition publicly. And then November 2016 happens, and they want to throw the baby away with the water. Part of being a leader is to assess what you’ve done and then make
See ELECTION page A-4
District 5: Mary Sheffield
District 6: District 7: Raquel Gabe Leland Castaneda-Lopez
Detroit voters say YES to weed By Keith A. Owens
mention jobs.
Senior Editor
The legal U.S. marijuana industry — both medical and recreational — grossed about $7.1 billion in sales in 2016. More than 1.2 million Americans use medical marijuana for a wide variety of medical problems, from cancer to epilepsy to depression. Michigan has 178,629 registered medical marijuana patients, a 2015 number. State voters in 2008 overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes. That led to a massive increase in the number of dispensaries in Detroit, not all of them operating legally.
Despite a strong anti-marijuana push from some city council members, a large contingent of churches and others — not to mention very convoluted and confusing language on the ballot — Detroiters voted in favor of the Detroit Medical Marijuana Facilities Ordinance and the accompanying Detroit Zoning Ordinance for Medical Marihuana Facilities endorsed by advocates for marijuana legalization, suggesting that a more liberal view is beginning to take root in the city, recognizing the likely inevitability of legalization as well as the potential of a much-needed revenue stream that this city sorely needs. Not to
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we’ve always trained for every election every time. That’s more than what the state requires. The state requires training once every two years. Now I’m training quarterly. I’m training throughout the entire year,” she said.
CITY COUNCIL
WHAT’S INSIDE
Durden’s Catering,
Garlin Gilchrist – Montez Miller photo
The Detroit Zoning Ordinance will align
See PROPOSALS page A-4