Famed Motown singer Martha Reeves, now advancing to November's general election as a candidate for Detroit City Council - hasn't been Dancin' In The Streets over policing in the Motor City. She says lack of police presence in the neighborhoods has been a real problem for the city - and one she's experienced firsthand as the owner of 18 properties. The Detroit Free Press has more:

The 64-year-old Reeves moved to Detroit from Alabama when she was 11 months old. She said in a recent interview that her top priority is ensuring the city's neighborhoods are adequately policed. She said she's been unable to fix up some of the 18 old buildings she's acquired since 1999 with the intention of renovating because the neighborhoods are wild areas.

"Junkies and crackheads have been taking down boards and even held some of the workmen at gunpoint until they ran away," she said. "The policing needs to be there, and it needs to be visible."

I like her willingness to invest in the community, and her no-nonsense perspective about public safety. If workmen rehabbing distressed properties can't even be safe, there are serious, serious problems in Motor City. I'd like to hear more from her before November about how to fund more police on the streets of Detroit.

Meanwhile, in a field of four, first-term Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and challenger Freman Hendrix advanced to the general election in November, although in the primary yesterday, Hendrix finished 10 points ahead of the controversy-dogged incumbent.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at August 3, 2005 03:45 PM