Councilman Benson's attack on the DPL


Here are two transcripts of Councilman Benson making his case to City Council and the public for the city takeover of appointment power for all DPL commission seats (on April 26, and May 12, 2022). He made his arguments by spewing a litany of completely false statements; statements so patently untrue that they can only be seen as intentional misinformation. 

The blurbs that appear in red italic are the clarifying / fact-checking remarks of DPL Commissioner Russ Bellant. The images were generated by Dr. John Telford, former Interim DPS Superintendent and candidate for school board.

Some of the central lies that Benson keeps repeating here (hoping they become truth) are that (1) the DPL's future is uncertain, or that it is financially unsustainable and about to fail, (2) that the DPL takes its budget from the city's funds, (3) his resolution only sought to take over appointment power for some DPL commission seats.

Click on each image to enlarge.









Keep in mind that Councilman Benson is still under FBI investigation for corruption (his house was raided at the same time as other council members). There is also his past history of alcohol abuse and multiple DUI arrests. These liabilities mean that Benson is vulnerable to being manipulated by the administration as a tool for the mayor to get what he wants out of Council. And that's exactly how Duggan likes his lackeys: with a dark cloud over their head. If Benson doesn't walk the line for the mayor, he will lose Duggan's considerable campaign support. He is in no position to refuse. 

It might also be noted that in February of 2021, Councilman Benson admitted to not knowing what the city's master plan was. It had to be explained to him in the meeting. This is not the hallmark of a competent city leader.

At the City Council formal session on February 21, 2023, as well as the Evening Community Meeting at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church that evening, Councilman Benson began spouting a new line of crap. After our member Imara Hyman gave public comment regarding tax captures and library defunding, Benson retorted by actually saying with a straight face that the DPL has a $31M budget SURPLUS, and that we should instead be going to the DPL Commission with our concerns. That is a complete lie…the DPL’s entire budget is $31M, and there is no surplus...because of tax captures. Anyway, it’s interesting to note that this is the very same Councilman Benson who not even a year ago based his argument for city takeover of the libraries on the assertion that the DPL is financially failing. So which is it, Benson? For what it’s worth, similar library “surplus” numbers have been recently cited in the District Detroit NAC by Chairman Chris Jackson.

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