Poor Rep. Richard LeBlanc from Westland. He is the former local
cop turned chairperson of the Michigan State Police budget in the
Michigan House.
He had this brainstorm two weeks ago to shutter the State Police
post in downtown Detroit.
Democrat LeBlanc was hunting for some cost savings, but had no
intentions of yanking the state cops out of the city; instead he was
going to scatter them around into other cop shops in the county.
Now years ago, the chairperson of an important committee pretty
much got his or her way. Oh boy, those were the days which Mr. LeBlanc
found out in no uncertain terms.
First the state police presence in Motown is not a recent
development. In reality it goes back to the administration of former
Gov. Bill Milliken at the time that Coleman Young ran things in the
city.
After some heinous crimes were committed on the Detroit freeways
and at a time when local cops were being laid off, Milliken sent in his
trusty side kick George Weeks to look for a solution.
And as they say the rest is history and the guys and gals in blue
have been there ever since.
Enter LeBlanc who got hit with a barrage of pressure from members
of the Detroit legislative delegation and supposedly from the House
Speaker who is, after all running for governor and would like some
votes out of Detroit.
Sheepishly under the onslaught, LeBlanc has backed off. He
refuses to say he was pressured. We'll give him the benefit of the
doubt so let's just say he had no choice but to recant. In other words
he was pressured.
He still asserts he will get some cost savings, but the crooks in
Detroit were hoping he would win this tug-of-war.
And frankly so were all those motorists with a lead foot.