Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano Asked about Turkia Mullin Severance Agreement: MyFoxDETROIT.com
In the 19th and 20th Centuries, the family trees of European royalty were so interconnected that it became nearly impossible to find a royal house that wasn’t afflicted with Haemophilia, a blood disorder passed through recessive genes.
Although literal inbreeding is not taking place among Wayne County’s political class, the effects of what could be called “political incest” are just as calamitous.
Oct. 13, Detroit News: Charlie J. Williams, a former Wayne County deputy executive, worked as facilitator and mediator in a $14 million sale of a parking lot for a new county jail downtown. The deal — which [Director Turkia] Mullin signed off on as the county's chief development officer — paid him a 3 percent commission.
Two weeks after the sale was completed on July 14, Williams voted to hire Mullin for the airport job that pays $250,000 a year. He also was one of three members of a search committee that recommended her for the job above four finalists with airport management experience.
So, to recap, a former county official pockets over $400,000 assisting the county make a land deal. He then turns around as a Wayne County Airport Authority Director and hires the person who gave him the lucrative “facilitator” contract in the first place?
Why didn’t Wayne County already have someone on the payroll to “facilitate” this kind of land deal? Oh wait, they did. Her name was Turkia Mullin. The Charlie Williams arrangement calls into question her competence as much as her ethics.
If Mullin was such an economic development dynamo, why did she need the $400,000 assistance of Charlie Williams to purchase a parking lot?
If Williams’ $400K helping hand wasn’t strictly necessary, then should we assume it was one of those “get a gift, give a gift” situations involving political first cousins?
The entire lot of Wayne County politicians seem to bear a striking resemblance to Prince Gerhardt, the fictional last surviving member of the Hapsburg Dynasty, from that one 30 Rock episode.
If nothing else, the furor over Turkia Mullin’s severance and surrounding scandals should make perfectly the political DNA in Wayne County has degenerated beyond repair. It’s long past time for fresh blood across the board.
Really, no one who's been employed by Wayne County in a political capacity in the last 30 years, or has a professional relationship with county politicians should be allowed ever again to do business with county government. These people simply can't be trusted.
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