Mayor's Farewell Address to the City of Ferndale

Mayor’s Farewell Address – Dec. 28, 2010

As most everyone knows, because of my election to the Oakland County Commission in November, I am required to resign my position as your mayor next week and will do so on Monday January 3rd . While I always try and finish what start, I do want to take this opportunity and apologize to the people of Ferndale for not finishing up this term as mayor.

I am so proud of this city though, and I do promise to continue to work hard and do the best job I can, for our city and the region, just wearing a different hat.

The truth is, however, that nearly all of the things that I had wanted to accomplish for the city when I first ran for city council have been completed.

When I first came to Ferndale in the late 80’s, the city was in tough shape. Property values were stagnant and some families were moving further out to suburbs, fearing a worsening of urban problems associated with Detroit.

I 696 did not connect under Woodward, and many of the storefronts across the city were empty. The Magic Bag theatre was still an adult porn house, and the Woodward Ave Brewers was a massage parlor. But many people saw the potential for a rebirth of a city centrally located, with character and affordable homes and a great history.

It was under Former Mayor Chuck Geodert’s leadership that the current success of Ferndale began to take hold. It was his vision to
apply new ways of thinking, to bring back walk ability, slow traffic, and prepare our downtown for its resurgence.

I learned a lot about Government and open and honest leadership from Chuck Goedert, and also from my most important mentor, Former Mayor Robert Porter.

Mayor Porter helped me win my first race for Council, and has acted as a friend and mentor for the past dozen years. It was Bob Porter who continued to open the city up to new ways of thinking, supporting the new families and new cultures that were beginning to make Ferndale home. He was a huge friend to businesses here, and always willing to help residents in his accessible way.

I would like to take a a minute here and thank the Gay & Lesbian
Community for the huge amount of work and support that it has added to the growth and success of Ferndale. They took a chance on Ferndale, and over the past two decades, while still only about 20% of the voting population, they fixed up their homes, opened up and supported businesses, joined in volunteerism on boards and commissions, and became an accepted and integral part of the fabric that is our town.

It can be amazing to remember that just fifteen years ago, there was still a question as to whether the GLBT community could be accepted and welcomed into Ferndale. Some thought it controversial, and accused me of having a secret gay agenda…

Of course the truth is, we did have an agenda, which was to evolve a town into one that was open, welcoming, safe, diverse, and fun. And I want to thank the greater Ferndale community for its welcoming and support and embracing the full integration of the gay community into the city. We were all so proud when the voters overwhelmingly approved the Human Rights Ordinance just a few short years ago.

When I first got on Council, dancing was prohibited in downtown bars.
Tattoo parlors were considered adult businesses, and therapeutic massage facilities could not be opened there either. With the help of Councilmen Galloway and Lennon, and City Attorney Dan Crist, we changed those laws.

When I first got on Council, there was no blues festival, no DIY, no Ice festival, no Motor City Gay Pride. Now of course these events are hallmarks of Ferndale’s culture, and they could have only occurred with so many people working tog ether for common purposes and goals.

One of the things that makes me most proud in Ferndale is the cooperation and collaboration that has become standard between the City, the DDA, the Chamber of Commerce, the schools, the businesses and community organizations. It didn’t always occur that way. This situation of all of us rowing together, in the same direction towards common goals, makes us so much stronger as a community and of that we may also be proud.

There were sad times on this council as well, certainly losing David Lennon was a tough time for us and the city. We also lost sitting Council member Gerry Kulick early last decade. But Ferndale recognizes its heroes, and we have a Lennon Park, and a Kulick Community Center named in their honors.

Ferndalians also need to know the gem they have in the 43rd District Court. Judge Joe Longo is an amazing and smart man, an excellent Judge, and a solid friend and another who has provided me mentorship.

My only regret on council was our failure to provide you Judge with better Court facilities, and I hope that someday we can rectify that situation.

Finally let me thank two more groups of people, the Seniors and other long time residents who have been with Ferndale for decades, and who stuck by her when she was getting a little rough around the edges, And also to the young people and families who are now making Ferndale home. Both are integral to the success of the city, and each group needs the other.

Cities and towns are under great stress all across our nation today, and while the great recession is finally ending, and brighter economic times will slowly return to Michigan, let me caution that the only way for us to continue our success is to work together.

Taxpayers in Ferndale have always been generous in funding quality city services, but their pocketbooks are under great duress. The city unions must share the current pain and understand that business as usual is no longer possible.

Balancing the desire for safe streets and good city services and recognizing the limits to tax payers support is a tightrope that this council will be tasked with for years to come.

With that, I thank all the people of Ferndale for their love and support these past eleven years, and I want you to know that my heart swells with pride every day in this great community we call Ferndale.

We have created a wonderful place that is now a destination and a model for cities across the Midwest. We truly are, the coolest city in Michigan and of that, we can all be very proud.

Thank you,

Craig Covey, Mayor
City of Ferndale

Full Text of the Mayor's Remarks, Vincent Chin Memorial

Text of the Mayor’s remarks, Vincent Chin Memorial Dedication and Michigan Milestone Installation.

Noon - Wednesday December 22, 2010

Good Afternoon, and welcome to Ferndale. We’re glad that you are here in our city and we are also happy to welcome you to the Post Bar, the former site of the Golden Star Restaurant.

We are here today for some unfinished business and we selected this location this morning because this is the very site where the Chinese American community first began to organize and advocate for justice after the verdicts were handed down in the Vincent Chin case.

INTRO OF DIGNITARIES PRESENT

County Commissioner Dave Coulter, Hazel Park Mayor Jack Lloyd, Ferndale Mayor Pro Tem Kate Baker, Hy Safran representing Congressman Gary Peters, DDA Director Cristina Decius Shepherd, DDA Board President Veronica Lujic, Chamber of Commerce President Jerome Raska, Ferndale Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Roosenberg, Ferndale City Manager Bob Bruner, Hazel Park City Manager Ed Klobucher, Ferndale City Clerk Cherilynn Tallman, Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins, Woodward Ave. Action Assoc. Director Heather Carmona, Former Ferndale Mayor Robert Porter, Jeff Paulsen, Chair Michigan State Bar Milestone Committee, DDA Board Members Steve Selvaggio and Michael Hennis.

Please let me also thank the members of the media here today who will tell this story near and far, for this is a story that must be told and retold. And we thank the Post Bar for their gracious hospitality. Know that they are open today for lunch and have a great menu if you chose to come back and join some of us for a meal.

AMERICA LIKES TO VIEW ITSELF AS A BEACON FOR PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD, WHERE OUR STATUE OF LIBERTY WELCOMES PEOPLE TO COME HERE TO WORK HARD, MAKE HOMES, START FAMILIES,
AND JOIN A GREAT MELTING POT.

THE REALITY FOR MANY HAS OFTEN NOT BEEN SO WELCOMING OR WARM.

FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS WE STOLE THE LAND AND DESTROYED THE CULTURES OF THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS COUNTRY.

WE BROUGHT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM AFRICA IN CHAINS AND MADE THEM SLAVES, AND THEN KEPT THEM SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL FOR ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS.

WE ASKED CHINESE AMERICANS TO HELP BUILD THE NATIONS RAILROADS, ONLY TO ASK THEM TO LEAVE WHEN THE WORK WAS DONE.

OVER THE CENTURIES ALMOST EVERY GROUP THAT HAS MADE THIS PLACE HOME HAVE SUFFERED POOR TREATMENT AND INDIGNITIES, INCLUDING THE IRISH, THE JEWS, CATHOLICS, AND SO MANY OTHERS.

TO THIS DAY SOME WOULD PASS LAWS TO ALLOW ONLY ENGLISH TO BE SPOKEN IN THE CLASSROOM AND SOME FIGHT AGAINST THE BUILDING OF MOSQUES IN CERTAIN PLACES.

AND ONLY NOW, EVEN THIS MORNING AT 9:15 AM, AFTER DECADES OF STRUGGLE, DID OUR PRESIDENT SIGN INTO LAW THE ABILITY TO FINALLY ALLOW GAY AND LESBIAN CITIZENS TO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY IN OUR ARMED FORCES.

EQUAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA IS NOT A GIVEN. IT IS NOT A GUARANTEE…RATHER…IT IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE. IT TAKES VIGILANCE AND EFFORT AND ENERGY.

WE MUST ALWAYS STRIVE TOWARD FAIR AND EQUAL JUSTICE, KNOWING THAT IT MAY NEVER BE FULLY ACHIEVED.

AS POLITICAL LEADERS, AS BUSINESS LEADERS, AND AS COMMUNITY LEADERS, IT IS ALSO OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ALWAYS REMIND OURSELVES AND ALL OF SOCIETY THAT DIVERSTY IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE FEARED OR SIMPLY TOLERATED.

DIVERSITY IT IS A GREAT STRENGTH OF OUR COUNTRY AND IT IS SOMETHING TO BE WELCOMED, AND APPRECIATED, AND EMBRACED.

THE PEOPLE OF FERNDALE OF PROUD TO HOST THIS MEMORIAL AND WE STAND WITH VINCENT CHIN AND ALL OF THE RESIDENTS OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN WHO BELIEVE IN FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE.

Why We are Proud to Host the Vincent Chin Memorial in Ferndale

Vincent Chin Story Comes Home to Downtown Ferndale

Ferndale, MI -- The memory of Vincent Chin and the birth of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement in Downtown Ferndale 27 years
ago will become an official piece of the city’s historical landscape Wednesday, December 22 with the installation and dedication of the
State Bar of Michigan’s 34th Legal Milestone marker.

Chin’s brutal death in 1982 led to the galvanization of the Asian American community and prompted a series of far reaching legal reforms. The young man was accosted in a Highland Park bar by two unemployed auto workers who blamed him – and all Asians -- for
their job loss. The verbal assaults escalated into a physical beating and four days later, on June 23, Vincent Chin died.

Pleading guilty to manslaughter, neither assailant spent a single day in jail and instead, were sentenced to three years probation and a
$3,000 fine. The charges and the sentence created an uproar in the Asian community and rallied its citizenry to organize against the injustice. The first gatherings were held at Vincent Chin’s last workplace – the Golden Star Restaurant at 22828 Woodward Avenue,
now the Post Bar. Today, Chin’s legacy is a changed legal system regarding sentencing guidelines and victim’s rights, and the establishment of important political action groups such as American Citizens for Justice (1983).

Ferndale Mayor Craig Covey, who will oversee Wednesday’s dedication, commented: “The murder of Vincent Chin was a hate crime made worse by the failure of our legal system to live up to the American promise of justice for all. This memorial symbolizes a shared community value: The People of Ferndale join others in standing up for acceptance, fairness and equality for everyone.”

The State Bar of Michigan presented the 34th Milestone Marker to Ferndale in June of 2009, on behalf of the State Bar and the Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association. It will be placed in accordance with the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority’s new signage plan, which includes highlighting locations of historical significance. It will be installed on the north side of the median of the iconic Woodward & Nine intersection -- within clear view of the birthplace of the Asian American Civil Rights movement.

Official ceremonies begin at Noon, December 22 at the Post Bar. Speaking with be Mayor Covey, Janet Welch of the Michigan State Bar Association and a representative of from the American Citizens for Justice. Speakers and guests will then cross Woodward to the
median for the unveiling of ”In Memory of Vincent Chin.”
For additional information, please contact the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority at 248-546-1632.
DETAILS:
Event: Dedication of “In Memory of Vincent Chin
Time: 12 Noon
Date: Wednesday, December 22
Place: The Post Bar @ 22828 Woodward Avenue

Press Release above courtesy of Chris Hughes, Communications Director, Ferndale DDA