Perhaps we had a sign a few years ago about the arrogance of Detroit's Kilpatrick administration, and we did not recognize its import.
Let's leave aside the legal aspects of the text-messaging scandal involving Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Instead, it might be useful to recall a small incident that now looms a little larger, although nothing has been written about it during the scandal.
It involves Beatty who, when stopped for a traffic violation, chided the officer, asking, "Do you know who the (expletive) I am?"
We may not have known at the time but we know now.
That incident brought back memories of "gentler" political times when we had public servants like former Gov. William G. Milliken and his lieutenant governor, the late James H. Brickley, both of Traverse City.
The incident I recall involves Brickley who, during his public career, also served as a Detroit city councilman, assistant Wayne County prosecutor, U.S. district attorney, president of Eastern Michigan University and finally, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
Brickley, driving in Lansing, found himself (to my dismay) heading the wrong direction on a one-way street and was stopped by a state trooper near the Capitol.
Before the officer appeared, Brickley turned to me (his administrative aide), warning, "Don't say a thing." He meant I should not try to use his office to try and weasel out of a prospective ticket.
"Your license, please," the officer said. He read it and inquired, "Are you the Jim Brickley?"
Still unmoved, Brickley responded, "I am a Jim Brickley."
Then the officer, somewhat frustrated, asked: "Are you the lieutenant governor?'
Brickley, having no choice, answered in the affirmative.
The trooper did not write a ticket. He recognized that no one drives intentionally against traffic on a one-way street, and that Brickley had simply made a mistake.
"Mr. Brickley, please be more careful," the trooper replied, to which Brickley responded with a sincere, "thank you."
On another occasion, Brickley found all seats taken in an auditorium in which he was scheduled to speak. He did not ask me to inform the hosts he had arrived; he did not "pull rank"; he simply sat down on some stairs until someone noticed him.
Time and again, I was impressed by Milliken's and Brickley's humility and civility. In serving the public interest, they understood that holding public office was a privilege not to be abused.
Brickley did not want or expect special treatment from the trooper. The late justice believed he should be treated like any other citizen caught breaking the law.
No, the officer who stopped Beatty did not know who she was. Indeed, none of us knew her, the mayor or the rest of the administration, and that is partly why Detroit finds itself in such a mess.
About the author: Berl Falbaum is a former political reporter, author and public relations executive. He has been teaching journalism part-time at Wayne State University in Detroit since 1968.
About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.
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