Tuesday, August 2, 2016

SHELLY MILTON: THE SILENT HOPE OF THE WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE


SHELLY MILTON

THE SILENT HOPE OF THE WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

 

I’ve tossed and turned debating on how I wanted to write this article. I want my readers to know I don’t support people easily. There is a personal standard I have to meet with myself, before I can support any candidate for any office.

Today, a voting day, I am speaking out for the Wayne County Sheriff’s that feel they are being held as operative hostages by their quasi leader: Benny Napoleon.

Call after call, disgruntled officers told their story. The stories infuriated me. Each call sang the same song, to the same tune. Time after time I listened to Kwame like, top heavy, over paid, out sourced, leadership.

Struggling officers, without a raise in fifteen years, were robbed in a recent contract that offered a five percent rise in pay. The offer robbed our county officers of their Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance, throwing the officers into high deductible and appointed insurance. Retirement also took a hit, going from a 5/1 to a ten percent match. With only a week to review, the union pushed for approval. The officers were threatened if they didn’t sign the contract in a timely fashion, the offer would be redacted.

At the same time, the appointees were granted a ten percent raise on their $120,000.00+ annual salary, kept their gold standard of insurance, and their pensions remain intact. Fair? Absolutely not. Benny is running Kwame’s Detroit under the guise of county sheriff. Benny gifted jobs, appointing his double dipping, Detroit Police buddies. These retired Detroit Police appointees will be collecting double retirements (on the taxpayers dime), while the county officers scramble to survive

Under both, Benny and Warren Evans, the county has replaced and outsourced working Wayne County police jobs to their L.L.C holding friends. The Wayne County Drug Enforcement Agency and the tether program are excellent examples of the privilege. Benny thinks its fine to appoint, double dip, and outsource, lining his pockets, and the pockets of his cronies. With eyes closed to anything but a Floridian golf ball, Benny is blind to the implosion within his own force. Promoting from within DPD is piss in the face of his own county workers.

Repeatedly, the names of these appointees keep reappearing. Deputy Chief Spivey, the reported appointee that crashed three county vehicles while drunk driving (without charges) is known as the Solitaire Chief. Report after report came in that the guy does nothing but sit at his desk playing online Solitaire. At a salary of over a hundred grand a year, the tax payers deserve more for their buck than a drunk who breaks the law, with police protection. Career Solitaire while sitting on your ass shouldn’t be considered a prerequisite for county appointees.

Then we come to the notorious Robert Dunlap. Bobby is twenty-two year retiree from the Detroit Police Department, and, you guessed it, a Benny appointee.  Almost as if Benny planned it himself, Bob retired and was instantly hired as an appointee, giving him the authority to double dip the system with dual retirements in place. His title: Project Consultant for Wayne County, according to his LinkedIn account.

The demeanor of The Bob seems predatory and predictable. He can always be counted on to be the belligerent one in the crowd. He acts the sexist, the manipulator, the do it my way, because I said so, without rule or order, King. Humiliation may be key in the DPD world, but there is no room for bullying on the WCS playground. At his first training class he put the officers on notice by saying: You are not the real police. DPD is the real police. The dignity of the County police was shrouded by the narcissistic derailment of spirit. One thing obvious, DPD was appointed to be in control of our counties finest.

Officer after officer complained. Same story, same names, recurrent. Nobody would speak out on the record. The inside was afraid to speak out. With job security at stake, the officers were afraid of repercussions of Benny’s appointed hierarchy.
 

The secrecy of the officers that spoke to me sent alarms panging my furor. Fear of exposure, for the officers, is real. All voices led to one woman, a must talk to, by the informers. She wasn’t afraid. She is tired of the mistreatment of her fellow officers. She is tired of buckling down to the indignant powers that be. She is speaking out; she is determined to destroy the stronghold on the balls of her fellow officers. She is little, she is brilliant, and she is determined.

Shelly Milton, tired of the shams of the current administration, is running against Benny Napoleon for Wayne County Sheriff. She has paid the price for her candidacy. She deals with people trying to silence her crusade against the over-spending, high appointee, no show Sheriff, Benny, daily.

Shelly worked her way to a 20 year corporal from a mere secretary. Her colleagues use words like honest, dedicated, persistent, and knowledgeable of the entire department, when discussing Shelly’s ability. It has often been said that what she doesn’t know, she will learn from experts, not the DPD.

Talking to Shelly, I took an instant liking to her. Her passion was undeniable. She is fed up with tax payers paying double retirements. She is fed up with the inability of the current administration to promote from within. She is tired of watching her brothers and sisters suffer and lay stagnant to an ill managed system. Her thirst for righteousness is strong against a system that resembles cronyism. She is hell bent on fixing what the Napoleon administration has implemented. 

Shelly is married to a DP officer. With four bi-racial children, her struggle is fact based when asked what her stance is on Black Lives Matter. She wrote a letter to address the concerns. Though, in her heart, with mixed children, she is better aware than most of the current racial situation.

Besides fiscal responsibility, Shelly is in this race to bring honor and respect to the office and the department she once loved and dedicated her life to.

Voting for Benny is a vote for mismanaged funds, appointees, and all included vacations with lots and lots of golf in the Golden State, but a vote for Shelly Milton is a vote towards truth, justice, and honor, something Wayne County has lacked for a very long time.

My vote is with you, Shelly, and I hope many follow my lead.

Till the next time,

Pam