Councilman Calls On Bing To Address "Virus" In Administration

DETROIT (WWJ) - More reports are surfacing, saying Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's office has become a"hostile work environment," following several departures from the administration.

Detroit City Councilman Kwame Kenyatta calls the departure of so many members of Mayor Bing's staff "a virus."

"There are more articles, and not just anonmouus letters ... I didn't know it had been 30-some people that have been released over the last year or two, but that's an indication of a problem somewhere," he said.

The anonymous four-page letter, dated March 26, talks about the "revolving door" and how good people are being forced out of the Bing administration. In the letter, apparently written by someone works within the administration, the author alleges the Mayor's office has become a "hostile work environment."

Kenyatta was among those who received a copy of the letter.

"(Mayor Bing) seems to be dismissing it, as people who can't, you know, hack it and folks who can't deal with his management style. But that doesn't seem to be the case and I don't think that it's something that he can just dismiss. He has a problem and he needs to see what it is and address it soon," said Kenyatta.

Kenyatta told WWJ's Florence Walton he had heard rumors that the problem is Bing's Chief Communication Director Karen Dumas.

"That's what I hear. I don't know. I'm not down there. I don't deal with her on a day-to-day basis, but her name continues to come up," Kenyatta said.

WWJ's Vickie Thomas said the revolving door in the Mayor's office is getting the attention of some of the business leaders at this week's policy conference on Mackinac Island.

There, she asked the Mayor if a scandal is brewing.

"You're talking about scandal? What the hell is… what are we talking about? I mean, we're talking about people who've been let go. That's not a scandal as far as I'm concerned. That's a decision that's been made by key people in the administration for performance of lack-there-of, and I will continue to support that. If people can't do what they're supposed to do, then they ought not be here," Bing said. (More on this story).