What McPhail said

When asked by The Detroit News how many employees Detroit needed to operate the city, Sharon McPhail replied: "Twelve thousand." When asked how soon she would reduce the 18,000-person work force to that number, she said, "Within my first year."

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It's hard to say whether Sharon McPhail is a racist or just plain stupid. But for sure, she's a liar.

Harsh words, yes. But there's no way to sugar-coat the Detroit councilwoman's character lapses. To do so would be a disservice to the voters of Detroit, who will see McPhail's name on their mayoral ballot this fall.

McPhail participated in a recent dinner sponsored by the Call 'Em Out Coalition, a racist hate group dedicated to divisiveness and separatism. Specifically, she helped hand out the group's Sambo Sell Out awards, given to black officials whom the group decides are too cozy with whites.

This year's top award went to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Also dishonored at the dinner were Detroit businessman and National Basketball Assocation Hall of Famer Dave Bing, apparently for his efforts to give Detroit's schoolchildren a brighter future; schools chief Kenneth Burnley, who has poured his soul into the thankless task of reviving the city's school system; and McPhail's fellow council member, Lonnie Bates, who received the "I Talk Black but Vote White" award. We can think of a number of dubious awards for which Bates might qualify, but that one escapes us.

Councilwoman McPhail, as someone who is supposed to represent the entire city, all races and ethnic groups, had no business at a dinner sponsored by a group whose mission is rooted in racism. This goes beyond poor judgment and into the realm of gross stupidity.

Her explanation that the dinner was a good-natured "roast" of politicians doesn't fly. Bing is not a politician; he's a businessman trying to do something positive in the city.

This episode caps a bizarre career for McPhail in which she repeatedly has had to explain away goofy and inappropriate behavior.

There was, for example, her accusation that Kilpatrick had hot-wired her City Council chair; the near fisticuffs with the late Councilwoman Kay Everett during a public meeting, and her campaign against former Mayor Dennis Archer, whom she labeled the white man's candidate.

She claims not to be a nut, but she keeps acting like one.

And yet in the current mayoral campaign, she asks Detroiters to "erase what you think you know about Sharon McPhail."

It is impossible to erase those negative impressions when McPhail keeps reinforcing them.

This page tried to give her a little credit in Wednesday's newspaper after she stopped by for an introductory visit.

McPhail started her on-the-record comments by saying the city's 18,000-person work force was too large for its population. We agreed and asked for her thoughts on the appropriate number of employees.

"Twelve thousand," she answered, without prompting and later added she would accomplish the one-third reduction in her first year.

She then spent the next 15 minutes talking about ways to carry out the cuts, and the impact her willingness to make "tough choices" would have on the mayoral campaign.

Her sidekick, Benny Napoleon, even calculated the savings of the work force reduction, saying that at an average wage and benefit cost of $70,000 per worker, "we'd save $250 million to $300 million a year." (We leave it to Napoleon to explain the math.)

We applauded McPhail's willingness to put such a bold number on the table.

But then she went on the radio Wednesday morning, telling WCHB's Mildred Gaddis that she never said what she said. She accused The Detroit News of making it all up.

Sharon McPhail is a liar.

She is also apparently a racist. And not too bright.

So we'll wade into the Detroit mayoral race earlier than usual to say Sharon McPhail repeatedly acts in ways that cast grave doubt on whether she has the maturity or is responsible enough to lead a major city, let alone sit on its council.

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