In part two of his interview with the Michigan Chronicle, famed lawyer Geoffrey Fieger talks to senior editor Bankole Thompson about running for mayor of Detroit and the Ed McNamara political machine, among other issues.

Michigan Chronicle: You seem to have ill feelings toward Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Geoffrey Fieger: No. She did something during that election that I told her was inappropriate. The one thing that I asked from her and all the other people that I chose was loyalty. And the minute that I selected her, McNamara and Mike Duggan had her stab me in the back. She followed along with it. It came to a point where they were advising her not to appear on the campaign trail with me. I thought that was disloyal and I told her so. But McNamara brought me into a room and told me what it was going to be. I’m not the type of guy that you tell what to do. I had done it on my own. McNamara didn’t help me. I didn’t owe him anything. I would be glad to take his insight, but I wasn’t about to be his boy.

MC: So you refused to be made by the McNamara machine?

GF: I wasn’t made by him and certainly wasn’t going to be co-opted by him. I’m my own man. I got here myself. I have my own plans. I’m not going to be controlled. I’m going to do what I think is right, and these people don’t want that.

MC: Your critics say you exploit populist issues to enrich yourself. Is that true?

GF: I had to pay for running for governor, that practically made me broke.
Everybody can have a cynical view of what I do. For instance, everybody thinks that I put my name out there for Jack Kervorkian, even though I won six murder trials for him. When Jack Kervorkian came to me, no lawyer would represent him. They were all terrified by the system because they had the governor, Legislature, courts and police after him. Every lawyer was scared to death. I didn’t think like that. I became very famous as a result of my success with him.

MC: Detroit occupied much of your political arguments. Are you looking to run for mayor.

GF: I can run for mayor.

MC: When?

GF: First of all, I thought of it last time. I think I’ll win as a populist candidate.

MC: You have a machine in place?

GF: I think so and I think that the machine in place exists in the minds of the people. I don’t have the machine you are talking about. But I’ll tell you this: There has been a person who grew in office. I’m not sure he was so qualified. I don’t think he had the ability when he first got elected. He’s only like 31 or 32, but I think Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has grown in office. I really do. And all the crap about whether he went to LaCosta...who cares? I could care less if he spends $8,000 out of some fund to take his family there. What I care about is leadership. But I’ll tell you the problem, and he can’t overcome this. As much as I now have come to admire his growth, the only way the city of Detroit can be reborn as a truly great city is to have a Black city elect a White mayor.
MC: Why?

GF: Because of the innate racism that I believe exists here. It’s got to be a White leader.

MC: Are you saying Detroit needs a great White hope?

GF: We need somebody to talk to White people and Black people at the same time. It’s not a great White hope for White people. I’m speaking to you now as a White man. White people don’t listen to Kwame Kilpatrick no matter how good he is. White people, because of their inherent racism, are looking for a Black leader who looks White to them.

MC: So Sen. Barack Obama fits the description?

GF: Yes. He fits as good a description of a Black man who looks White to White people. But there’s not a chance in the world that the racist America would elect him. Look at Washington right now. Up until November 2006, the Republicans were in charge and there was not one Black woman or man in the Republican Party in the House or Senate of the majority party. So we’re not talking about a great White hope for White people. There’s got to be a sense that there is no longer a Black city or a White city. We are all in it together. And this is a great place to live. Maybe a great Black leader can do it. Kwame Kilpatrick can’t do it.

MC: Are you saying Blacks are not capable of governing themselves? Detroit is one of the last bastions of Black electoral power.

GF: That won’t change. But I’m telling you the way the state is run….you had Dennis Archer. To a greater or less extent he was palpable to White people. Kwame Kilpatrick is not palpable to the White people because he is Black. His name is Kwame. As a result of that, through no fault of his own he doesn’t get what he needs to get. He needs to get White people to move into the city. In this country whether you like it or not, its perception, not reality. Can a great Black leader do it? Yes.

MC: But history would disagree with you that thriving Black cities existed and Detroit can be revived.

GF: I don’t believe if we going to truly have an America….

MC: An America that Fieger envisions?

GF: If you are going to start doing that, it would be a de facto racism. I’m not going to do that, and it’s not going to be successful in this state because you have too many hateful White people.