Who is DetCharter?
DetCharter - The organization
In December of 2010 Jacqueline Bejma and Alexander Derdelakos began to closely follow the City of Detroit Charter Revision Commission. After a few short weeks we quickly realized that for such an historic moment the Commission was getting far too little attention from the community and press. Seizing on the opportunity for change we mobilized and created DetCharter.com; an independent, citizen operated organization. Our mission is to educate the community on the actions taken by the Commission while providing a forum for citizen input.
Jacqueline Bejma
I was born in Wayne, Michigan and my parents – native Detroiters – moved us around the suburbs 7 times before finally settling in the far west suburb of Canton. Like so many, my family strove to achieve more…and they saw the suburbs as so much more promising than the City.
Alexander Derdelakos
Raised in the Detroit suburb of Livonia I was taught at an early age to fear and distrust the City. I don't remember traveling to the city very often - even though my father has always worked on Detroit's west side. The exception was the occasional Red Wings game or the annual visit to the Auto Show. As I grew into young adulthood, a few adventurous friends and I would venture into Detroit to visit with acquaintances but the persistent memory of my upbringing would never allow me to be comfortable.