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Detroit City Council member George Cushingberry Jr.

(Katie Bailey)

DETROIT, MI - Detroit's new City Council is off to a combative start.

Newly elected City Council member George Cushingberry Jr. took to the Detroit News comment section to curse out the newspaper for an editorial criticizing the selection of Brenda Jones as council president.

"Dear Detroit News, Go to hell. Go straight to hell," wrote Cushingberry, a former state legislator. "Do not pass go and don't even think about collecting $200. Jones and Cush will lead the Push for an even Greater Detroit. #WeLoveDetroit."

He also posted the comment on his Facebook page.

Detroit News readers responded by questioning Cushingberry's comments, which prompted the city council member to double-down on his remarks.

"Thank you but Go to Hell is much shorter and gets the point across," he wrote. "The news has endorsed loser after loser for Detroit and I don't have the time to write an 'educated' response because I have a district to represent."

The Detroit News editorial questioned electing Jones to lead the City Council with Cushingberry as the council's pro tem. The paper wrote:

"The Detroit City Council is off to a disastrous start. In choosing an obstructionist like Brenda Jones as president, the new governing body signals it is not likely to offer Detroit the quality leadership that’s essential as the city emerges from bankruptcy."