Detroit thread. Post Kwame, Monica, and $1 houses here.

[Savonarola]

That makes no sense...how can they possibly justify having a city administration meeting outside of the city?

They're not going to these meetings in their role as city council members; but as trustees of the Detroit City Pension Fund.  Just as Socrates was both a general and a philosopher; Barbara Rose-Collins is both a politician and a woman of high finance.

[Caliga]

 

[DontSayBanana]

I'm actually less worried about the price tag than about the comments that the pension fund destroys records of receipts after just one year. Free Press should make their point by trying to set an audit in motion.

[Savonarola]

Bing wins, charter reform passes.

Mayor Bing: Detroit businessman unseats Cockrel
David Josar, Leonard N. Fleming and Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News
Detroit --Retired Detroit Pistons great and political newcomer Dave Bing made a dramatic political debut Tuesday, riding a platform as a change agent to a come-from-behind upset of Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr.

With light turnout, Bing outlasted Cockrel, the son of a political icon, by 52-48 percent. Bing serves until year's end and should take office in about a week once the results are certified by the Board of Canvassers. Cockrel returns to lead the council, a post he held before becoming mayor in September when Kwame Kilpatrick resigned and went to jail.

"The real work starts now," said Bing, 65, an NBA Hall of Famer and owner of the Bing Group, to loud cheers at the Doubletree Suites Fort Shelby Hotel.


"What we will bring ... is efficiency, transparency, honesty and integrity back to the mayor's office."

Cockrel, who led in the polls, lost to a first-time politician despite the backing of nearly every powerful union in the city and matching Bing in fundraising in a race that cost more than $2 million. He thanked his staff at a banquet hall in southwest Detroit, pledged his support to Bing and conceded at 11:30 p.m.

"You have not seen the last of me," Cockrel said.

He challenged Bing, who moved last fall from Franklin for the race, to get to know the city.

"Hang out with the brothers in front of the liquor store, drinking 40s out of paper bags. .. Get to know that. Get to understand and know the people you'll be representing."

About 15 percent of voters turned out to help Bing win, continuing the momentum he began after finishing first in the Feb. 24 primary.

Tim Kiska, a University of Michigan-Dearborn professor who analyzed results for The Detroit News, said Bing even won absentee votes, which Cockrel had carried in the primary. Voters also approved a proposal to begin rewriting the city charter, 78-22 percent.

Kiska said residents sent a clear message to a City Hall beset for the last year by scandal.

"The voters were just honked off," Kiska said.

EPIC-MRA pollster Bernie Porn, whose poll last week showed Cockrel with the lead, said late endorsements of Bing may have swayed large swaths of undecided voters. In the past six days, Freman Hendrix, a former deputy mayor who finished third in the February primary, and civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed Bing.

"He ended up getting the momentum," said Porn.

Earlier Hendrix supporters said they would favor Bing if their candidate wasn't in the race. "That was a difference maker," Porn said.

Voter Nicole Wells said Hendrix's endorsement helped "seal the deal."

"I'm really ready for something new in Detroit politics," Wells said. "I would love to see a revamp of the entire political system here, including the people."

Bing's victory is part of an unprecedented cycle of four elections in one year, prompted by Kilpatrick's resignation. Voters return for an Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general election to chose a four-year mayor.

Inside Bing's raucous victory party, the Rev. Wendell Anthony led chants of "Dave Bing is the real thing" and cautioned that "the game ain't over."

"There are two more quarters left," said Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP. "The third quarter is in August. The fourth quarter is in November. (But) it's going to be going into those quarters with Dave Bing as captain."

Cockrel has said he plans on running again.

The filing deadline is Tuesday and already some 60 candidates have pulled petitions for the race.

"Detroit is in trouble," said Adolph Mongo, a political consultant and Cockrel supporter. "I thought it was going to be a close race. We might have four mayors in one year. Can we take that again?"

The Rev. Oscar King, the mayor's pastor, said the loss could build character for Cockrel.

"This is the first race that he's ever lost," King said "So this is a new area for him and character is built through two things: criticism and defeat. So what this will do, it will show everybody the man that he is."

Bing takes office facing a host of challenges, including a $300 million budget deficit and the prospect of mass layoffs among the city's 15,000 workers.

Bing, who has said he will work for free, has promised to retain Police Chief James Barren, but has been vague about other plans.

He's expected soon to announce a team of labor, law and other experts he promised would examine the city's workforce and right-size government.

Bing's first chance to exert his influence -- and work with a sometimes unpredictable council now led by Cockrel -- will be on the city's budget.

The council already has begun reviewing Cockrel's spending plan, but could scrap the process and start from scratch.

Bing supporters said they were drawn by his message of change, business experience and break from business as usual at City Hall.

Some such as Marcia Richardson, 54, said Cockrel had his chance and failed to impress.

"I'm interested in seeing more change than I've seen since Cockrel got into office," said Richardson, who lives on the east side.

"He's the one who was supposed to have a relationship and the connections. I know the city; everyone is really hurting right now with the economy, but we should see some services restored. ... Cockrel knew what was going on so he should have had a way to make things happen while he had the chance."

Cockrel earned high marks early in his eight months in office, winning kudos for a series of appointments and completing long-overdue audits.

But he picked a fight with the City Council and lost over the expansion of Cobo Center.

Some political observers, such as zoning board member Jonathan Kinloch, said the fight made Cockrel seem ineffective and fueled his defeat.

Weird concession speech, Shrek.

[MadImmortalMan]

What would you do if your last name was "Porn", anyway? 


I bet his emails get caught in spam filters all the time.

[Valmy]

So...is it a good thing that Mr. Bing won?

[Savonarola]

So...is it a good thing that Mr. Bing won?

I don't know.  As an entrepreneur, Bing has business connections that Shrek does not and he is a hall-of-famer that might open some doors.  On the other hand Shrek has a lifetime of political experience, the support of the city unions and has lived in Detroit all his life.  If I lived in the city of Detroit I would have voted for Cockrel; but I don't think either choice was a disaster.  Even if Bing doesn't pan out there is another mayoral election in November.

The advantage to Bing winning is that Shrek returns to the city council as council president and Monica Conyers is demoted to Mayor Pro Tempore.

[Syt]

What would you do if your last name was "Porn", anyway? 


I bet his emails get caught in spam filters all the time.

I hear the city of Scunthorpe used to have problems in the old days of the interwebs.

[MadImmortalMan]

Does Monica have to run for her seat in November too?

[Savonarola]

Does Monica have to run for her seat in November too?

Yes, all city councilmen and the mayor are up for election in November.

[Savonarola]

Violence may take Cinco de Mayo parade out of Detroit
Santiago Esparza and George Hunter / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The city's annual Cinco de Mayo parade, an 83-year mainstay, likely will be moved to the suburbs because of violence that broke out at Sunday's event, organizers said.

The Mexican Patriotic Committee has staged the two-mile parade from Patton Park to Clark Park on West Vernor in southwest Detroit, but a fight that broke up the parade briefly Sunday, along with a fatal shooting two blocks south of the parade route, has organizers making plans to move the event out of the city, committee co-president Belda Garza said.

"It is unfortunate when anything like that happens in our community," said Garza, a former state representative. "We want to attract the hard working families and give them a fun weekend."

The committee is considering Wyandotte or Dearborn as possible locations, Garza said.

Gloria Rocha, committee co-vice president, said there have been rumors in the past about possible gang violence spilling over into the parade or related festivities, but it had never happened before Sunday.

"Of course we are worried," Rocha said. "Violence has never been this close."

About 40 young men fought in the street as the parade neared a close at Clark Park, witnesses said. They exchanged punches and threw bottles. The melee was over quickly as Detroit police officers on motorcycles and in SUVs broke up the fight.

Lincoln Park resident Emmy Vega attended the parade with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and several nieces and nephews. Vega, 25, who is four months pregnant, decided to leave after the fight.

"The gang fighting started toward the end of the parade," Vega said. "There were guys throwing up Latin Counts gang signs and wearing red bandannas."

Red is the Latin Counts' color.

"They started hollering back and forth, then the fighting started," said Vega, who has lived in southwestern Detroit most of her life. "It was just too much. We had planned to stay for the festivities after the parade, but we decided enough is enough. It was insane. I'm glad we left."

About three hours after the parade ended, a 25-year-old man was fatally shot in the head while sitting in a car at Scotten and Porter, a few blocks from the parade route.

Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens Bell said investigators were probing the slaying and fight, although she said police believe the murder does not appear to be gang related.

Ole!

[DontSayBanana]

Good to see Conyers demoted to probable less soundbites.

[Savonarola]

I think this editorial from the Detroit News nicely summarizes the challenges Bing faces:

Editorial: Bing's task
Ex-Pistons star must grab reins of city government and move quickly to confront Detroit's problems

The Detroit News
Congratulations are due to Dave Bing. He won a hard-fought campaign to complete former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's term. He now has about half a year to solidify his hold on the office and prepare for the final challenge this fall to win a full term of his own.

Bing knows the difficulties he faces. He's promised to bring in a team of experts to get a handle on city government. They'll need to move fast. The city is in a state of decline, with auto industry reeling and some proud industrial icons in danger of disappearing.

Detroit's revenues have been trending down over the last decade. The combined total of state revenue sharing and casino taxes is greater than the combined yield of the city's property and income taxes. A healthy city would not be so dependent on state aid and gambling revenues.

The city's administration is in a state of disarray. A recent series of audits of the city's finance, water and parking departments, covering part of Kilpatrick's tenure, revealed an inability to account for revenues and spending. In the case of the parking department, the problem involves millions.

The city is confronting a deficit that has been estimated variously at $250 million to $300 million and delicate negotiations with municipal labor unions, which will have to give up more in pay or benefits if the budget is to be brought into balance.

In addition, Bing must deal with a City Council that can be truculent and divisive. The council's majority has already squandered a great deal of good will in the state capital and among Detroit's neighbors as it slapped away a very good deal to regionalize the governing board of Cobo Center in return for an infusion of cash to refurbish the aging convention hall. As a result, the city is in real danger of losing the North American International Auto Show.

Bing has the advantage of being well-regarded throughout the area. Now he must try and restore some of that good will and win cooperation from Lansing and the suburbs.

The city's school district is notorious for being ineffective and wasteful. It may well be that Bing could find himself coping with its problems too.

All of these issues are sitting on the desk of Mayor Bing. He will quickly have to become expert at doing more with less while attempting at the same time to broaden the city's economic base so he can take a break from managing decline. We wish him well. The well-being of the region depends to a large degree on his success.

[Savonarola]

Good to see Conyers demoted to probable less soundbites.

I may have spoken to soon:

Conyers gears up for a fight over control of Detroit City Council
Charter says Cockrel's in charge; she says: We'll see what happens
BY NAOMI R. PATTON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • May 7, 2009


As Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. prepares to return to the Detroit City Council as its president, as stipulated by the city charter, current council President Monica Conyers is saying: not so fast.

She told local TV news media that "the charter only speaks to succession forward, it doesn't speak to what happens if the mayor happens to come back. ... That is something council is looking into, but we'll see what happens."

Under the city charter, Cockrel, who was council president, became mayor when Kwame Kilpatrick resigned from that job. The charter says he can return to council as president. Conyers would go back to being president pro-tem.

But if their relationship is any indicator, Cockrel may have a fight on his hands.

Conyers and Cockrel battled before and during the eight months Cockrel has been mayor. The latest clash came when Cockrel vetoed a Conyers-led rejection of legislation that created a regional board to run Cobo Center. A Wayne County judge sided with the council, saying Cockrel lacked the authority to veto the action.

Councilwomen Sheila Cockrel and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, said they welcome Cockrel's return.

"I'm proud to have served with him," Tinsley-Talabi said. "We'll certainly be cordial."

Usually I'd assume that no one was so petty or short sighted that they'd fight over this; but Monica has defied my expectations in the past.

[DontSayBanana]

I may have spoken to soon:

[snip]

Usually I'd assume that no one was so petty or short sighted that they'd fight over this; but Monica has defied my expectations in the past.

Taking a quick glance myself before I comment on how futile her actions are: http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/legislative/CityClerk/

I see Detroit sells a publication of charter amendments, so I'm not sure if this will be totally up-to-date, but hopefully it'll give me an idea of what I'm looking at.