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

[Savonarola]

The family that misspends money together...

Rep. Conyers tops in use of campaign funds for travel
Election watchdogs raise questions whether money was spent properly
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington -- Rep. John Conyers' campaign committee spent nearly $46,000 on travel and transportation during the first three months of 2009, a figure far higher than his colleagues among senior members of Congress.

The campaign also bought $14,000 worth of Super Bowl tickets for the veteran lawmaker and campaign donors.

Conyers' campaign says every item was a legitimate campaign expense. A Conyers campaign spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said each dollar was related to campaign requirements.

But the level of spending on travel -- nearly double the next-highest figure among more than 60 senior members of Congress -- raises questions about whether the Detroit Democrat, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is mixing campaign business and personal affairs.

"To take money I presume was given in the name of winning future elections and converting it into entertainment and these lavish items, that issue needs to be raised," said Rich Robinson, director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.

Another Michigan congressman, Midland Republican Dave Camp, also had significantly above-average travel spending.

Conyers' disclosure of campaign fundraising and spending for the first three months of 2009 shows spending on plane tickets, hotels and limousine services in Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Fla., and Los Angeles.

That figure is nearly double the next highest figure among a group of more than 60 lawmakers, including House leaders of both parties, committee chairmen and ranking Republicans and Michigan members of the House. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, spent about $23,000 during the same period.

Camp ranked fifth, spending about $14,000 on travel in the first quarter. Campaign spokesman Sage Eastman attributed that to the size of Camp's district -- the second-largest in the state and in the top 25 percent of all districts nationwide -- and his recent elevation to the role of top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

$14,000 Super Bowl trip
In addition to travel, Conyers paid about $14,000 for tickets to this year's Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. A campaign spokesman said Conyers held a fundraiser there and paid for tickets for some donors. The payments were to television networks ESPN, CBS and Fox, two ticket brokers and the pro football players union. Face value of the tickets to the Feb. 1 game was $800 or $1,000, depending on the seat.

The expense of the trip may have been even higher. The campaign reported a debt of $8,500 to DirecTV, the NFL's satellite TV broadcaster, for "event tickets, travel, lodging," though it was unclear if the debt was related to the Super Bowl.

Conyers, first elected to Congress in 1964, is the second-longest serving member of the House, trailing only fellow Michigan Democrat John Dingell. He is widely admired by liberals as a champion of civil rights and as one of the toughest critics of the Bush administration. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, he's one of the most prominent African-American politicians of the past half-century.

While campaign finance experts said they were troubled by the spending there is no proof of wrongdoing in Conyers' first-quarter campaign statement filed with the Federal Election Commission; in fact, FEC rules give lawmakers wide latitude in how the spend their donors' money.

Campaigns can spend money for campaign-related trips by the candidate, his or her staff, and spouses and dependent children. Campaign money also can pay for travel related to a candidate's role as a federal officeholder; for instance, a past FEC ruling allows campaigns to pay for travel to and from Washington for a member's spouse and children.

The rules bar spending on personal travel, such as vacations, or for expenses that a candidate would incur even if not an officeholder, such as groceries and household utilities.

$13,000 on limo service
The campaign spokesman attributed the travel spending to Conyers' prominence. As a national figure, the spokesman said, Conyers travels widely around the country, holding fundraisers and developing campaign contacts.

More than $13,000 of the travel expenses went to a Baltimore limousine company. The spokesman said the payments for private car service during the inauguration came at a time when such services in the Washington, D.C., area were more expensively priced.

The Super Bowl trip raised the biggest questions with campaign finance watchdogs.

"That's something people might be inclined to see as personal use in the guise of official duties," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money and influence in government. Krumholz said the Super Bowl trip and Conyers' overall level of spending merit scrutiny from constituents, who should decide whether the spending represents unwarranted perks or legitimate use of campaign money.

The Conyers spokesman said the campaign held a fundraiser in Tampa and paid for Conyers and a group of donors to attend the game. The FEC report does not reveal which donors attended the fundraiser or received tickets, but Conyers collected $22,000 in donations in the two weeks surrounding the Feb. 1 game -- exceeding the roughly $14,000 spent on game tickets.

Conyers has faced questions in the past from the House Ethics Committee over complaints by staffers that they were directed to do campaign work or perform personal chores for Conyers, including babysitting. In December 2006, Conyers admitted to "a lack of clarity" in assigning office staffers and agreed to bar any from performing campaign work unless they were on leave from the House.

Representative Conyers has been in Congress since 1965 and is chair of the House Judiciary committee.  He knows how to work the system and nothing whatsoever will come of this.

[Syt]

http://www.detroitruins.net/

[Savonarola]

Occasionally the system does work  :

Ruling: Cockrel, not Conyers, to lead council
BY NAOMI R. PATTON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • May 8, 2009


Outgoing Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. can legally return to the Detroit City Council as council president, according to a memo from the council's legal analyst.

After Mayor-elect Dave Bing takes the oath of office for mayor of Detroit, "present Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. will return to his elected position of president of the Detroit City Council," David Whitaker, director of the council's Research and Analysis Division, wrote today.

Current Council President Monica Conyers questioned Thursday whether Cockrel could return to the council president position, and directed Whitaker to review the relevant sections of the charter related to succession of the council president's seat.

"The charter speaks in the present tense," she said at a council meeting Thursday. "I don't know if he gets to come back or not."

Whitaker's two-page memo was attached to a 31-page memo sent to the council May 5, entitled "Success to Office of Mayor," that included Wayne County Circuit Court Judge William Giovan's October ruling that the city charter permits a council president to return to council if a new mayor is elected the next year.

Meanwhile, Bing is scheduled to be sworn in as mayor during a small ceremony at 3 p.m. Monday at the city's Election Commission, spokeswoman Meagan Pitts said today. City Clerk Janice Winfrey is to give Bing the oath of office.

Deputy elections director Rachel Jones said canvassers today balanced the number of ballots at three city precincts with names of voters in poll books. She said discrepancies were due to transposed numbers and other clerical errors.

Bing will complete Kwame Kilpatrick's term, which runs through 2009. Bing has said he will run for a full, four-year term that begins in 2010.

[alfred russel]

Occasionally the system does work  :

Not for those of us entertained by her antics.

[DontSayBanana]

Not for those of us entertained by her antics.

Trust me, we'll still get Monica Conyers stories. I predict less media coverage, but that woman has an incredible knack for getting herself into trouble publicly.

[Savonarola]

When bad things happen to people who deserve it:

Conyers: Cockrel changed the office locks on me
Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The brewing controversy over the transfer of the Council presidency continued this morning when Monica Conyers accused Kenneth Cockrel Jr. of changing the locks to the City Council president's office without her knowledge.

Conyers said Cockrel called a police sergeant to have the locks changed at around 7:30 a.m. and her staffers didn't have access to the office. One room got opened at around 11:30 a.m., while another remained locked.

"I get a call from my staff. They cannot get in the office," Conyers said. "No call to me on the phone, not nothing. I don't want any problems from anybody. (But) the first time something would have happened, you would have said Monica did it. That wasn't right."

Cockrel is expected to return to the Detroit City Council as early as this afternoon after Dave Bing is sworn-in as mayor at a 3 p.m. ceremony. Bing defeated Cockrel in last week's special election.

He did not attend today's council session, but his nameplate is attached to the seat that's available for the president. Cockrel's office began making the transition late last week.

"How can you be the mayor and the president all at the same time?" Conyers said. "He's just overpowered our office with all of his stuff," Conyers said. "You just can't come in and take over. That's not right. He's making it difficult."

Saturday, Conyers said she would willingly return to her old post as council president pro-tem -- the panel's second-in-command -- and said the media exaggerated tensions between her and Cockrel.

Last week, she asked council attorneys to clarify whether Cockrel would return to the council as president. But Conyers said she did so at the request of a voter.

I'll give Shrek credit; he learned something in his time as mayor.   

[Savonarola]

When bad things happen to people who deserve it, Part 2:

Judge to Kilpatrick: Scale down, pay up
$6,000-a-month payment to Detroit not optional, he says
BY M.L. ELRICK and JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • May 9, 2009


Kwame Kilpatrick will have to scale back his lifestyle instead of his restitution payments, a judge ruled Friday.

Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner rejected the ex-mayor's request to avoid paying the City of Detroit $6,000 per month toward the $1 million he agreed to reimburse the city as part of a plea deal to resolve the text message scandal.

Kilpatrick attorney Michael Alan Schwartz had argued in a March 24 court filing that Kilpatrick could only spare $6 a month from his $120,000 annual salary as a salesman for a Compuware subsidiary.

He cited expenses such as his $900-a-month 2009 Cadillac Escalade and the $2,700-a-month rent for his posh home in Southlake, near Dallas.

But Groner -- who ordered Kilpatrick to make the payments after news reports about his high living after being released from jail in February -- wrote in his decision that the former mayor "must realize that he is a convicted felon, and will have to balance meeting all the conditions of his probation, including restitution payments, with the lifestyle to which he has grown accustomed."

"In other words," Groner added, Kilpatrick "may not be able to sustain an upper middle class existence while he still owes a debt to society."

Groner invited Kilpatrick to request a restitution hearing, but Schwartz instead said he would appeal the decision.

Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said Kilpatrick "presented no legitimate grounds to modify his restitution."

Previously Kwame said that he could afford to give the city $6 a month and had gone to court claiming hardship.   I guess the judge didn't buy it, but how will our hero keep it real with such a paltry salary and a large debt?   

[alfred russel]

Previously Kwame said that he could afford to give the city $6 a month and had gone to court claiming hardship.   I guess the judge didn't buy it, but how will our hero keep it real with such a paltry salary and a large debt?   

Probably with all the money he has coming in that he didn't tell the court about.

[Savonarola]

Previously Kwame said that he could afford to give the city $6 a month and had gone to court claiming hardship.   I guess the judge didn't buy it, but how will our hero keep it real with such a paltry salary and a large debt?   

Probably with all the money he has coming in that he didn't tell the court about.

I hope so; I'd hate to see Kwame have to resort to a life of crime in order to afford his Escalade.   

[DontSayBanana]

Arguing based on your lifestyle only works in divorce court, Kwame.

Also, that's hilarious about Cockrel changing the locks. How long's the transition period? Is Conyers' demotion already effective or is this just hilarious pettiness?

[Savonarola]

Arguing based on your lifestyle only works in divorce court, Kwame.

Also, that's hilarious about Cockrel changing the locks. How long's the transition period? Is Conyers' demotion already effective or is this just hilarious pettiness?

Bing was sworn in this afternoon; so technically Cockrel jumped the gun by a couple hours.  I think it was a sensible precaution on his part knowing that he and Monica don't get along and Conyers is prone to lash out when she's angry.

[DontSayBanana]

Bing was sworn in this afternoon; so technically Cockrel jumped the gun by a couple hours.  I think it was a sensible precaution on his part knowing that he and Monica don't get along and Conyers is prone to lash out when she's angry.

Ah, in that case, she's full of crap. The office should have been cleaned out already; makes one wonder what she was sending staffers in for so late...

[MadImmortalMan]

She was planning to contest, clearly. She did make some statements about the succession not providing the ability to revert or some such nonsense. IMO, Shrek bested her here.

[Savonarola]

Help us Obama-Won Kenobi you're our only hope:

DPS asks for federal disaster funding

Jennifer Mrozowski and Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb on Wednesday asked the federal government to put the school district under a "special presidential emergency declaration" to allow it to receive emergency funding.

"We are encouraged by the administration's redirection of additional resources into school improvement," Bobb said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "However, much bolder action is necessary to redirect the Detroit Public Schools so that it may become a model for 21st century urban education."

The U.S. Department of Education did not comment on the request, but state officials said no other Michigan school district has used this tactic.

Presidential emergency declarations are typically made available only in natural disasters, which may mean Bobb's request is not applicable.

Duncan, who was in the city on a listening tour, did not address Bobb's request, but said the district is poised to receive federal funding -- possibly millions of dollars -- if radical changes occur.

He also said he supports efforts to have Detroit's new mayor take over the school system, saying necessary changes happen when good leaders are in control.

"I am strongly advocating for mayoral control," Duncan said at Cody High School on the city's northwest side.

Mayor Dave Bing, who accompanied Duncan on his tour of Cody, said now is the time for mayoral control, but added that he prefers a ballot measure versus legislative action.

"A lot of the leadership is perfectly aligned to make changes," said Bing, who has consistently said he would welcome the opportunity to take control of the troubled district.

Bing later addressed a national United Way convention at Cobo Center, saying that improving the district is a top priority and that he plans to rely on partnerships to help get the job done.

Mayoral control is not new to the system, nor has it been embraced by voters.

In 1999, then-Gov. John Engler pushed for a takeover of the district by empowering the mayor. Legislation passed that year allowing the mayor to appoint six board members, but Detroiters felt resentment over the loss of local control and voted in 2004 to restore the elected board.

They picked an 11-member board the next year, and the elected group took control in January 2006. By many accounts, the takeover left the district in worse shape than before.

Wayne County Commissioner Keith Williams, talking with a group of leaders assembled at Cody, said mayoral control isn't the answer.

"We don't need a takeover," he said. "We need cooperation."

Duncan, before ascending to his federal spot, was superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. That district is run by Mayor Richard Daley. He said he hopes the Detroit schools can move from being a "national disgrace" to a "national model," and he would like to commit significant federal resources to help the system.

But to receive the funding from Washington, Detroit will need to make dramatic reforms, Duncan said on WDET-FM's (101.9) "Detroit Today."

"We're not going to invest in the status quo," he said. Regarding Bobb's letter to Duncan, district spokesman Steve Wasko said the district's education crisis is like the one New Orleans schools faced after Hurricane Katrina, necessitating the special request.

"The basic concept is that all levels came together in the case of New Orleans after Katrina," Wasko said. "Our emergency has been longer in coming and slower to dissipate. That is the same level of call to action we need in DPS."

Bobb's requests included funds for a new student information system, new construction and improvements to existing schools. Because of the more than $300 million deficit the district is facing, Bobb asked that the district be exempt from the traditional process that requires the system to pay for improvements and then receive federal reimbursement.

He pledged "bold" action to reform the system.

"While we are planning to fundamentally alter the way we are organized in the Detroit Public Schools, we do not have the financial resources to fund the investments I know are necessary to turn around this system," Bobb said.

Duncan credited Bobb with making quick improvements to the district, which includes the announcement Tuesday that 29 schools will be shuttered as part of a plan to trim the deficit.

During the tour of Cody High School, Duncan also met with students. The school was selected for the visit because it's being transformed this fall into a collection of smaller, specialized programs on one campus. Duncan also met with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, Detroit Federation of Teachers President Keith Johnson and Bobb.

"We're here because we want to figure out how to make Detroit Public Schools the best in the country," Duncan told students.

Flanagan, who launched the process to have an emergency manager appointed in Detroit Public Schools, said he, too, is optimistic about the changes in the district.

Like the district spokesman, I am certain this will work every bit as well as the government efforts in New Orleans after Katrina.   

[MadImmortalMan]

Yeah, because getting millions in federal bailouts is the national model for school districts everywhere.