Detroit City Hall Insider

Category: Detroit Charter Commission

Issues before charter commission could add fire to Detroit's snow storm

Three months have passed since voters embraced change and seated nine officials to rewrite the city's charter. Since then, the commission has been relatively quiet, but that could change tonight as the panel meets amid the howling winds and blowing snow of the city's first big storm of the season.

The mood in the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center could match the weather outside, as the commission takes up two potential controversies -- its by-laws and debate about whether Freman Hendrix can continue to serve as the commission's chairman and member of the board of directors for a post-bankruptcy Greektown Casino.

Member Rose Mary Robinson is the driving force behind both. She's introduced a scaled-down version of the by-laws, saying she wants to preserve the rights of all commissioners to communicate ideas while drafting the charter.

"The previous rules being discussed created an executive committee, and would have given the appearance as if the chair and vice chair were CEOs," Robinson said. "So I just introduced some simple by-laws just enough to allow for us to get the people's work done."

Likewise, Robinson is pressing for answers about Hendrix's role with Greektown. Last week, the City Council voted 6-3 approving changes to the Greektown Casino's development agreement, relieving it of obligations to the City of Detroit. The casino hopes to eventually emerge from bankruptcy with new owners, which has some questioning Hendrix's appointment to its board.

Robinson, one of three lawyers on the panel, questions the possibility of a conflict-of-interest.

"The Charter Commission will alter the powers of the mayor and City Council and determine how they exist," Robinson said. "The mayor and City Council will make decisions which will impact Greektown Casino's Development Agreement and the interest of a company which he has a fiduciary obligation to. You cannot serve two masters nor have it both ways. At minimum, it gives the appearance of impropriety. The City of Detroit doesn't need anymore of that."

Whoa, Nelly. Bar the doors, let it snow and wonder whether Winter in Detroit becomes a Season of Discontent for the charter commission that convened with so many warm-and-fuzzy feelings. The panel also is expected to discuss hiring an executive director and general cousel. The group meets at 6 p.m.

Category: Monica Conyers

John Conyers wasn't always so silent about his wife

U.S. Rep. John Conyers has made it clear to reporters: He's not talking about his wife, no matter how close the allegations surrounding her come to his doorstep.

As former Councilwoman Monica Conyers awaits sentencing for bribery conspiracy next month, the congressman is growing testier at reporters who ask about her -- telling them "I'm not going to talk about that," even though a developer alleged at the trial of her former aide, Sam Riddle, that he paid tuition for the Conyers' son.

It wasn't that long ago, though, that John Conyers extolled Monica Conyers in televised advertisements. YouTube still has ads for her 2005 campaign produced by Riddle, one of which features John Conyers telling voters "what we need is a fighter in the council, and we don't mean fighting one another."

Monica Conyers no doubt delivered on the former. The latter? Ken Cockrel, Kwame Kenyatta, Sheila Cockrel and several others would probably disagree. Here's the clip. It takes a few seconds to get going.

Category: Charles Pugh

Charles Pugh's logs OT to keep up with Facebook awesomeness

City Council President Charles Pugh is back with another installment of his popular video blog. This one marks his one-month anniversary on the council and features him toiling away on the weekend for his "constituents," working in his sweat socks on important issues.

What's got Pugh so busy he's trekking to City Hall on a Saturday? As first reported by the City Hall Insider, Pugh is pretty much the most popular City Hall dude on Facebook, so he needs to work overtime to respond to the deluge of friend requests. It's a problem that many of his colleagues would love to have, but Pugh says he doesn't want anyone to "feel like they're left out."

Pugh, meanwhile, was busy Sunday too, tweeting about Super Bowl commercials.

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Category: Kwame Kilpatrick

Ferguson latest Kilpatrick pal hit with money woes

It's been a rough few weeks for the friends of Kwame Kilpatrick.

First, best buds the Milton brothers -- Kandia and DeDan -- both pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges in connection with the sale of Camp Brighton.

Now, BFF Bobby Ferguson faces a lawsuit from First Independence Bank in Wayne County Circuit Court, alleging he defaulted on a $700,000 business loan.

The most interesting tidbit: the bank claims the "United States Government seized" a $200,000 account that Ferguson had at the bank that the city contractor put up as collateral when getting the loan in April 2007.

In January 2009, the FBI raided Ferguson's offices in connection with a criminal investigation also involving the HUD Office of Inspector General and the criminal investigation division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Also interesting: First Independence has been trying to get Ferguson to pay them back for time spent on information requests and subpoenas by the "Attorney General's office ... with respect to the bank's relationship" with Ferguson Enterprises.

First Independence lawyer Thomas Strobl wouldn't comment on the seizure or the mention of the AG investigation. It appears the bank may have referred to the federal investigation, because a spokesman with the state Attorney General's office said they have no involvement.

Ferguson's attorney Joseph Grekin had no comment this week on the lawsuit.

The bank says Ferguson owes $516,527.24 on the loan, plus interest and fees. And to pay it off, the bank offset the amount by using about $275,000 Ferguson had in other accounts at the bank and using about $311,000 in cashier's checks that the bank had made out to Ferguson but he never cashed.

Stobl says the bank considers the loan paid off, but it filed the lawsuit in part because Ferguson hasn't returned the cashier's checks. The bank also wants the court to say it was proper to use the other funds to pay off the delinquent loan.

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Category: Wayne County

Worthy won't run for AG

The rumorbugs have been busy lately speculating about a potential bid by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy for attorney general. Worthy says she's heard the talk too, but recently told occasional City Hall Insider contributor Jonathan Kinloch that she may be eminently qualified for the post but isn't interested.

But Worthy, who has been at odds with Executive Robert Ficano over his budget cuts, says she may be eying in his job if he keeps cutting public safety.

Here's the interview.

Category: Mayor Dave Bing

Bing and his big speech

Leave it to Mayor Dave Bing to give what he hopes will be his best speech last.

Now that President Barack Obama has given his State of the Union address and Governor Jennifer Granholm is slated to give her State of the State speech next week, the new mayor takes his first crack at his very first State of the City message at 7 p.m. on March 23 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. That's a full month later than his predecessors.

Bing, the Pistons hall-of-famer-turned-businessman-turned Detroit-mayoral-savior, isn't a big speech giver and is the first to admit he doesn't blow people away with rhetoric, style and bombast. His inaugural address earlier this month was a short-and-sweet five-minute quickie.

But his communications czar said the speech will be more substantive and detail where the mayor wants Detroit to be in the years to come in light of deficits, union squabbles and the threat of insolvency.

"Detroiters can expect to hear a State of the City reflective of not just where we are, but where this administration is diligently working to take Detroit," said Karen Dumas, group executive in charge of communications for the mayor. "It will be realistic yet optimistic about our future."

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Category: Mayor Dave Bing

Bing vanquishes rogue Twitterer

It took more than six months, but Mayor Dave Bing can now cross this one off his to-do list: He's shut down the imposter Dave Bing Twitter account.

The City Hall Insider told you in July about the phony, who was actually a fan of the mayor. Most of the tweets were pretty bland but others got a little bizarre:

"Yes, Microsoft named their new search engine 'Bing' after me, to help call attention to the rebirth of Detroit"

Spokesman Ed Cardenas said in an e-mail that staffers were notified Wednesday Twitter shut down the account.

"This will allow our office to move forward with our own social media effort," Cardenas wrote. "We anticipate the social media sites for the Mayor and City of Detroit to go live in the coming weeks."

Crain's Detroit Business reported in December that Bing hired a $58,500 a year staffer to maange the city's Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts. But she could have her work cut out for her, since City Hall browsers these days are transfixed by the Sam Riddle trial and awaiting the latest episode of the JoAnn Watson and Charles Pugh BFF show.

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Category: City spending

Odds against a Detroit lottery

If you're eager to take up Councilman Kwame Kenyatta on his plan for a Detroit lottery, researchers have bad news: Don't bet on it.

The City Council's Research and Analysis Division issued an opinon last week and concluded the state has "exclusive control and juridsiction" over the lottery. Director David Whitaker also cited a 1974 case on the issue.

"The court's holding solidifies...the position that no private lottery can compete with the state in generating revenue through a lottery system," Whitaker wrote in his opinion. "While a City lottery would arguably be a public lottery it would still compete with and reduce the revenues earned by the state."

During last year's campaign trail, Kenyatta touted the idea of a Detroit lottery, noting that players in Wayne County generate about $600 million in revenue to the state. With the city facing a $300 million deficit, Kenyatta said a Detroit game a ticket from the state lottery would help ease the budget woes.

"I don't think we're going to stop playing the Michigan lottery, just as many people have not stopped playing the street lottery, the Chicago lottery or the New York lottery," Kenyatta said at the time. "If we had a Detroit lottery or ticket dedicated to some part of the general budget that would reduce the burden on the taxpayer."

Category: Charles Pugh

Charles Pugh starts vlogging .. that's video blogging to the uninformed

Social media maestro Charles Pugh isn't slowing down since taking office as City Council president. The avid Facebooker and Tweeter who campaigned to make the city wireless is maintaining the PughandYou.com Web site that serves as a one-stop shop for "Detroit-aholics" like him: council agendas; links to contracts, resolutions and ordinances; mobile and e-mail updates; live streams of council meetings; press releases and other goodies.

Pugh on Thursday also began video blogging, or vlogging. The quickie production features a tour of Pugh's office; his announcement that JoAnn Watson is his "favorite councilwoman" (sorry Saunteel Jenkins); a peek at his office's million-dollar view of the Detroit River; and much laughter and woo-hoos from Watson.

Happy viewing.

Category: City politics

Tweet of the Day

To most, scrounging up $319,000 in three months would take more than a few trips to Coinstar with mayonnaise jars of nickels and dimes. But legal pundits seem to think, "Pshaw, it'll be no sweat for a guy who makes one-third of that a year."

But if Kwame Kilpatrick gets into a pinch, someone named Rumblestrip has tweeted an idea, borrowed from the recent relief efforts for Haiti. Like a lot of humor, it straddles the line on taste. But it is kinda funny.

More inscrutable is this offering from the dregs of YouTube, which features a man dressed like a terrorist, pretending to be the ghost of Coleman Young complaining about abandoned boats on Van Dyke and questioning whether Dave Bing's head is "stuck in a yogurt cup." Some stuff requires no further comment.