Detroiters cease to amaze me .. Re: Post Kwame Mayoral Election

[DeToxRox]

Coming off the Kwame scandal, and with a city in abysmal shape, there is an election next week to determine the two candidates who'll be in the General Election in May.

The Detroit Free Press wrote a story about it, and had this gem in it:

Turnout next Tuesday is expected to be only 10%-15% of Detroit's 626,000 registered voters, Baxter said. So far, 23,000 of 37,000 the absentee ballots he sent out have been returned to elections headquarters.

I mean come on .. only 10-15% of voters are expected to come to this, coming off the record breaking Presidential Election?

It's no wonder this city is in such disarray.

[Noop]

Perhaps they are disillusioned?

[cuervo72]

No Kwame no Rerun no vote!

[gi]

To be fair, there are a lot of elections for the mayor's office coming up soon. This one will be the least important since the time in office will be so short.

[JediKooter]

Matt Milen shoud throw his hat into the ring, that will get people to the polls.

[CamEdwards]

Is Monica Conyers running for mayor? I know she'd make Detroit even worse than it already is, but there's so much comedy gold waiting to be mined that it might be worth it.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

Is Monica Conyers running for mayor? I know she'd make Detroit even worse than it already is, but there's so much comedy gold waiting to be mined that it might be worth it.

Oh God. I never want to hear her voice again. It's like nails on a chalkboard.

I do think Dave Bing will win this election though.

[lurker]

We should make a rule that no one is allowed to reply to a thread that uses a word completely incorrectly in its subject -- maybe then people will start using a dictionary or at least stick to using words they know the meaning of!

[JonInMiddleGA]

It'll be the NBA Hall of Famer vs the current/acting Mayor in the runoff.

Turnout just under 15%, Bing & Cockrell get 29% & 27% of those votes, third place deputy mayor misses the runoff with 23%.

http://www.freep.com/article/2009022...n+May+election

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Coming off the Kwame scandal, and with a city in abysmal shape, there is an election next week to determine the two candidates who'll be in the General Election in May.

The Detroit Free Press wrote a story about it, and had this gem in it:



I mean come on .. only 10-15% of voters are expected to come to this, coming off the record breaking Presidential Election?

It's no wonder this city is in such disarray.

Absentee ballots always have a high return rate. If you request one, you're most likely going to fill it out and vote. I don't think this is as off as it seems.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yes, the turnout numbers are low, but this is really an odd situation. First, it's just a primary to see who will run for the actual mayoral election. Second, the mayoral election is really just being held because Kilpatrick was kicked out of office. It's a special election.

I am not at all surprised at the low voter turnout and I would imagine we would probably see similar numbers in other big cities given the circumstances.

That said, the Detroit City council is probably the worst body of government in the country. They are unbelievable. They thrive on devisive politics.

They just voted against a plan that would turnover the local convention center (Cobo Hall) to the regional government for a massive expansion project. Cobo Hall was built in the 60s. It's a run down dump of a place. (A ton of people cut through Cobo Hall when getting to Joe Louis Arena. Last time I was in there I stopped to use the bathroom on the way out and that bathroom was the most vile thing I had ever seen. It literally looked like a toilet full of shit had exploded over the entire place.) This is where the Detroit Auto Show is held. A show that brings in over $500 million worth of revenue into the area each year. Without the expansion, there is a very strong chance that many companies will pull out and the great Detroit Auto Show will become a small, local thing.

Under regional control, the city of Detroit would still have veto power over any plans regarding Cobo Hall. The council voted against it because they didn't want this Detroit "jewel" to put in the hands of a regional government. They played on the same racist, devisive politics that have plagued this area for that last 50 years. It sucks.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yes, the turnout numbers are low, but this is really an odd situation. First, it's just a primary to see who will run for the actual mayoral election. Second, the mayoral election is really just being held because Kilpatrick was kicked out of office. It's a special election.

I am not at all surprised at the low voter turnout and I would imagine we would probably see similar numbers in other big cities given the circumstances.

That said, the Detroit City council is probably the worst body of government in the country. They are unbelievable. They thrive on devisive politics.

They just voted against a plan that would turnover the local convention center (Cobo Hall) to the regional government for a massive expansion project. Cobo Hall was built in the 60s. It's a run down dump of a place. (A ton of people cut through Cobo Hall when getting to Joe Louis Arena. Last time I was in there I stopped to use the bathroom on the way out and that bathroom was the most vile thing I had ever seen. It literally looked like a toilet full of shit had exploded over the entire place.) This is where the Detroit Auto Show is held. A show that brings in over $500 million worth of revenue into the area each year. Without the expansion, there is a very strong chance that many companies will pull out and the great Detroit Auto Show will become a small, local thing.

Under regional control, the city of Detroit would still have veto power over any plans regarding Cobo Hall. The council voted against it because they didn't want this Detroit "jewel" to put in the hands of a regional government. They played on the same racist, devisive politics that have plagued this area for that last 50 years. It sucks.

It already is, sort of -- the Auto Show in Chicago is bigger. We had some people from Grand Rapids stay over last weekend to see the show here, even though they're probably closer to Detroit.

Hey, remember when the city didn't pay its electric bill and all the stoplights in the city stopped working? Good times.

[fantom1979]

Sigh.... I still have dreams of a better Detroit, but I doubt I will see it in my lifetime

Monica Conyers: I'm not racist
Santiago Esparza and Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- City Council President Monica Conyers defended herself against accusations of racism during an interview today on WJR-AM(760).

Speaking with host Frank Beckmann, Conyers remained steadfast in her opposition to a deal that would transfer ownership of Cobo Center to a regional authority, which would clear the way for a $288 million expansion. Last week, Conyers told a white Teamsters official that workers at the North American International Auto Show didn't "look like me."

On the radio, Conyers elaborated that she witnessed few workers of color during setup for the show that organizers say pumps some $500 million into the economy.

"People have told me they can't get jobs in the auto show," Conyers said. "I am not trying to be racist about it."

"For the people who live here, they just want a fair shot."

At one point, she got into a tit-for-tat with Beckmann, asking him whether he lives in the city. He doesn't, but works there.

Conyers added that auto show organizers should reimburse the city for assigning 194 officers to provide protection.

"How many people are being protected in the city of Detroit?" she said. "Who is being protected, the people of Detroit or the auto show? The people of Detroit pay taxes."

She said a proposed Cobo deal will not be approved by the council until a better one is presented.

When Beckmann said some interpret that opposition as "stupid," Conyers told him not to use that word.

"I don't think stupid is a very nice word to use," she said. "I would appreciate it if you don't use it."

She added that her relative used to tell her that "stupid is as stupid does."

Conyers also said the Cobo deal was bad because the $20 million payment to the city included in the deal would be used for paying off a parking structure and that Detroiters deserved more for years of paying into the facility.

You can reach Santiago Esparza at (734) 462-2673 or [email protected].

[fantom1979]

dola


I really wish they would just forget about expanding this thing in Detroit and instead build it in Pontiac on the current Pontiac Silverdome grounds.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Well, the Mayor did the right thing today a vetoed the Council's vote. It may not have been legal, but it was right.

[fantom1979]

Yep, and he will probably now lose any chance of being re-elected because of it.

[SFL Cat]

[FRANK SINATRA] Detroit, DEEEE-TROIT [/FRANK SINATRA]

hmmm...not quite the same.

[JPhillips]

Don't know where to put this. Here's a Time photo essay titled: Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline.

http://www.time.com/time/photogaller...882089,00.html

[Balldog]

Not having living here for more than a couple years, I've always been curious what that building was...now I know it was Michigan Central Station. Very depressing to drive from the bridge to I-75. So many abandoned buildings its crazy.