Benny Napoleon: "I think they should take the DIA first"

**erikd** · May-31-13, 10:05 AM

Benny Napoleon comes out in support of liquidating the DIA over turning Belle Isle into a state park or creating a water authority that would let the city draw annual revenue from the water department, while still retaining city ownership of the assets. Somebody needs to tell Benny that nobody in government is talking about the sale of Belle Isle or the water department.

With the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts vulnerable in a bankruptcy, Napoleon said the masterpieces should not be protected from liquidation to satisfy creditors over other multimillion-dollar city assets.

"If in fact we're looking at Belle Isle and the water department, why would we leave the DIA out?" Napoleon said.

After the debate, Napoleon said he stood by his remarks.

"If anybody wants to consider doing something with Belle Isle, I think they should take the DIA first," Napoleon told The Detroit News.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2UslfJtsB

**1953** · May-31-13, 10:08 AM

Napolean is an idiot.

**poobert** · May-31-13, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by 1953

Napolean is an idiot.

That's it, in a nutshell.

Although I wouldn't say idiot. Like most Detroit politicians - and most local politicians, frankly - he's simply an intellectual lightweight. I don't think he's a bad person, or a corrupt person, but he isn't terribly intelligent or insightful. He came to our neighborhood meeting. The same stuff, "we need safer streets for the old ladies, my grandmother is that old lady, I was born and raised here, boo hoo." The stuff Detroit political speeches are made of.

Well, we've seen how far that's gotten us.

These two quotes basically sum it up:
"If in fact we're looking at Belle Isle and the water department, why would we leave the DIA out?" Napoleon said.

"I have not seen anything that makes me believe you should be talking about selling Belle Isle, the water department or the art," Duggan said to a round of applause.

You have one guy who doesn't know what he's talking about and one guy who does. I'm not saying Duggan is Jesus H. Christ, but who would you rather have as mayor?

I've been living and voting in Detroit for a long time. A lot of people are going to vote for Duggan. A lot of people voted for Bing, expecting a change, and I give credit where credit is due.

However ultimately - as the polls indicate- Detroiters will go for Napoleon. He is the safe, familair choice. He's a cop, he's lived here his whole life, and he's black. I don't think those are as important as the fact that he doesn't know what he's talking about, and I think Detroit will suffer as a result.

**drjeff** · May-31-13, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by erikd

Benny Napoleon comes out in support of liquidating the DIA over turning Belle Isle into a state park or creating a water authority that would let the city draw annual revenue from the water department, while still retaining city ownership of the assets. Somebody needs to tell Benny that nobody in government is talking about the sale of Belle Isle or the water department.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2UslfJtsB

Yeah, let's elect this moron the next mayor. He'd be perfect.

**bailey** · May-31-13, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by drjeff

Yeah, let's elect this moron the next mayor. He'd be perfect.

Every indication is that he will be. No doubt he'll increase his poll numbers over that tool of the suburbs, non detroiter who wants to sell all the jewels that matter out from under "real" detroiters. This should be fun.

**DetroitHabitater** · May-31-13, 10:17 AM

If they lease/sell belle isle it will still be there to enjoy. If they sell off the DIA items, that stuff is gone from Detroit forever.

**erikd** · May-31-13, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitHabitater

If they lease/sell belle isle it will still be there to enjoy. If they sell off the DIA items, that stuff is gone from Detroit forever.

Exactly. If we lease Belle Isle to the state, not only will we still have it, but it will be improved. We save money every year AND have a nicer park. If we sell off the DIA art, we get a one-time cash payment, and then we lose that asset forever.

The problem in Detroit can't be solved by one-time sales. We have a stuctural problem, which needs to be addressed by rethinking and reforming how our local government operates.

The Belle Isle DNR lease is a perfect example of exactly the type of structural reform needed in Detroit, whereas selling off DIA assets for one-time payments, and leaving the city with a dimisnished ability to attract investment and tourism is exactly what we need to avoid.

Our cultural assets are not just nice things to have as long as we have some spare cash laying around, they are huge attractors for economic activity. It will be that much harder for Detroit to attract and retain residents, businesses, and tourists if we gut our cultural center. The cultural center is a major reason why midtown is one of the first areas of Detroit to have a significant turnaround. The DIA and the cultural center are key city assets that are vital to Detroit's future success.

**Danny** · June-01-13, 10:21 AM

Napoleon doesn't care about Romanesque art! That's comment is a typical RACE CARD! I will not vote for someone who disapproves historical and cultural art.

**rex** · June-01-13, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Bham1982

In a sense, Napoleon is correct.

You can't ask regular Detroiters to take massive sacrifices while ignoring certain available assets, IMO.

No - In a sense, Napoleon is a shitstick. Too bad they cant transfer ownership of the museum and contents therein to an alternate municipality. Detroit zoo is in Royal Oak. Make it the Royal Oak Institute of Arts in Detroit. Oh and BTW Royal Oak doesn't owe Detroit's creditors shit.

**Cliffy** · June-01-13, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by rex

No - In a sense, Napoleon is a shitstick. Too bad they cant transfer ownership of the museum and contents therein to an alternate municipality. Detroit zoo is in Royal Oak. Make it the Royal Oak Institute of Arts in Detroit. Oh and BTW Royal Oak doesn't owe Detroit's creditors shit.

Napoleon is another race baiting joke. The only reason he's running is for a third pension. He got his Detroit police pension, his wayne county pension, now he wants a city of Detroit pension. He better sell all the "white mans" art so he can get his mayoral pension. Of course the voting base will vote for him because he's black.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · June-01-13, 01:16 PM

The city owns a lot of tangible things: land, buildings, artwork, etc. It owes MUCH more money than it can possibly pay back in cash. So, the city will lose some of those assets, with or without bankruptcy. If the city sells some of it's stuff on it's own, it will have some say in what gets liquidated. If bankruptcy happens, a judge will make those decisions. What Benny Napoleon or anyone else running for office thinks, stupid or not, is pretty irrelevant. Liquidation of assets will begin sooner rather than later. Also, it should be noticed, the city is not legally capable of sheltering assets at this point. Everything it owns would need court or ECM clearance to be sold. The city could have sold DIA and contents outright some time ago to a non-profit, but no longer. That art will be in limbo until sold or the city is out of debt. Shame on all of us for getting into that situation. We willfully elected the people that got Detroit in this situation, and kept reelecting them. Unchallenged, openly corrupt, liberal power for more than half a century makes hard for us to have nice things.

**erikd** · June-02-13, 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

The city owns a lot of tangible things: land, buildings, artwork, etc. It owes MUCH more money than it can possibly pay back in cash. So, the city will lose some of those assets, with or without bankruptcy. If the city sells some of it's stuff on it's own, it will have some say in what gets liquidated. If bankruptcy happens, a judge will make those decisions. What Benny Napoleon or anyone else running for office thinks, stupid or not, is pretty irrelevant. Liquidation of assets will begin sooner rather than later. Also, it should be noticed, the city is not legally capable of sheltering assets at this point. Everything it owns would need court or ECM clearance to be sold. The city could have sold DIA and contents outright some time ago to a non-profit, but no longer. That art will be in limbo until sold or the city is out of debt. Shame on all of us for getting into that situation. We willfully elected the people that got Detroit in this situation, and kept reelecting them. Unchallenged, openly corrupt, liberal power for more than half a century makes hard for us to have nice things.

Chapter 9 is a restructuring bankruptcy, like Chapters 11 and 13. They are very different from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which simply liquidates assets and distributes the proceeds to the debt holders. In a restructuring bankruptcy, the duty of the court is to make sure that the debt holders are fairly compensated WITHOUT hindering the ability of the debtor to generate future income.

In a recent bankruptcy example, GM gave up a number of unproductive land and building holdings that were not being used to generate income, but they were not required to sell the Ren Cen, the Tech Center, or any of their active production plants.

The DIA is a key asset for Detroit, and the loss of the DIA would diminish the city's ability to attract conventions, tourists, residents, and businesses. It is absolutely the type of asset that should not be liquidated in a Chapter 9 restructuring bankruptcy case.

**Honky Tonk** · May-31-13, 10:19 AM

I don't understand why people have such a hard time with the DNR running Belle Isle? They'd improve the island, save the City 6 mil a year, yet leave it natural, [[NOT turn it into some funky-ass waterpark), and residents would still have the use of it. This is akin to people equating the tree "farm" to livestock being raised and held in the City.

**dmike76** · May-31-13, 10:20 AM

Every indication? What indication? Polls don't mean a whole lot. And Bailey, are you serious with the 'real' Detroiters argument? Keeping that regionalism idea alive. Who cares if he's from Detroit or not if Detroit gets better? Last time I checked, Detroit is in the state of Michigan.

**Honky Tonk** · May-31-13, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by dmike76

Every indication? What indication? Polls don't mean a whole lot. And Bailey, are you serious with the 'real' Detroiters argument? Keeping that regionalism idea alive. Who cares if he's from Detroit or not if Detroit gets better? Last time I checked, Detroit is in the state of Michigan.

The 700,000 voters who have the power to elect the next mayor.

**bailey** · May-31-13, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by dmike76

Every indication? What indication? Polls don't mean a whole lot. And Bailey, are you serious with the 'real' Detroiters argument? Keeping that regionalism idea alive. Who cares if he's from Detroit or not if Detroit gets better? Last time I checked, Detroit is in the state of Michigan.

Well, polls are "indications" are they not?

Napolean has built his entire campaign on the issue of Duggan's non-detroiter status.

**dmike76** · May-31-13, 10:23 AM

So you're telling me that all 700,000 voters care about that? Um....I don't think so. And they shouldn't.

**bailey** · May-31-13, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by dmike76

So you're telling me that all 700,000 voters care about that? Um....I don't think so. And they shouldn't.

no, but benny is betting that the majority of the 20-30% or so of registered voters that vote in mayoral elections does.

**dmike76** · May-31-13, 10:25 AM

Eh nevermind. It's Friday. I'm not spending any more time arguing with short-sighted people today.

**Honky Tonk** · May-31-13, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by dmike76

Eh nevermind. It's Friday. I'm not spending any more time arguing with short-sighted people today.

Especially when you don't have a clue what it is you're arguing about.

**dmike76** · May-31-13, 10:49 AM

Did I misunderstand the point? I tend to get fired up when people bring up the Us vs. Them mentality. My apologies if that wasn't the stance that you are taking.

**Honky Tonk** · May-31-13, 10:55 AM

Benny is playing to the Detroit voters, those that actually DO vote. Benny is the one stacking the us vs. them deck. He is doing so by leveraging the DIA against Belle Isle. My 700,000 was misleading, because, of course, no where near that amount of Detroiters ever vote.

**dtowncitylover** · May-31-13, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Benny is playing to the Detroit voters, those that actually DO vote. Benny is the one stacking the us vs. them deck. He is doing so by leveraging the DIA against Belle Isle. My 700,000 was misleading, because, of course, no where near that amount of Detroiters ever vote.

I would think that those Detroiters who do vote would be more likely to visit the DIA and appreciate it and be turned off by Napolean's remarks, therefore supporting Duggan.

**Zacha341** · May-31-13, 11:37 AM

^^^ Great point! I agree...

**Honky Tonk** · May-31-13, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

I would think that those Detroiters who do vote would be more likely to visit the DIA and appreciate it and be turned off by Napolean's remarks, therefore supporting Duggan.

Interestingly enough, the attendee demographics of the DIA have changed quite a bit since the passage of the Proposal. I now see people wandering around in there, and digging it, that I probably never would have seen previously. Not a racial thing, more of a lifestyle thing. All in a good way.