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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**dmike76** · May-31-13, 11:03 AM

In terms of the indications, I don't really trust the polls when it comes to the top two candidates. One week, I'll read Duggan's in the lead, then I'll read Benny, and it depends on how many people were polled, etc. Too many factors to say who would win. I lost trust in the polls when people had Freeman Hendrix beating Kwame.

**Bham1982** · May-31-13, 11:14 AM

I like the DIA and am a supporter, but in a sense, Napoleon is correct. There should be no sacred cows, and there's no way we should have more blight, misery and death in the city just so we can preserve some Van Goghs.

There has to be a way we can protect the DIA's core jewels from creditors while still allowing for the possibility of some artwork sales and downsizing. How much does Graham Beal make? Half a million?

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

**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...

**JBMcB** · May-31-13, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Bham1982

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

Here's the problem - selling off the artwork would only cover some debt - it would only prevent things from getting worse. The average Detroiter probably wouldn't see much of a difference. So the value proposition is "We're going to sell off very valuable stuff that you own a part of and you aren't going to see any difference." I think that's going to be a hard sell. You're going to have people standing up at community meetings going "We just sold $100 million in artwork, why are they closing my school? Why aren't the streetlights on?"

**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.

**bailey** · May-31-13, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by JBMcB

Here's the problem - selling off the artwork would only cover some debt - it would only prevent things from getting worse. The average Detroiter probably wouldn't see much of a difference. So the value proposition is "We're going to sell off very valuable stuff that you own a part of and you aren't going to see any difference." I think that's going to be a hard sell. You're going to have people standing up at community meetings going "We just sold $100 million in artwork, why are they closing my school? Why aren't the streetlights on?"

The other side of that problem is that without drastic steps that are going to severely affect lots of people...be them pensioners or art lovers, nothing gets improved and Detroit loses any ability to borrow for any reason from anyone ever again.

**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.

**Zacha341** · May-31-13, 12:20 PM

I agree. I've told many friends about the DIA Fridays jazz and other events and some times it's packed. Lots of couples walking about the gallery afterwards. Light dinning. Some people were just not aware...

**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.