Ficano, L. Brooks, Ken Cockrel, Cobo

**kraig** · April-21-09, 07:41 AM

Has anyone noticed that we haven't heard anything from the Wayne, Oakland or Macomb County Commissions on the Cobo Deal? Is it a matter that they have no say so, or is it a matter that their leaders were smart enough to get the legislative body's okay before finalizing a deal in Lansing?

Ken Cockrel should now speak with City Council, find out what they want in a deal, present it to the other decision makers and negotiate from there. He should also take a couple of Council Members with him.

I've spoken to some state Reps and Senators and I don't believe they're as opposed to working out a deal as people may think. I do believe that they won't the Mayor to do the legwork and due diligence this time around. They may not respect city council, but, they don't trust him. He misled everyone involved into believing that he could deliver and he couldn't. What makes it so bad is that they put him in a situation where all he had to do was tie and he would win. Pathetic.

**SWMAP** · April-21-09, 08:25 AM

I think you have an agenda about Ken Cockrel! I have very good connections on this and I am told that the governor said last week that she has absolutely no interest in doing anything with Monica Conyers and no intention to speak with her at all. I believe that Patterson said the same thing. So, as long as she is involved, there will be no deal.

Detroit's weak Lansing delegation can meander around all they want. Do you suppose the very bright Coleman Young Jr. can make a new deal happen? Hardly likely.

**digitalvision** · April-21-09, 09:39 AM

Well I know the reason that OC hasn't said anything is that they're prepping to build theirs to be ready for 2011 if there is no deal.

The plan would be comprehensive with new construction, including new bars, hotels, etc. around it. And despite the economy, there are interested investors with money - because it's Oakland County and frankly, L. Brooks has a SOLID track record of attracting development [[even though it may be suburban style).

And knowing many event planners as a I do, a non-union, Oakland County based convention center would suck the rest of the air out Cobo. Event organizers hate Cobo, it's work rules, and especially it's high costs. Very few enjoy working at Cobo and they really hate working in the city of Detroit, having at times to handle separate taxes, hold large amounts of money in escrow for the various unions, etc.

The Oakland County convention center will be a reality if Detroit doesn't get it's stuff together. And that's a shame.

**kraig** · April-21-09, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

I think you have an agenda about Ken Cockrel! I have very good connections on this and I am told that the governor said last week that she has absolutely no interest in doing anything with Monica Conyers and no intention to speak with her at all. I believe that Patterson said the same thing. So, as long as she is involved, there will be no deal.

Detroit's weak Lansing delegation can meander around all they want. Do you suppose the very bright Coleman Young Jr. can make a new deal happen? Hardly likely.

The closest thing I have to an agenda is that I think that elected officials should be held accountable for their responsibilities. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ken Cockrel was extremely quick to give himself credit for the Cobo deal when he thought it was going through. I believe his words were "I got the Cobo deal done in 3 months". If he's willing to take credit then he should be willing to take responsibility.

As far as the governor, her public stance has been that the legislators are not looking to take this up. If her stance is that she doesn't want to deal with Monica Conyers, then she's doing an injustice to all of the people that are supposed to benefit from this project. It also lends credibility to City vs Suburbs mentality that's holding back this entire state. Has Jennifer Granholm had the same attitude towards Oakland County because of something that she didn't like with L. Brooks Patterson? I doubt it.

Elected officials are supposed to be professional, but realistically, when you have a deal like this where over 100 elected officals are involved, you can expect that there are going to be some fools in the mix. Granted, all the fools in this deal all sit around the same table, but, it still had to be expected. Therefore, you have to stay professional enough to work around them.

And no, I don't expect Coleman Young Jr. to make the deal happen. However, since he does have a vote in Lansing I would be willing to engage him in conversation on the subject. Had Ken Cockrel done the same with Council Members instead of only talking with his step mother and 1 or 2 other Council Members then things might have turned out differently.

People have voices and people deserve to have their voices heard. For example, you didn't agree with my observation, but since you acknowledged my observation I appreciate you and would always be willing to hear what you have to say and give it consideration. Now if you are or were a politician, developing that kind of relationship with anyone is invaluable, because you responded in a professional manner.

**HPGrmln** · April-21-09, 09:56 AM

Pardon me for not being aware of the details, but where is this Oakland County Convention Center suppossed to be located?

**kraig** · April-21-09, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by HPGrmln

Pardon me for not being aware of the details, but where is this Oakland County Convention Center suppossed to be located?

I think people are referring to the Convention Center in Novi.

**professorscott** · April-21-09, 11:45 AM

Nobody in Lansing has any stomach to try a second go-around on Cobo. Well, "nobody" is too strong, how about "not nearly enough people to make a difference". With regard to Macomb County, I think the leadership there is fully aware that if L. Brooks is not at the table, no deal is likely at all, so why should they waste their time with it?

This deal is as dead as Monty Python's pet parrot, mark my words. My Ouija board says that two things are going to happen, one for almost certain and one when the economy picks up. First, expansion in Novi. [[Car show? Maybe, maybe not.) Second, the new Macomb County convention center being planned by Paul Aragona and others near I-94 north of Mt. Clemens.

Nothing is going to happen to Cobo except for whatever Mother Nature dictates.

**digitalvision** · April-21-09, 11:50 AM

It'll be interesting when the council elections come up - the gang that voted against the deal could very easily be tarred as being anti-union jobs and pro-crime by deciding that owning Cobo Hall was more important than the neighborhoods.

It's funny - a group that so often maligns the administration[[s) for being too downtown focused really focused on downtown, taking money away from the residents.

Could see it now - "When you call the police, do you expect Cobo Hall to come? Or a police officer?"

**carman** · April-21-09, 11:56 AM

Hey kraig,

Let me get this one straight. MC goes around calling names and pointing fingers. She labels everyone that does not "look like her" a racist. And when the Governor, who was labeled in that manner, does not want to deal with her, she is doing an injustice?

MC had the coalition backing her and now owns Cobo Center. I can't wait to see what she does with it. How confident are you feeling about it?

**kraig** · April-21-09, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by carman

Hey kraig,

Let me get this one straight. MC goes around calling names and pointing fingers. She labels everyone that does not "look like her" a racist. And when the Governor, who was labeled in that manner, does not want to deal with her, she is doing an injustice?

MC had the coalition backing her and now owns Cobo Center. I can't wait to see what she does with it. How confident are you feeling about it?

Please, get it straight. Monica Conyers is a disgrace as a Council Member, on that I think we're both in agreement. However, that's where the governor has to let professionalism take over. Is Monica Conyers bigger than the City of Detroit, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties?

There are millions of people in the Tri-County area. So yes, it is an injustice if you allow one person, and a foolish acting one at that, to derail everything.

Trust me, I'm not feeling confident about Monica Conyers and her ability to get something done, at all.

**professorscott** · April-21-09, 12:39 PM

Kraig and Carman, you are having an interesting discussion but it is moot. It took a great deal of political arm-twisting, and much time, to get to the point where there was almost a deal. The City Council and everybody else knew how much work had been done. There just isn't any stomach to go back to the table and try to rework this, especially since Ms. Conyers' essential requirement is not acceptable to so many of the other players.

Bereft of life, it rests in peace... this is an ex-convention center!

**ghein** · April-21-09, 01:05 PM

My personal belief is that Granholm and others are waiting to see if Monica Conyers and/or her cronies are voted out in November. If they don't believe that she fairly represented Detroiters and will be gone within the year, why work with her?

**kraig** · April-21-09, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by professorscott

Nobody in Lansing has any stomach to try a second go-around on Cobo. Well, "nobody" is too strong, how about "not nearly enough people to make a difference". With regard to Macomb County, I think the leadership there is fully aware that if L. Brooks is not at the table, no deal is likely at all, so why should they waste their time with it?

This deal is as dead as Monty Python's pet parrot, mark my words. My Ouija board says that two things are going to happen, one for almost certain and one when the economy picks up. First, expansion in Novi. [[Car show? Maybe, maybe not.) Second, the new Macomb County convention center being planned by Paul Aragona and others near I-94 north of Mt. Clemens.

Nothing is going to happen to Cobo except for whatever Mother Nature dictates.

It will only take one or two State Reps to propose something. Now, I don't see them doing it without knowing that they have a majority of votes on City Council beforehand, but I see them doing it because you have some Reps that are term limited out next year and are looking to try and land on City Council this year and it would give them some attention. You also may have some that decide to make a run for mayor and could use this as a way to get some attention.

L. Brooks is business minded, he'll come to the table if Oakland County's interest is being served. Additionally, Macomb County is very independent and not under anyone's thumb, they'll have no problem coming back to the table.

Novi's not going to expand.

Now, I've been anxiously waiting for the Convention Center on Hall Rd and I-94 to open. Is it still going to open this year? It appears as though work on it had stopped for awhile, I hope that's not the case. But even then, while it's a 1 million square foot facility, the convention floor space is only about 150,000 square feet which isn't sufficient enough for the auto show. And since it's already stretching to 21 mile road, I doubt if it could expand to fit an auto show. Otherwise, it could be very feasible to do since it's still in its construction phase.

**Novine** · April-21-09, 01:42 PM

"Otherwise, it could be very feasible to do since it's still in its construction phase."

No. It's not feasible for the same reason that it's not likely that the Novi center would expand. No one is going to expand their center for one show, not when there's little chance they can capture the size shows they would need to pay for that size space. National shows that might to downtown Detroit with its thousands of hotel rooms are not going to Novi or 21 Mile Road with their handful of hotel rooms.

**SWMAP** · April-21-09, 01:53 PM

Kraig, you are very naive. Detroit's State Reps are a sorry bunch. They are overweight and slow.They take free food from reception tables and stuff their pocketbooks. They have no clout. Steve Tobocman is gone, Rashida Tlaib is very new and none of the others has any clout or much respect on the state level. Tell me if I'm wrong. Even Adolph Mongo said this last week:

"Take the Cobo Hall expansion deal for instance, many of our representatives have admitted that they were out of the loop. They didnâ€™t have a clue as to what was happening with the deal until the Governor, the Wayne and Oakland County Executives brought them to the table. Yet, the deal was already done â€” crafted much earlier. And, like always in the last two decades, our officials were a day late and many, many dollars short. Almost all voted yes on the deal."

Give it up. Do you really think that the Detroit delegation has enough clout to bring the parties back? So Detroit can get a mysterious better deal? Mongo says not.
No one cares any more. Detroit blew up the negotiating work of many years. Detroit is more and more on its own.

**kraig** · April-21-09, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by Novine

"Otherwise, it could be very feasible to do since it's still in its construction phase."

No. It's not feasible for the same reason that it's not likely that the Novi center would expand. No one is going to expand their center for one show, not when there's little chance they can capture the size shows they would need to pay for that size space. National shows that might to downtown Detroit with its thousands of hotel rooms are not going to Novi or 21 Mile Road with their handful of hotel rooms.

I realize that. I was simply stating that the cost of a facility that's still in its early to mid construction phase is would probably be cheaper to expand than Cobo. I wasn't referring to profitability. But if we're going to split hairs, I would be willing to go out on a limb and say that a convention center the size of cobo, while considered to large for a suburban market would probably still turn a better profit than Cobo would, which speaks to failings of Cobo.