Conyers, Cockrel trade jabs in encounter

[Detroitej72]

That self-serving broad never ceases to amaze me with her shenanigans.

We can only hope that folks wisen up... and throw her butt out of office in the primary.

[softailrider]

That self-serving broad never ceases to amaze me with her shenanigans.

We can only hope that folks wisen up... and throw her butt out of office in the primary.

After KK was elected the second time I realized that with Detroit voters anything is possible or not possible. If she makes it in again I wouldn't be suprised at all.

[gravitymachine]

this is going to be so fucking amazing

[artds]

I'm no fan of MC, but she may have a legitimate argument here.

Normally when an executive succession scheme calls for a member of another branch of government to fill an executive vacancy, the member of the other branch of government must first resign from their previous post before being sworn in. This is because an individual is not permitted to work for two branches of government at the same time, which is a pretty basic separation-of-powers concept.

For example, if Barack Obama and Joe Biden both temporarily became unable to serve, then Nancy Pelosi would become POTUS. However, prior to being sworn in, she would be required to resign from Congress, and if the President regains his ability to serve, the she wouldn't automatically go back to Congress. However, in this situation, assuming the congressional vacancy was for a relatively short period of time, the Governor of Pelosi's state has to power to appoint someone to fill that vacancy, and could very well just appoint Pelosi back to the post, depending on how partisan politics would play out in that situation.

Now, it's true that court refused to declare Cockrel's seat vacant, but that could have been an erroneous ruling, and if MC takes the issue court, then the court could rule accordingly, in which case Cockrel would not only be without his presidency, but also without his CC seat. However, even if a court doesn't rule this way, it's possible that the court could still rule that Cockrel effectively gave up his post as council President when he departed, depending on its interpretation of the language in the charter.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[kraig]

Sec. 4-103. Selection of council president.
The member of the city council receiving the highest number of votes at the regular city general election shall be president of the city council for the ensuing four [[4) year term, and the member of the city council receiving the next highest number of votes at such election shall be president pro tempore of the city council; and in the absence for any reason of the president and president pro tempore of the city council, or in case either of such offices shall become vacant for any reason, the member of the city council who received the next highest number of votes at such election to such absentee or to the person who held such vacated office, shall be the president or president pro tempore of the city council, as the circumstances of the case may require.


He was the highest vote-getter which makes him Council President. He was absent from the president's office because he had to assume the mayor's office after Kwame's resignation. By charter he had top assume the office until a new mayor was selected, he did not resign his office. The very last sentence of Sec 4-103 is critical, "as the circumstances of the case may require". The circumstances were that he was acting as mayor until a new mayor was selected. She doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning this one.

[GOAT]

Jmil,
I could care less who endorses whom? The fact of the matter is people vote. No one can force anyone to vote for someone they don't want.
From the horrible results I can only surmise the great DPS system that has served Detroit so well the past 30 years [[especially the last 15) could be at fault because of the poor literacy tests that come from that system as well as the poor graduation rate.
As for Conyers getting voted in I am sure it has to do with name recognition rather than anything else. A person does not have to know how to read other than to know what the name Conyers looks like to put an "X" beside that name.

Exdetroiter, I didn't call anyone ignorant. I called people illiterate. With a school system like DPS barely churning out students I stand by my statement. It has nothing to do with Detroiters [[or Grosse Pointe, who have nothing to do with Detroit politics) it has to do with a very poor school system.

So give me a grumpy or is that a constipation face all you want it isn't changing that fact. By the way I am sure ex-lax may help with that. It sure helps the bums crapping on the sidewalks.

[exdetroiter]

What do you think the mass of Wayne County Residents are products of the DPS system and even if that were the case, has the system always been as bad as its current state. I'm not constipated, you seem to be more full of it than I am.

[raptor56]

This whole succession thing is really kind of a mute point. If it does go to trial, it will take a number of months to run through the courts, plus you have the annual council summer recess. By the time anyone makes a decision, it will be election time AGAIN this year, and the polls will sort it all out. In the mean time, it's no business as usual for the Detroit City Council.

[exdetroiter]

Jmil,
I could care less who endorses whom? The fact of the matter is people vote. No one can force anyone to vote for someone they don't want.
From the horrible results I can only surmise the great DPS system that has served Detroit so well the past 30 years [[especially the last 15) could be at fault because of the poor literacy tests that come from that system as well as the poor graduation rate.
As for Conyers getting voted in I am sure it has to do with name recognition rather than anything else. A person does not have to know how to read other than to know what the name Conyers looks like to put an "X" beside that name.

Exdetroiter, I didn't call anyone ignorant. I called people illiterate. With a school system like DPS barely churning out students I stand by my statement. It has nothing to do with Detroiters [[or Grosse Pointe, who have nothing to do with Detroit politics) it has to do with a very poor school system.

So give me a grumpy or is that a constipation face all you want it isn't changing that fact. By the way I am sure ex-lax may help with that. It sure helps the bums crapping on the sidewalks.

Did you know illiterate and ignorant have the same meaning?

[Jmil]

GOAT, we have been thru this before. No need to revisit.
http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1121123140

You can get the point from that thread.

Folks use "name recognition" blindly as an excuse. Just what the hell does that mean anyway? You recognize a name for a reason good/bad. I seriously doubt to the great degree that folks like to claim, that folks blindly vote on a name, just cuz. To quote me from 2005 "Everyone agrees that name recognition is important to get elected. One way to get your message out is through endorsements"

[OriginalG313]

Sec. 4-103. Selection of council president.
The member of the city council receiving the highest number of votes at the regular city general election shall be president of the city council for the ensuing four [[4) year term, and the member of the city council receiving the next highest number of votes at such election shall be president pro tempore of the city council; and in the absence for any reason of the president and president pro tempore of the city council, or in case either of such offices shall become vacant for any reason, the member of the city council who received the next highest number of votes at such election to such absentee or to the person who held such vacated office, shall be the president or president pro tempore of the city council, as the circumstances of the case may require.


He was the highest vote-getter which makes him Council President. He was absent from the president's office because he had to assume the mayor's office after Kwame's resignation. By charter he had top assume the office until a new mayor was selected, he did not resign his office. The very last sentence of Sec 4-103 is critical, "as the circumstances of the case may require". The circumstances were that he was acting as mayor until a new mayor was selected. She doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning this one.

Below is the portion of the Charter Monica is using to argue her case. Apparently, she has not read any of the other sections.

Sec. 5-109 Succession to Office
If a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor, the City Council President shall succeed to the office until a new Mayor is elected.

There's a PDF version containing portions of the Charter in the middle of this article:
http://www.freep.com/article/2009050...uncil+top+spot

[OriginalG313]

From the Detroit News Online via the AP:
May 8, 1:35 PM EDT


Ken Cockrel to resume Detroit council presidency
DETROIT [[AP) -- Ken Cockrel Jr. will return to his old job as Detroit City Council president after all.
Council research director David Whitaker said Friday the city charter allows Cockrel to return to his former post after filling in as mayor following Kwame Kilpatrick's Sept. 18 resignation.
Current Council President Monica Conyers had raised the issue of whether Cockrel could return. She and Cockrel have had a rocky relationship, including Conyers calling him "Shrek" during a public hearing.
Whitaker says a judge ruled in September that Cockrel would return as president if a new mayor was elected.
Cockrel was defeated Tuesday by NBA great Dave Bing in a special runoff. Bing is expected to be sworn in next week.
Conyers will transition back to her former job as council pro tem.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

[R8RBOB]

I'm no fan of MC, but she may have a legitimate argument here.

Normally when an executive succession scheme calls for a member of another branch of government to fill an executive vacancy, the member of the other branch of government must first resign from their previous post before being sworn in. This is because an individual is not permitted to work for two branches of government at the same time, which is a pretty basic separation-of-powers concept.

For example, if Barack Obama and Joe Biden both temporarily became unable to serve, then Nancy Pelosi would become POTUS. However, prior to being sworn in, she would be required to resign from Congress, and if the President regains his ability to serve, the she wouldn't automatically go back to Congress. However, in this situation, assuming the congressional vacancy was for a relatively short period of time, the Governor of Pelosi's state has to power to appoint someone to fill that vacancy, and could very well just appoint Pelosi back to the post, depending on how partisan politics would play out in that situation.

Now, it's true that court refused to declare Cockrel's seat vacant, but that could have been an erroneous ruling, and if MC takes the issue court, then the court could rule accordingly, in which case Cockrel would not only be without his presidency, but also without his CC seat. However, even if a court doesn't rule this way, it's possible that the court could still rule that Cockrel effectively gave up his post as council President when he departed, depending on its interpretation of the language in the charter.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I sorry artds, but I have to disagree. Detroit's charter clearly states that the city council president is the acting mayor until a special election elects a new mayor. It did not say that the cc president must resign prior to taking the oath of office. In layman's terms, the cc president [[Ken Cockrel, Jr.) took a leave of absence to act as interm mayor until a special election is held. During that time, the president pro-tem of city council is elevated to the title of president. This would the same if Cockrel got hit by a beer truck and was hospitalized for 5 months. Conyers would be the president until he returned back to work. Cockrel has returned to Council and since he didn't resign his seat, he returns to his previous role...as president. Conyers have no legs to stand on and she knows this. Had Cockrel won on Tuesday, he would have resigned from Council because he would have been the elected mayor, not the interm.