Conyers, Cockrel trade jabs in encounter

[kraig]

May 7, 2009


Conyers, Cockrel trade jabs in encounter

By Naomi R. Patton and Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writers Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers appears increasingly serious about trying to prevent outgoing Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. from bumping her out of the top spot on council once Mayor-elect Dave Bing is sworn in.

Just after 11 this morning, Bing, Cockrel and Conyers arrived at the employee entrance to City Hall at the same time. The three exchanged pleasantries.

Then as Bing and Cockrel prepared to ride up the executive elevator to the mayor’s office, Cockrel recognized someone he knew in the lobby and went to say hello. Bing went up the elevator.

While Cockrel and Conyers waited for the elevator, the two initially exchanged polite banter and Cockrel said something about needing to make preparation to move his materials from the mayor’s office to the council president’s office. It wasn’t clear what Conyers said, but she apparently again suggested she might fight the loss of the council president’s job, based on what Cockrel said next.

“There’s nothing to argue,� he said.

Conyers responded, “Well, maybe you should read that then,� an apparent reference to the City Charter, which she has been saying provides no guidance about whether Cockrel returns to the council president post.

Later, at a council meeting, Conyers directed the Law Department and the council’s Research and Analysis Division to review four chapters in the charter, especially the one dealing with succession to office, as well as court cases.

Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, a Conyers foe, cited a September Wayne County Circuit Court decision against an effort to have Cockrel’s council seat declared vacant.

“The people determine through the vote who the council president is,� he said. “I think it’s clear.�

The charter states the top vote-getter in the council elections is the president.

Councilwomen Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones, Alberta Tinsley-Talabi and Barbara-Rose Collins all said Cockrel should return to his council president seat.

"I'm proud to have served with him," Tinsley-Talabi said Wednesday. "We'll certainly be cordial."

Conyers and Council President Pro Tem JoAnn Watson cited the charter section’s lack of guidance on what happens once a mayoral vacancy is filled at a special election. The charter states, “If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, the council president shall succeed to the office until a new mayor is elected.�

Cockrel became mayor Sept. 19 to fill the vacancy caused by former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation.

The charter does not specifically say that Cockrel, because he lost to Bing, reverts to council president. However, the use of the word “until� appears to suggest he would return.

On Wednesday, Conyers told local TV news media that "the charter only speaks to succession forward, it doesn't speak to what happens if the mayor happens to come back. ... That is something council is looking into, but we'll see what happens."

But if their relationship is any indicator, Cockrel may have a fight on his hands.
Conyers and Cockrel battled before and during the eight months Cockrel has been mayor, most infamously when she derided him as “Shrek� during a spat at a meeting. The latest clash came when Cockrel vetoed a Conyers-led rejection of legislation that created a regional board to run Cobo Center. A Wayne County judge sided with the council, saying Cockrel lacked the authority to veto the action.
Contact NAOMI R. PATTON: 313-223-3327 or npatton@freepress.com.

[raptor56]

I'd bet a lunch and possibly a beer that Conyers will file some sort of lawsuit by the end of next week.

[diver1369]

One can certainly understand why Congressman John Conyers Jr. is the most-travelled Congressman according to a recent News article. Who would want to come home to this harridan voluntarily?

[GOAT]

She cares nothing about the citizensof Detroit or she wouldn't put herself first and foremost above all things Detroit.
I find it shocking that Detroiters would even elect such a person who has done nothing to promote the city except give it swollen eyes over the black ones. She is a disgrace. Hopefully the illiterate masses make a mistake next election and put an X beside someone else's name.

[Hypestyles]

if cockrel's return to council ends up being a debacle, I wonder will conyers' husband try to get involved.. especially since he endorsed cockrel in the mayoral race..

[lilpup]

Maybe she'll go out and pick a bar fight with the absolutely wrong person.

[thnk2mch]

KC should step down just for fun, and make MC mayor until until Bing is sworn in.

[Jmil]

GOAT, "illiterate masses"?

A little harsh. Considering 4 years ago, most thought MC was an improvement.
Nobody can be expected to predict the future. The problem is not that she was elected. The problem would be if she were RE-elected based upon her performance.

Check out who the Regional Chamber endorsed, when you complain about the "illiterate masses"

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...04071440&EDATE=

[Jmil]

Just for kicks, here is the Regional Chambers 2001 endorsements.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...01544528&EDATE=


The Triangle Pride PAC
http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=15018

I know folks want to blame the citizens, however many of those elected were on somebody[[s) slate and endorsed by so called reliable sources.

[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.

[exdetroiter]

She cares nothing about the citizensof Detroit or she wouldn't put herself first and foremost above all things Detroit.
I find it shocking that Detroiters would even elect such a person who has done nothing to promote the city except give it swollen eyes over the black ones. She is a disgrace. Hopefully the illiterate masses make a mistake next election and put an X beside someone else's name.

You are out of line with the illiterate masses comment. If the mass was illiterate, do you really think that could complete the ballot? Watch how you group people together because of their choice of residence!

Plus its not just the citizens of Detroit. Its Wayne County residents as a whole. That covers areas from Grosse Pointe to as far as Canton.

Now, who is really the ignorant one on this blog?

[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"

[aprilgirl33]

What will it take to make this nut go away? One would think [[operative word) that there is still business to tend to while the transition ensues. Monica in the name of all that is holy, put on your big girl pants and deal with it. Not everything in life will go your way. A life lesson you, apparently, did not learn. Have you ever, since sitting on the council, put the citizens of Detroit on the front burner or was it always about you? When you didn't like the way the chips fell, you went into hiding and then claimed people were harassing you. You, Monica, by virtue of your choice and citizen votes ARE a public official. That, in an of itself, is something you have yet to realize [[or realize it when it's the way you want it seen). The Charter appears to be clear. Please, step aside. Resume your former seat and "try" to do what you were elected to do. While I debate if you're the "best" we have, you are still on the council and until we speak otherwise, we have to back you. Get off your ass and do your job already!

[jcole]

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.

It's MOOT point, not MUTE point.
Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

[Khartoum]

I was hoping they exchanged physical jabs.

[aprilgirl33]

Fitting for our city government...."It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The SANE are usually attracted by otther things than power" - David Brin, Science Fiction Writer

[pffft]

It's MOOT point, not MUTE point.
Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

Yes, this is my pet peeve too, along with mistaking "loose" for "lose" ...that one, I just don't get. Those words don't sound remotely the same.