The Big Four

I know it has traditionally been a headline grabber but the Detroit Regional Chamber needs to retire the Big Four session it does at Mackinac, at least temporarily.  Until the key players or issues change significantly, bringing Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Macomb County Commission Chairman William Crouchman together for this annual forum has outlived its usefulness.  Like an old pair of shoes, there are too many holes in the sole of this show.

I interviewed Patterson right after the meeting and the frustration was all over his face.  I’ve known the colorful Oakland County executive for many years and he has always been a straight-shooter with the media.  My latest conversation with him was no different.  He candidly admitted that he was in a re-election campaign with an African American opponent who he can’t take for granted, especially when Senator Barack Obama is running so strongly for the U.S. Presidency.  And to complicate matters, Brooks was sharing the stage with a big city African American  mayor charged with multiple felonies.  Patterson was clearly in an uncomfortable position.  As he said, “I couldn’t be myself.”   Ironically, its better he wasn’t.  If he had said the wrong thing, even in good-natured fun, challenger Brenda Lawrence might have used it against him in this year’s campaign and staunch Kilpatrick supporters could have used it as a wedge issue to divide Detroit and its suburbs even further apart. 

Time for a new idea!

Cobo Hall

Enough talk!  I offer one comment only.  As they say in Texas, “Get ‘er done!”  before we see a banner in Chicago that reads:  “The Windy City Welcomes the North American International Auto Show.”

The Future

The brightest stars at this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference were Lou Glazer (Michigan Future Inc.), Phil Powers (Center for Michigan), Paul Hillegonds (DTE Energy), Bruce Tulgan (Rainmaker Thinking, Inc.), and the Chamber’s new Fusion group of young leaders.  If we don’t give all of them a bigger role in shaping Michigan’s future, then shame on those of us who live in Southeast Michigan!

The Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference at the historic Grand Hotel is a constant blend between what’s on the formal agenda and what’s being talked about in one-on-one conversations across Mackinac Island. To be sure, Michigan’s troubled economy and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s political scandal loom over this meeting but neither problem is preventing discussion on many other issues.  The first day of this meeting with 1,700 business and political leaders from southeast Michigan was a good example. 

I’ve seen a lot of opening sessions for this conference but none have been as packed as the one I witnessed yesterday.  Edsel Ford’s progress report on the One D collaboration was sobering.  As a region, we’ve moved the needle on federal and state funding but on most other goals, we’re either “missing the target” or more “action is required” by all of us.  We can’t afford to let any one person or issue tie us down if we’re determined to have a much stronger region.  Ford’s One D report made that reality perfectly clear.

Ford was followed by Lou Glazer of Michigan Future Inc.  His extremely candid presentation on what our state has to do to make the transition to a knowledge based economy was very well received.  Now the real work begins.  Glazer drove home the message that if we want to be competitive with more prosperous regions like Boston, Denver, or Washington, D.C., we must get younger and better educated workers.  If we don’t he says, “We’ll get poorer” as an urban area.  He is absolutely right!  But in our quest to attract younger workers, we must devote an equal amount of energy to retraining the loyal workers we already have in Michigan.   

Not on the formal agenda was Lansing public relations guru Kelly Rossman McKinney’s annual gathering with friends at the Iroquois Hotel.  It was a “who’s who” of Michigan powerbrokers, lobbyists, and journalists.  Lots of good discussions about the future of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, Lt. Governor John Cherry, U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller., and State Attorney General Mike Cox.  With the exception of Kilpatrick, keep an eye on these other politicians as the 2010 Michigan gubernatorial race inches closer.       

Today, talk on the island turns to transportation, alternative energy, term limits, health care, the state budget and politics.  I will join Senior Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick in moderating a debate on moving Michigan forward with the leadership of the Michigan House and Senate which includes Mike Bishop, Craig DeRoche, Andy Dillon, and Buzz Thomas.  If we can get straight answers from them, it should be interesting.