Day Three: Stormy weather
Friday, May 30th, 2008By Ari Adler
The conference attendees are petering out – you can feel it in the air. People aren’t as upbeat as they were when they arrived. They are probably feeling the effects of too much late-night networking.
It’s also raining today on the island, which tends to dampen everyone’s mood a bit. No long strolls in the sun and breeze from your hotel downtown to the Grand Hotel. No, instead you’re dealing with the sights, sounds and smells of a horse-drawn era.
But the stormy weather reference also pertains to what many consider the must-see discussion of the conference: the Big 4.
Every year, the Chamber hosts a panel discussion moderated by Paul W. Smith of WJR 760 AM that includes the elected leaders of Detroit, Wayne County, Oakland County and Macomb County.
Kudos to Paul W. for making Kwame Kilpatrick, Bob Ficano, L. Brooks Patterson and Bill Crouchman stay focused on a major issue facing the region that could be a poster child for dysfunction Southeast Michigan style.
I’m speaking of the need to expand Cobo Arena in Detroit. The discussion was intensified because of an announcement during the conference that if something isn’t done to address the space constraints, the folks running the North American International Auto Show may consider going elsewhere.
As Paul W. pointed out, Southeast Michigan got all excited about the Super Bowl being in Detroit and yet the NAIAS brings in $500 million every year and we can’t get the Big 4 to agree to do whatever it takes to keep it here.
When it came time for audience participation, a couple of people commented on the need for the four leaders to “set a better example.” Hopefully they got the message.
I was on Twitter during the entire session, so you can get play-by-play highlights at www.twitter.com/aribadler. Earlier tweets will provide you some insight into Gov. Granholm’s speech this morning as well.
Suffice it to say that folks in the audience during and after the session as well as those at lunch were frustrated by the constant in-fighting that occurs in the region. Mayor Kilpatrick probably said it best when he noted that it is an “angry region” and that if people don’t start relating to each other better, none of them will succeed.
Speaking of lunch, breaking bread with folks allows you to have a more casual conversation that gets you further than any official meeting ever could. I ended up at state Rep. David Palsrok’s table and I think the folks who joined us would agree with me.
The conference will take on a whole new flavor starting tonight and into tomorrow as the young professionals track gets into full swing. I instead will be looking forward to spending a day on the island that doesn’t involve wearing a name badge.
I’ll probably tweet some more while I’m out and about tonight and tomorrow so don’t forget to follow me on Twitter. And the JB&A team will update this blog with more entries once we’re all back home.
Next stop, a fudge store.