Regional Business Groups Express Relief, Offer Support after Kilpatrick’s Departure
Business organizations last week expressed relief that the scandal surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is coming to an end – and offered to help city officials move forward under a new administration.
“We’re relieved that the legal situation and the trial are all over with,” saidEd Deeb, president and CEO of the Michigan Business and Professional Association and the Michigan Food and Beverage Association, sister organizations based in Warren.
Deeb said Kilpatrick’s resignation should be good for business in the city and the region, if only because it eliminates a lot of uncertainty. The city lost a few big conventions during the period since the Kilpatrick scandal emerged, Deeb said. With the scandal in the past, he says, it should be easier to attract meetings and other types of business to Detroit.
Deeb also praised Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr., who will take over as mayor on Sept. 19, when Kilpatrick’s resignation becomes effective. Deeb said Cockrel is “well received in the business community and by our organization.”
Deeb also said that his group will be “at the disposal” of Cockrel and the Detroit City Council as it makes the transition to a new administration.
The Detroit Regional Chamber also expressed relief that the Kilpatrick situation has been resolved, and has offered its support to Cockrel.
"The last few months have been an unfortunate time for Detroit and a lot of damage has been done to the region's image," chamber President and CEO Richard E. Blouse said in a statement issued Thursday. "The business community will work with the new city officials and regional leaders to begin healing the region so we can concentrate all of our energies on moving the economy forward."
Chamber spokesman Jon Kreger Friday said the chamber had reached out to Cockrel to lend its support. He said the group’s priorities for the new administration include working to bring the region together, continuing the economic development of the city, finding a way to expand Cobo Center in a way that involves the entire region, pushing for regional transit and stabilizing Detroit's budget.
Detroit Renaissance, a private, non-profit leadership organization dedicated to accelerating the region's economic growth, issued a statement expressing both relief and sadness about Kilpatrick’s resignation.
"We are thankful this tragic situation has reached a conclusion,” the statement said. “This certainly is a sad ending to what once was a promising career for the mayor. Unfortunately, the city's forward progress and the entire state's image have been negatively impacted over the past eight months. Now we must begin to turn this situation around by working with Interim Mayor Cockrel to put focus back on the serious business of redeveloping the city. Detroit Renaissance renews its commitment to work with the new interim mayor and other city officials to realize this goal."
"We have extended an offer to Interim Mayor Cockrel to meet with him and assist in any way we can to move the city forward," said Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance.
Fay Beydoun, executive director of the Dearborn-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce, said Kilpatrick’s resignation should make it easier for the city to attract investors and jobs to the city, but, like many others, she expressed regret that the situation had come to that.
“It really is a sad day for the City of Detroit and the whole region,” Beydoun said.
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Business organizations last week expressed relief that the scandal surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is coming to an end – and offered to help city officials move forward under a new administration.
