July 27--In an auditorium overflowing with about 500 people Thursday night, Mayor Dave Bing faced an onslaught of booing, heckling and chants of "Liar! Liar!" that became what an aide said was the most raucous public meeting of Bing's administration.
"Y'all low down and no good!" Wyoman Mitchell shouted over and over, as Bing and others addressed residents at the Northwest Activities Center.
Like many in the audience, Mitchell, 56, wore a Detroit police T-shirt. And his angry outbursts were triggered by the city's 10% pay cuts imposed last week on city unions.
The crowd's fever pitch threatened to end the meeting moments after Bing and his management team strolled onstage. Hundreds stood and shouted down Bing and Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis as they tried to start the meeting, the second in a series of a dozen town meetings Bing must hold this year under the city charter.
"I do understand," Bing began, but his next words were drowned out by the chant of, "No, you don't! No, you don't!" After about 10 minutes of shouting, the meeting lurched into a semblance of order amid frequent interruptions by boos and heckling.
The meeting took place as Bing concluded his crisis-ridden third week of working with a state-mandated financial advisory team. He has walked a fine line this month between accepting most state oversight of the city's fiscal woes while rejecting some high-profile parts of the recovery plan mapped by Lansing, including a plan to turn Belle Isle into a state park.
Kimberly Hampton, 44, a teacher who said she was the daughter of a retired police officer, told Bing he should not "give away" Belle Isle, referring to the state proposal to operate the park under a 99-year lease. The city would retain ownership of Belle Isle under the plan.
The proposal ignited a firestorm this week, with City Council members Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and Joanne Watson planning a rally Aug. 1 on the island against what they refer to as "state control of Belle Isle" and "state-imposed fees" to enter the park, according to flyers distributed outside Thursday's meeting.
"There is no negotiation to sell Belle Isle," Bing said. "I can pretty much guarantee you that Belle Isle will not be turned over to the state," he said, to a fresh chorus of boos and catcalls.
As the meeting ended and Bing rose to walk off, the crowd turned to chanting, "DPD! DPD!" in a protest of city cuts to police pay and staffing.
Today, Bing is to meet with the advisory team to choose priorities from among 21 initiatives spelled out in the financial stability agreement the city has signed with the state.
"There's a lot of frustration here -- change is difficult for everybody -- but I'm proud of the mayor," said mayoral appointee Tarence Wheeler, moments after the meeting ended.
"You have to listen to the people. That's what a leader does," said Wheeler, who is manager of the Detroit Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.
Contact Bill Laitner: 313-223-4485 or [email protected]
Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press
