Candidates Square Off in Mayoral Debate

DETROIT (AP) - - Reviving a state plan to renovate Cobo Center and keeping the lucrative North American International Auto Show in Detroit were among the issues debated by the two men vying to spend at least the next seven-plus months as mayor.

Incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr. and businessman Dave Bing faced off in their second one-on-one debate heading toward a May 5 runoff election.

The Cobo deal, which pitted Cockrel against the city council he once led as president, evoked the liveliest responses during the debate.

"I think Cobo is a prime example of failed leadership," said Bing, in part, blaming Cockrel for the Detroit City Council's decision to vote down the $288 million plan.

Meanwhile, Cockrel vowed to continue fighting for the Cobo deal.

"The future of this institution is too significant to simply leave to chance or to let go of," Cockrel said. "The reality is we have to preserve the North American International Auto Show. I will not give up."

The winner of the runoff will complete the second term of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who left office in September as part of pleas to two criminal cases.

Cockrel had been city council president before replacing Kilpatrick.

Elections for a full four-year term beginning in 2010 start with a regularly scheduled August primary.

Cobo, in recent weeks, has become a major political issue in Detroit.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm approved the $288 million upgrade and expansion plan for the downtown convention center in January, but some on the council were concerned the city only would have one of five votes on a regional authority that would operate Cobo.

The authority is made up of appointees from the city, state and three counties. It is expected to take over Cobo on Monday.

Cockrel vetoed the council's resolution shooting down the deal, but a judge last week ruled the mayor didn't have the power to do so.

Cockrel is awaiting a state Appeals Court ruling on his challenge to that decision.

Organizers of the auto show, which brings in an estimated $500 million to the region each year, have said Cobo needs upgrades and more room to keep the event competitive.

Bing blamed Cockrel for not making sure he had enough council votes to preserve the deal the mayor helped broker with state legislators and leaders from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

"The city council people are saying that (Cockrel) did not talk to them. He's saying that he did," said Bing, founder and owner of the Bing Group, a steel manufacturer and auto supplier.

"In order to get the deal done in the first place, I would have made sure that I had the necessary votes by including all the constituents ... in this particular deal."

Cockrel and Bing are scheduled to debate once again on April 23.

The first two debates have yet to feature the go-for-the-jugular stances that typically define such forums. Bing and Cockrel covered their positions on other issues like the mayor's relationship with the contentious city council and how to right the struggling public school system.

But things got a little more personal following the debate. Each attacked the other's plans to correct a city budget deficit expected to approach $300 million.

Cockrel promised a deficit reduction plan shortly after taking office. It was released in late January.

Bing said he has gathered a team that includes financial, human resources and legal experts to tackle the budget. His approach would be to "go in day one and scrub the books; go from department to department," Bing told reporters.

But the professional basketball Hall-of-Famer and former Detroit Pistons star has not offered much in the way of ideas to improve the city, Cockrel countered.

"I've not really seen much of a plan on anything, beyond criticisms of me and the stuff that I'm doing," Cockrel told reporters. "If this person is running for the office of mayor, he shouldn't just be allowed to skate on the celebrity of being a former Piston and being a businessman. Come up with some substantive proposals, or some creative plans for addressing a lot of these issues."