Monica Conyers is a genius.
She is demonstrating firsthand that a woman can exercise power with as little concern for the public welfare as any power-mad male politician.
Look at what she has accomplished. Surely the sight is giving her satisfaction.
The state's political establishment is gnashing its collective teeth, as months of negotiations over Cobo Center's fate unravel.
The future of Cobo -- and the deal worked out painstakingly by governor, Legislature, City Hall and county executives -- is floating delicately in the thin air of economic catastrophe like a leaf in the breeze.
Meanwhile, Monica Conyers gets her due.
Name recognition growing
Her refusal to go along with a plan that isn't hers may have enhanced her "Madwoman of DayTwah" status among some. But it's also boosted name recognition for the woman who recently complained the media are obsessed with "Monica, Monica, Monica." In a dying city, where the budget and population are steadily shrinking, her renown is growing.
These days, who couldn't name the president of the Detroit City Council?
And she has craftily created a coalition of equally narcissistic City Council members who, like her, understand the power of no.
Detroit is the original city of desperate straits. But never before has the city's downtown been so precariously poised between glimmering future and creaky ghost town.
From the glorious, and achingly empty, spa at the MGM, to the echoes in any of the sleek new hotel restaurants that have opened in the last year, you can see why movie producers are getting hyped up about Detroit: The recent building boom for conventioneers and casino gamblers now looks more like a street from Universal Studios theme park -- prefab sets for Hollywood extras.
In the last week, we stopped waiting for Cobo and switched full-time to waiting for Monica.
Diva gets her moment
The diva knows that her moment of glory and maximum attention depends on staying in the dressing room and refusing to budge.
Like the 3-year-old she so resembles, she understands that she can best exercise her own mystique by undermining the powerful adults who surround her.
When it's all about Monica, the life of Detroit and the region surrounding it can and must wait.
For a week, Monica has seized her big close-up moment. She's in her dressing room, preparing her toilette, spurning visitors and even insistent taunts from the waiting audience.
To the dysfunctional go the spoils.
Now the mayor delivers his letter to her, the president of the City Council. She sits. She waits. She wins.
See Also
More Laura Berman
- Entrepreneur’s urban tree farm is taking root
- Chess club helps Detroit kids find their way forward, one move at a time
- Aussie travels the world searching for Tucker cars
- Nation of Islam’s Farrakhan tells pastors: Unite to rescue Detroit
- Athlete Dave Bing knows clock has run out on his time as mayor
- Artist Mike Kelley’s house a sculpture for people and for the past
- A push to elect women to office
Join the Conversation
The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and events that we cover. The News will not condone personal attacks, off topic posts or brutish language on our site. If you find a comment that you believe violates these standards, please click the "X" in the upper right corner of the post to report it.