Mayor's communications chief: I'll resign if Dave Bing asks

Karen Dumas says she has no plans to resign from her job as Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's communications chief unless Bing asks her to do so, despite the public relations nightmare created by a whistle-blower lawsuit that accuses her of turning the executive office into a den of chaos and political upheaval.

"I understand that I am an at-will employee," Dumas, 48, told the Free Press on Thursday. "If it is determined now or in the immediate future, or whenever, that my presence isn't needed, then I will gracefully go."

Dumas made the statement after a private dinner meeting with Bing and members of his executive team over the budget Thursday evening at a downtown restaurant.

Meanwhile, two sources close to city hall said late Thursday that Bing's chief of staff, Shannon Holmes, had turned in her resignation but will take another position with the city. It's unclear why she is resigning. She and Bing could not be reached for comment.

Earlier in the day, both Dumas and Bing had told reporters that they planned to discuss Dumas' future in the mayor's administration in the afternoon. Questions about her future intensified after officials with the city and the Detroit Medical Center confirmed that former TV news anchor Emery King would be tapped to serve in a communications role in the Bing administration. King is communications director for the DMC.

Dumas adamantly denied characterizations of herself in the lawsuit as an overbearing boss. She questioned whether her self-described assertive manner would come under attack if she were a man.

"If I weren't a woman, I don't think I would be getting this kind of criticism," Dumas said. "I'm not vindictive, but I'll tell you what I think. That's disarming for some folks."

Dumas also took offense to claims in the lawsuit that she canceled a meeting with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., in Washington, D.C., earlier this year so she could shop at luxury clothing retailer Burberry while the mayor sat waiting in the car.

"It was unfair to the mayor," Dumas said of the suit's claims that Bing relied on her for virtually every policy and budget decision. "People have known the mayor as a former athlete, as a businessperson, and I don't think he has been anybody's person other than his own. I think it was quite an unfair, disrespectful, inconsiderate and inaccurate reflection of the mayor."

On Thursday, Councilman Kwame Kenyatta became the first high-level city official to call for Dumas' resignation.

"Ms. Dumas' speedy resignation is the only effective way to dampen the upsurge in more negative media publicity, the potentially harmful effects of which Karen Dumas should understand better than anyone else as Mayor Bing's chief communications officer," Kenyatta said in a statement. "If Ms. Dumas refuses to resign, the mayor should relieve her of her duties before the end of the week."

Speaking out Thursday, Rochelle Collins, who filed the suit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, said Bing and his small inner circle secretly helped draft legislation -- later signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in March -- that gives broad new powers to emergency managers. Bing's motive, she said, was to take command over union contracts and finances of the city and Detroit Public Schools, while publicly denying the idea.

"I know for a fact that the City of Detroit was involved in the writing of that legislation and making sure everything was in place so that the mayor could take control of the City of Detroit and DPS," Collins said at the office of her attorney, Courtney Morgan Jr. "He didn't talk to all of his staff about it because he didn't want it to get out."

Collins said Bing worked closely with state Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, on the legislation.

Neither Richardville nor the governor's office returned calls seeking comment.

Collins was on the verge of tears while describing her interactions with Dumas, saying the communications chief was verbally abusive and, on at least one occasion, blocked Collins' doorway to keep her from leaving her office.

Collins said the administration, once strong and focused, devolved as appointees left to flee Dumas.

"When we first started, we had a mission and a goal -- it was to move the city forward," Collins said as her husband comforted her. "It was exciting. But it became very stressful. We were spread thin, and it became really hard to do our job."

Dumas said the mayor's staff is strong and united and won't be distracted by "one person that is disgruntled."

"We're focused on what we have to do," said Dumas, who earns $141,000. "I know a lot of people are anxious for a scandal. You aren't going to find one here."

Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown blasted Bing over the lawsuit.

"The allegations of tampering with public policy, inappropriate use of city funds, unethical contracts and other items listed in the lawsuit are the type of corrupt actions we thought were buried in the past," said Brown, who campaigned on the promise of cleaning up abuse in the city and was a frequent critic of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick resigned in 2008 as a result of a text message scandal that showed he lied under oath and had an affair with his chief of staff.

"I am surprised to see some of the same issues rise from the grave and continue to haunt us," Brown said. "We cannot underestimate the seriousness of these alleged events."

Councilman Ken Cockrel Jr., who briefly served as mayor, added:

"There is no question that there is a storm that is basically circling around city hall right now. And (Dumas) is the eye of the storm," Cockrel said. "Whether or not those allegations are true or untrue is almost irrelevant. The perception has really become the reality.

"And the reality is that Mayor Bing has got a problem and she's at the center of it."

Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Detroit Mayor Dave Bing

Detroit Whistle Blower Suit Against Mayor Dave Bing

Bing to crack down on absentee landowners of blighted properties

Bing to crack down on absentee landowners of blighted properties

From The Detroit News: 

Last Updated: February 05. 2011 3:37PM

"Under the Bing administration, the city of Detroit is cracking down on absentee property owners and working to address issues resulting from predatory speculators," wrote Dan Lijana, a Bing spokesman.

The promise followed a two-day series in The Detroit News about land speculation and its potential impact on Bing's signature initiative, the Detroit Works Project. The plan, which Bing is expected to unveil in the next few months, could include using incentives to consolidate residents in seven to nine neighborhoods and abandon underpopulated ones.

Public input on the proposal continues from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today during a forum at the American Siberian Hall, 19940 Van Dyke.

The News' investigation found that 10 private landowners — all but two of whom live outside Detroit — own more than 5,000 city parcels. Included in the total are scores of empty lots and vacant buildings that investors bought for as little as $500 after they were foreclosed for back taxes.

The largest private property owner, Michael G. Kelly of Grosse Pointe Woods, has used the tax auctions to amass 1,152 parcels throughout Detroit, according to city and Wayne County records. Much of his portfolio is vacant, and city records indicate he has owed nearly $100,000 in blight fines since 2005.

Kelly has disputed the fines and city records showing he's the top landowner, has questioned why the city is sitting on nearly 39,000 publicly owned parcels and said he has a vested interest in the city's comeback.

But Council President Charles Pugh said he worries that speculators could complicate the Detroit Works Project, potentially by demanding high prices for their properties or challenging the effort in court.

"We need to be spending our money on incentives to help people move, not (on) speculators," Pugh said. "It really angers me that people are taking advantage of the city right now."

Karla Henderson, group executive in charge of the Detroit Works Project, has said part of the city's strategy will be to use the newly formed Detroit Land Bank to acquire key properties before speculators have the chance to buy them. But the land bank hasn't started to acquire city or tax reverted properties yet.

The city has often struggled to hold owners of blighted land accountable. As of last year, the city Department of Administrative Hearings, or blight court, was owed nearly $41 million in fines. And buyers are flocking to the annual Wayne County tax auction. In October, the auction set a record, selling more than 4,300 properties with opening bids of $500.

But critics have said the city controls more blighted properties than any other landowner.

Sheila Cockrel, a former councilwoman, said there needs to be a more coordinated effort — through city and Wayne County government — to deal with Detroit's vacant land.

"There needs to be one strategy and not separate silos," Cockrel said.

"We need to find the most nimble real estate vehicles that are transparent and fair."

cmacdonald@detnews.com