Former Michigan Lt. Gov Connie Binsfield Dies at Age 89

Former Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, who championed children's issues and was the first woman to hold leadership posts in Michigan's House, Senate and executive branch, died Sunday. She was 89.

Binsfeld, who lived on Leelanau County's Glen Lake, had been in hospice care, said Suzanne Allen, a family friend and former chief of staff to state House Speaker Jase Bolger.

Binsfeld, a Republican, served two terms as lieutenant governor under former Gov. John Engler, from 1991 through 1998. She declined to run again when Engler successfully sought a third term. She also served in the state House and Senate.

"Connie lived an unbelievable full life and was successful at everything she did," Engler said. "She was a thoughtful, kind, generous person who just happened to make a lot of history in a rather remarkable career."

Binsfeld was a surprise pick as Engler's running mate when he first sought the governorship in 1990. With polls showing him badly trailing Democratic incumbent James Blanchard, insiders predicted Engler would choose someone from the vote-rich Detroit area.

Engler instead tapped Binsfeld, a senator from rural northern Michigan who shared his conservative views. They pulled off a narrow upset and were re-elected in 1994.

"It came down to wanting somebody that would truly be a partner who I could work with," Engler said. "I knew she was a very effective campaigner. She was also somebody who believed we could win."

Binsfeld led commissions on adoptions and the state's child welfare system. The Binsfeld Children's Commission produced 197 proposed reforms for the child welfare, many of which were enacted.

While presiding over the Senate, Binsfeld was known for bringing the chamber to order with soft, rhythmic taps of the gavel that didn't end until there was silence. She said it was a trick she learned as a schoolteacher.

Although known as a motherly figure — Engler said his triplet daughters called her "Grandma Connie" — she could be forceful and passionate on issues of special concern to her, he said.

Binsfeld began her political career as a Leelanau County commissioner and was elected to the Michigan House in 1974. She served four terms there and in 1982 won a senate in the Senate, where she led the fight to ban surrogate pregnancy for pay.

She also sponsored bills on domestic violence and protection of environmentally sensitive sand dunes and served 10 years on the Great Lakes Commission.

"She was a mentor and dear friend who has left an enduring legacy," said Jason Allen, a former state senator and senior policy adviser for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Jason Allen is married to Suzanne Allen.

Molina Considers A Move To Downtown Detroit

Molina Healthcare of Michigan may go from suburban living to city dwelling.

The state's third-largest Medicaid HMO, which has about 60,000 square feet in the two-building Liberty Center office complex at Big Beaver and Livernois roads in Troy, is exploring a relocation of its 300 employees to downtown Detroit, according to real estate sources.

One of Molina's top downtown prospects is the 415,000-square-foot Detroit Media Partnership building, home of The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. The DMP announced in January that it would sell the building and move its 600 employees to another downtown location by next summer.

Southfield also is a possibility.

"We are considering our options. We have not decided where to locate," said Stephen Harris, CEO of Molina Healthcare of Michigan.

Molina's lease expires on Aug. 31, according to Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service CoStar Group Inc. The 139,000-square-foot building at 100 W. Big Beaver is 97 percent leased, according to CoStar.

A Molina move downtown would put it near one of its chief competitors, Detroit-based Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, which plans to move into a new, $111-million office building, construction on which is expected to begin by early 2015. Meridian would move in by early 2017.

The 320,000-square-foot Meridian building would be across from Compuware Corp. headquarters on the Monroe Block, bounded by Monroe, Bates and Farmer streets; Woodward Avenue; and Cadillac Square, less than a mile from the DMP building.

Molina is among the top Medicaid HMO plans in Michigan in terms of enrollment. The top three are Meridian, with about 295,000 members; United Healthcare Community Plan, with about 243,000; and Molina, with about 214,000, according to the 2012 Michigan Health Market Review.

Built in 1988, 100 W. Big Beaver is leasing for $21 a square foot, according to the website of Farmington Hills-based Thomas A. Duke Co., a part owner of the Liberty Center.

San Diego-based McKinney Advisory Group hired Bloomfield Hills-based Forum Group LLC to represent Molina locally.

Tom Lasky, the founding member of Forum Group, who is representing Molina, declined to comment.

"Our lease is up. We are trying to get to a decision as quickly as possible."

Troy, Michigan could condemn property for new transit center if Grand Sakwa rejects $500K offer

Troy, Michigan is considering condemning property occupied by its newly built transit center if a deal to buy the land can’t be reached after the state Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal by the city.

The City of Troy built a Transit Center on land, that has been ruled by a court of law, they don't own.

Troy Transit Center

The city of Troy has offered to buy the land for $550,000, one of few options left in its legal fight with developer Grand Sakwa Properties.

A state Supreme Court issued a ruling Tuesday declining to hear the case involving the city and the Farmington Hills-based Grand Sakwa, which donated the land to the city with the condition the city secure funding for the transit center by 2010.

A court ruling in May said the city failed to meet that June 2010 deadline, so ownership of the land reverted to Grand Sakwa. The city sued to retain rights to the land, which was resolved in the state Supreme Court decision.

The $6.3 million multi-modal transit center sits on the border between Troy and Birmingham in the back of a shopping center developed by Grand Sakwa.

Former Troy Mayor, Janice Daniels

On Monday, the Troy City Council voted to offer Grand Sakwa $550,000 for the property, Grigg Bluhm said. If the offer isn’t accepted, the city could vote to authorize condemnation of the property, she said.

Troy partnered with Birmingham on the transit project in 2000 when Grand Sakwa donated the land with the conditions.

The center, which figured in the recall of former Mayor Janice Daniels last year, was funded by a federal grant.

The transit center became one of the most controversial issues during Daniels' one-year stint as mayor. She led a majority on the City Council that rejected $8.4 million in federal funding for the project in late 2011; a slimmed-down version of the project won council approval in January 2012.

The 28,000-square-foot facility replaces the Amtrak station off Michigan Avenue. Birmingham, which has a free-standing bus enclosure at the Amtrak rail station, left the project in April 2011 after talks to buy land next to the CN Railway tracks failed.

Taxpayer Money Spent On Transit Center On Land That The City Of Troy, Michigan Does Not Own

Officials in Troy, Michigan will be discussing their next course of action after the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that the city doesn’t own land where a new transit center is being built and the Michigan Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

The court  ruled in favor of developer Grand Sakwa Properties, saying the city failed get the project funded within the 10-year deadline set when the developer donated the land for the project.

According to court documents, Grand Sakwa Properties donated 2.7-acres of the total 77-acres it owns near Maple and Coolidge to the city on the condition that Troy would develop the land for use as a transportation center. Per their agreement, the city of Troy had 10 years from June 22, 2001 to secure funding for the center, which according to the lawsuit never happened.

Former Troy Michigan Mayor
Janice Daniels

“The next steps are unclear, because the City of Troy built this transit center on a parcel of land it does not own now and has never owned,” Grand/Sakwa Properties spokesman Mort Meisner told The MBNG News. 

One option would have the city paying for the property. Another option allows the city to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.

The 2,000-square-foot transit center was billed as a hub for new high-speed Amtrak trains. Groundbreaking for the project was held last November.

The transit center was at the center of a recall vote against then-mayor Janice Daniels, who was outspokenly against the project. 

Former Michigan GOP Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop: 'I'm not running for governor'

By CHARLES CRUMM /Oakland Press
 charlie.crumm@oakpress.com; @crummc

 Mike Bishop for governor?

Speculation on the social media platform Facebook is that the former Michigan Senate majority leader from Rochester might challenge Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder in a primary next year.

Ron Dwyer, a Troy insurance agent and member of the 11th Congressional District Republican Committee, even floated his own informal poll Friday, asking who Republicans would prefer.

For the record, the majority of comments favored the sitting governor, who has upset some Republicans for his positions that the state should accept federal money to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and for wanting fees and taxes to raise $1 billion for road improvements.

Snyder, it turns out, can breathe easy.

Bishop, an attorney who spent four years in the Michigan House and eight in the Senate before being term-limited out, says he's heard there are rumors out there.

But the 46-year-old says they don't come from him and he's not interested in taking on Snyder in a Republican primary.

"I'm not running for governor," Bishop said via a voicemail message late Friday evening. "I'm in the private sector now and out of the loop."

Bishop's last foray into politics was last year when he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper in a race overshadowed by President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, and a year when Democratic Party turnout was 8 percent higher than Republican turnout.

Snyder, likely to seek a second four-year term as governor, is likely to face Democrat Mark Schauer in 2014, assuming neither has a challenger from their own parties next summer.

Contact Charles Crumm at 248-745-4649, charlie.crumm@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @crummc and on Facebook. More information is at oaklandmichiganpolitics.blogspot.com.

KKR to Acquire Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. from Blackstone

Leading global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (together with its affiliates, “KKR”) (NYSE: KKR) today announced an agreement to acquire Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., the nation’s largest specialty insurance brokerage firm, from Blackstone (together with its affiliates, “Blackstone”) (NYSE: BX).Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  
Tom Corbett, Chairman and CEO of Alliant said, “This transaction marks the next phase of Alliant’s growth and offers us an exciting opportunity to continue to build the business and offer best in class products and services to our clients. We are pleased to be partnering with KKR and appreciate the positive role that private capital can play in helping us manage our business and execute a growth strategy. This transaction will enable Alliant to remain independent and maintain its market leading position.”
  
The management team and employees of Alliant own approximately 45% of the company and will roll over a substantial portion of their investment in the company.
  
Tagar Olson, Member of KKR, said, “Alliant’s leadership team has built a unique insurance distribution franchise that is differentiated in its expertise, product offerings and client relationships. We are excited to partner with the Alliant team as it builds on the successful track record of product innovation, platform expansion and accretive acquisition activity in the specialty insurance marketplace.”
  
Chinh Chu, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, said, “Alliant’s deep entrepreneurial culture combined with best in class specialized products have allowed it to stand out as an industry leader. Blackstone was pleased to have worked with Alliant’s management team over the past five years to help expand the company’s market reach and strengthen its national presence through a series of strategic acquisitions.”
  
JP Morgan Chase and Blackstone Advisory Partners served as advisers to Blackstone and Alliant on the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to certain conditions.
  
About Alliant Insurance Services
Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. is one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the United States and has a history dating back to 1925. Alliant provides property and casualty, workers' compensation, employee benefits, surety, and financial products and services to some 20,000 clients nationwide, including public entities, tribal nations, healthcare, energy, law firms, real estate, construction, and other industry groups. More information is available on the company's web site at: www.alliantinsurance.com.
  
About KKR
Founded in 1976 and led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $66.3 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2012. With offices around the world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR complements its investment expertise and strengthens interactions with investors through its client relationships and capital markets platform. KKR is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR). For additional information, please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com.
  
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-oriented funds and closed-end funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow us on Twitter @Blackstone.

Contacts

For Alliant:
Lynda Lane, 949-466-2020
LLane@alliantinsurance.com
or
For KKR:
Kristi Huller, 212-230-9722
Kristi.Huller@kkr.com
or
For Blackstone:
Christine Anderson, 212-583-5263
Christine.anderson@blackstone.com