One step closer to half the African Americans in Michigan being without local democracy and being disenfranchised. If Inkster, which is one step ahead of Detroit, falls as well, OVER half will be. A preliminary review of Detroit’s finances has moved the city a step closer to appointment of an emergency manager. Treasurer Andy Dillon issued a statement today that […]

As I wrote about last week, Jonathan Mahler published an excellent piece on Benton Harbor in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine titled “Now That the Factories Are Closed, It’s Tee Time in Benton Harbor, Mich.” My review is HERE. After it was published, I sent Mahler an email, putting the Emergency Manager law, Public Act 4 into some perspective as […]

It’s probably a crass way of looking at it, but I can’t see THIS as anything more than the Mayor of Flint and the City Council being rewarded for their obedience. Flint’s emergency manager is giving back some responsibilities to the city’s mayor and city council. One of the first things Michael Brown did after the governor appointed him was […]

Not only are Senators Stabenow & Levin asking Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to reconsider his imposition of Emergency Managers on cities around the state, 66 elected officials, all Democrats, have sent a letter of their own (pdf). Although we come to this matter from a variety of differing perspectives and ideologies, we all share in the belief that applications of […]

In a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin are urging the governor to reconsider the Emergency Manager law, citing constitutional concerns and its divisive nature. December 14, 2011 Govemor Rick SnyderP.O. Box 3001iLansing, Michigan 48909 Dear Governor Snyder,We are writing to express our concern regarding the state’s Emergency Financial Manager law. We are deeply […]

In the increasingly likely event that Michigan Forward and Stand Up For Democracy secure enough petition signatures for the referendum to repeal Public Act 4, the law immediately goes on hold. This leaves the question “what now?” Will the previous law go back into effect or, because PA 4 replaced that law, will there simply be no law allowing for […]

Today the Michigan Senate Government Operations passed an S-1 substitute bill to SB 0865 on to the full Senate. The bill creates a transition team that will be assigned to municipalities and school districts under the control of an Emergency Manager. From the Senate summary: The bill would create a new act to do the following, with respect to a […]

With the news that Michigan Republicans are already writing legislation to replace the Emergency Manager law if it is stopped by the referendum petition drive being conducted by Michigan Forward, many of us are concerned that they will put an appropriation into the bill. If this is done, it will make the law “referendum-proof” because Michigan law prohibits referendums on […]

Last night, on his MSNBC show, Ed Schulz finished the evening with a piece about the Emergency Manager issue in Michigan. One particularly interesting point made by Rev. Alexander Bullock from the Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church of Highland Park, MI and also of Rainbow Push Detroit was that Emergency Managers can take control of the Clerk’s office when they […]

[Bumped due to update.] MIRS News has this tantalizing snippet on their front page this morning: The Gov. Rick Snyder administration is working with legislative leaders on a bill that would create an interim Emergency Manager (EM) law in case the state’s new EM statute, P.A. 4, is suspended through a potentially successful referendum process.” UPDATE: The Detroit Free Press […]

Detroit Free Press Deputy Editorial Page Editor Brian Dickerson has an op-ed this morning titled What’s really driving state takeovers: It ain’t race. In his piece, he argues that the disparate impact of Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law on minority populations isn’t related to race but rather to the shrinking populations of the cities involved. As the prospect of some sort […]