One of the main points I have raised repeatedly since the passage of Michigan’s Emergency Manager law, Public Act 4, is that the imposition of an Emergency Manager (EM) does little, if anything, to solve the underlying problems that bring municipalities and school districts to the crisis point where an EM is deemed necessary. With Joe Harris set to depart […]

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder took the next step toward placing Michigan’s largest city under the control of an Emergency Manager this afternoon, appointing a review team to go over Detroit’s finances. A former Detroit police chief and a former Wayne State University president are among the members of a state-appointed team that will review Detroit’s finances under the emergency manager […]

A recap of sorts by Rachel Maddow tonight of Michigan’s Emergency Manager law and its impacts, particularly on Benton Harbor. A bunch of my photos from one of the early rallies are featured. The bit at 5:15 is probably the most significant: 2011 is the year when the Republicans in the great state of Michigan decided that small “d” democracy […]

There aren’t too many people in Michigan more emphatic that we need to repeal Public Act 4 – Michigan’s Emergency Manager law – more than I am. But THIS is just an absurd waste of time. The Michigan Supreme Court will decide whether the office of emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools should be declared vacant because of a delay […]

Reverend Al Sharpton covered Michigan’s Emergency Manager law last night on Politics Nation. My now-famous chart showing the number of African Americans that will be impacted by this was mentioned with credit to me at around the 2:30 minute mark. They also used my audio of Emergency Manager Joe Harris without attribution. That comes in around 5:50 and is incorrectly […]

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 […]

Back in April, I released exclusive audio of Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris audaciously talking about how he had taken over the town and was now in complete control. The EFM order, an “order” or directive, has the force of law. It is the same as a resolution or an ordinance so you’re running the city. You are the […]

Since his election last year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has played the good cop/bad cop game to perfection. While he stays above the fray and issues calming and non-threatening platitudes, his Republican colleagues in the legislature enact a conservative agenda with a rapidity that Democrats can only marvel at. Time and time again, Snyder has talked about how a particular […]

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 […]