Recall of Mayor Bing Begins

Chris Griffith (c) with State
Representative John Olumba and counsel
Photo: Stephen Boyle

Michigan Representative John Olumba has been meeting with members from Free Detroit No Consent on efforts to establish a Recall Mayor Bing campaign. A meeting held November 5, 2012 of the Wayne County Board of Elections resulted in approval of a recall petition.

The People Unite in Resistance

A prior attempt was made October 23 in a meeting with the Wayne County Board of Elections. Mayor Bing's counsel at that meeting was John Pirich who has been showing up in a few significant cases. John Pirich, esq. is the chairperson of the State of Michigan Board of Ethics.

Tracking Attorney John Pirich

Attorney Pirich was also hired by Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility as lead counsel opposing Stand Up For Democracy in the push for a referendum on Public Act 4, The Emergency Manager Law, to be placed to a vote of the public. The position against the referendum was financially supported by The Sterling Corporation. This battle was waged from the Board of Canvassers, which Jeffery Timmerer failed to recuse himself in the split vote on whether to accept over 250,000 signatures on petitions filed. The basis for recuse would be his involvement financially and organizationally with Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility in resisting the referendum petition campaign. Mr Timmerer later stepped down from his position on the Board of Canvassers with little explanation.

The fight for the referendum on Public Act 4 escalated through the Court of Appeals and requested time from the Michigan Supreme Court twice in its proceedings. As the final days prior to completing the ballot proposals approached the order from the court to the Board of Canvassers and Secretary of State to set the wording for the ballot was made. It wasn't until the sample ballot was available that many knew what the language for the referendum would be.

The next legal action Attorney Pirich was noticed at in Detroit was as counsel to Roy Roberts, Emergency Financial Manager of Detroit Public Schools who was in court against the Detroit Board of Education subsequent to the August ruling by Michigan Supreme Court to place the PA4 referendum on the ballot. That action suspended Emergency Managers and an opinion by the Attorney General Bill Schuette brought the repealed law Public Act 72 into effect. According to Judge John Murphy financial considerations for DPS would be handled by the EFM Roy Roberts until the results of the November 6 election were known; the Board of Education and appointed Superintendent would be granted power of administration for DPS; differences between the parties would be settled by Judge Murphy in this interim period.

If At First You Don't Succeed ... Learn the Lesson

The October 23rd meeting held up the recall campaign due to the number of statements placed in the wording of the petition. Attorney Pirich (representing Mayor Dave Bing) indicated that the word "compromised" in the original petition was ambiguous. Wayne County counsel read passage from the law such that those attending would understand why the petition request was being denied.
If any one of the conditions was not met the petition request would be denied.

Those ambiguities were cleared through a series of revised petition requests that were clear and concise. It only took one of the ten subsequent requests to be approved for the recall campaign to begin.
This grassroots recall drive will have six months to collect required signatures for the recall of Detroit's Mayor. After such time an additional filing may be made.

Another Lesson Learned

The predators that circle may be driven off from time to time, but they will continue to circle as long as the prey appears desirable. It is anticipated that Attorney Pirich will be seen fairly frequently as counsel for the State of Michigan interests, including as defense to those elected and appointed officials in the City of Detroit operating on behalf of the state. At some point, we the people need to question why is the Chairperson of the Board of Ethics pursuing the "enslavement of Detroit" by the State of Michigan.
For reference:

• Washtenaw: Snyder Recall Wording Clear, The Ann Arbor Chronicle - Apr 30, 2011
• Attorney Pirich served as moderator in 2007 at a session entitled "Tribal Business Advantages and Challenges In Economic Development Ventures" at the Second Annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Development Symposium "Diverse Tribal Economic Development - A Sovereign Imperative". He is partner in the firm Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, a sponsor of the symposium.