Bankruptcy Firmly Under State Control

Thursday June 18, 2013 Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr pushed through an Executive Order requesting Governor Rick Snyder to approve Detroit entering into municipal bankruptcy. The bankruptcy question has been looming for a while, but the State of Michigan wouldn't allow it to happen. Now the city is on the chart of Bankrupt Cities, Municipalities List found on the governing.com website. The State wouldn't allow Hamtramck to enter bankruptcy in 2000 or 2010. Could the intent of law simply not have been ready then? The quickening pace of churning laws has become dizzying for many. Step by step passages change to open up new ground, consume other, and reroute; many laws are narrowing in focus to provide an us and them slant of favoritism through the conditions applied.

This year Hamtramck had a choice as the first city going through the full power of Public Act 436 of 2012. They could choose from the options of: bankruptcy, consent agreement, emergency manager, or mediation -- their choice was emergency manager. Governor Snyder appointed Pontiac City Administrator Cathy Square as Emergency Manager of Hamtramck on June 26.

Detroit didn't have a choice, because the emergency manager was appointed before the effective date for PA436. Detroit was affected by Attorney General Bill Schuette's opinion that Public Act 72 of 1990 was resurrected since there was no replacement emergency manager law when Public Act 4 of 2010 was removed by referendum vote of the people on November 6, 2012. (Read additional legal discussion by Kurt Koehler, esq.) This resurrection of law flies in the face of MCL 8.4.1.

Whenever a statute, or any part thereof shall be repealed by a subsequent statute, such statute, or any part thereof, so repealed, shall not be revived by the repeal of such subsequent repealing statute.

Read prior blog posts to understand how this opinion needed to be contested but failed to be approached properly.

Reading through PA436 you'll find the State of Michigan has placed itself above the people of the city in negotiating the terms of bankruptcy stating (found on the 12 steps of a financial emergency on the State of Michigan website).

The Governor may place contingencies upon a local government, including the selection of an individual to act exclusively on behalf of the local government in any Chapter 9 proceedings.

As much as it would be great to see Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr "do the right thing", it really ends up being what the Governor wants. The "viceroy" is taking direction from his superior. 

Petition the Department of Justice, Mayor Abdicates Office

Mayor Bing Abdicates Power of Office

Mayor Bing has indicated through a statement Wednesday afternoon that he has resigned to the State of Michigan placing an Emergency Manager over Detroit. By making this statement he has abdicated the power of his office and sacrificed the City of Detroit to the State of Michigan. City Council Pro-Tem Gary Brown has also abdicated his office in similar manner. Both have made declarations against their oath of office as set forth in the Charter of the City of Detroit (rev 2012).

Sufficient Grounds for Fighting

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Opinion by Stephen Boyle

Rachel Maddow: Michigan Gives Up On Democracy

Broadcast on March 1, 2013, the evening after Governor Rick Snyder holds an invitation-only Town Hall meeting at the Maccabees Building on Wayne State University campus. During the meeting he announces the “Detroit Can't Wait” campaign - this way his plans gain commercial exposure in addition to typical government coverage. Slick delivery Rick, what is it you're selling? Fascism? 

Yes folks that is the key component of the Detroit Can't Wait campaign. The installation of a dictator to run the city of Detroit who will have no need to consult with elected officials such as the City Council, the Mayor, and others. They can even be removed from office if too belligerent. The Emergency Manager is given the opportunity to nullify contracts, build privatized business arrangements without oversight, bulldoze neighborhoods without checking if they are lived in, and ensuring sufficient levels of mood altering drugs are put in the water. I forgot to mention the blight authority plan to napalm several districts around Detroit.

STATE of EMERGENCY

Photo: Stephen Boyle

Solidarity across the state is being requested - MICHIGAN IS IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY. Protest state-wide on 7-11 at 3pm. 

• Protest at the Michigan Court of Appeals, Cadillac Building, 3020 W Grand Blvd, Detroit - room 14-300. Pickets outside the building, sit down in the halls, use the elevators and stairs to 14th floor.
• Protest at Secretary of State offices ACROSS MICHIGAN at 3pm. Bring pickets.

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED

LET THE PEOPLE VOTE NOW

Updates on the Repeal of Public Act 4 

Cadillac Building
Photo: Stephen Boyle

June 14 the justices of the Court of Appeals denied convening a special panel to resolve conflict on the case that became known as "fontgate". Stand Up For Democracy had filed a writ of mandamus on May 3 to place the Repeal of PA4 on the ballot to be voted on by the people.

A motion was filed by Stand Up For Democracy on June 20 for the court order made by the Court of Appeals to be made with IMMEDIACY. This will suspend Emergency Managers across the state. The "scheduled" timeline for a court order is 42 days, however most court orders state they take place immediately. If we continue to wait for July 20 we remain in tyranny and perhaps worse. Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility and specifically the Chairperson of the Michigan Board of Ethics is working to escalate the case to the Michigan Supreme Court.

June 29 John Pirich on behalf of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility filed with the State Supreme Court for immediate proceeding, seeking to be completed by September 7. July 5 a brief was filed by John Bursch for the Attorney General and Governor. July 6 a brief in opposition to the filing was made by Herb Sanders of Stand Up For Democracy.

War On The Poor

There is a state-wide land-grab underway lead predominantly by Republican interests as a WAR ON THE POOR with a racist agenda as those communities targeted have a majority population of African Americans. Without immediacy the clock is ticking, and the games being played by the current administration could make the the victory of the order to place the referendum on the ballot a shallow victory that could dry up. The referendum could sit in the court system so long that it fails to meet the August 27 deadline with the Secretary of State. Please note the requested completion date offered by John Pirich in the filing is September 7. This requested delay of justice is a clear statement of intent, such that taking this case to the federal courts is required.

How Deep is the Dirt in Michigan?

State of Michigan Seal
Photo: Stephen Boyle

April 12 Governor Rick Snyder appointed Judge Lawrence Glazer, of Okemos, Albert Nelson Jr., of Troy, and Joseph Walker, of Bingham Farms, to the State Board of Ethics. John Pirich, already serving on the board, will serve as chair for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

John D. Pirich, ESQ. is chairman of the State of Michigan Board of Ethics, and is one of the lawyers representing Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility and opposed to the Repeal of PA4 going onto the ballot (as noted above). An ethics complaint against John D Pirich, esq was filed with the state board on May 5, 2012. This complaint was dismissed by the secretary and not taken in by the board. Read more on the Democracy Tree blog [May 6] [June 21]

“Complaint:  John D. Pirich, Michigan State Board of Ethics Chair, knowingly and willfully violated Section 2, Subsection 4 of Act 196 of 1973, commonly the “State Ethics Act”.

Pirich accepted compensation for services that benefited Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, a political action committee, which upon Pirich’s counsel provided flawed evidence of dubious origins (see attachments) that was used to unduly and unethically create bias among members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers in their April 26, 2012 decision as to the certification of the petition signatures gathered by the ballot question committee Stand Up for Democracy.”

The people have to rise up and SPEAK. Without speaking, without reaching out, and without marching you are allowing your rights to be taken away.

Silent March June 26 at 9:30am

Governor Rick Snyder will be discussing policy for Detroit and the State of Michigan with Rev Michael Owens and others at Bethel Baptist Church, East. Those opposed to the Governor and his supporters here in Detroit are asked to rally at Gratiot and Holcomb at 9:30am for a march to the church.