Area Activists Convene in Campaign to Repeal Emergency Manager Law

More than 70 area residents attended a town hall-style meeting Saturday at the Ann Arbor Community Center in support of repealing Michigan's emergency manager law. The event was hosted by the Washtenaw Community Action Team, a coalition of local unionists, activists, students, workers and community members, as part of a petition campaign for a referendum vote on the 2012 ballot.

In March, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 4, which gives emergency managers the power to disband union contracts and replace elected officials if a municipality's finances warrant intervention. Opponents argue that the new law, often referred to as the “emergency manager law,” grants unprecedented power to emergency managers assigned to troubled municipalities or school districts and that it violates the Michigan Constitution.

"They (emergency managers) have the keys to the kingdom, and they can do whatever they want,” Dexter blogger and event guest speaker Chris Savage said.

Savage, whose coverage of the controversy has been featured on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, called the legislation "a financial martial law act."

However, according to information provided by state Rep. Mark Ouimet’s office, emergency managers are nothing new for Michigan. Under Public Act 72 of 1990, the state is authorized to intervene in units of local government that experience financial emergencies and Michigan has had an emergency financial manager law on the books since 1988.

In a previous interview, Ouimet said Public Act 4 expands the power of emergency managers but does not allow the governor to replace elected officials at will.

"The governor doesn’t want to run local governments," Ouimet said previously.

Ouimet said the law provides a long list of triggers—such as failing to make payroll or failing to pay creditors and make timely pension contributions—before a financial manager would be sent to a municipality.

Ouimet said even if an emergency manager is put in place, local elected officials can only be removed from office if they refuse to provide information or assistance. None of municipalities in Ouimet's 52nd District are in danger of having an emergency manager appointed, he said.

Serge Farinas, a 32-year-old activist and doctoral student at the University of Michigan, said he does not agree with the new law.

“We don’t like to use this term lightly, but there are fascist elements here,” he said. “… (After an emergency manager enters), when does it end? When do we get our towns back?” 

The campaign, which is being spearheaded by Detroit think tank Michigan Forward, is seeking 250,000 signatures by the end of July. The state requires 161,000 legitimate signatures to get the issue on the ballot as a proposal.

“It doesn’t matter if you live in Detroit, Ann Arbor or anywhere in between because when it comes to this, we’re all neighbors,” Michigan Forward Chairman Brandon Jessup said.

Jessup said Michigan Forward currently forecasts more than 200 emergency managers-in-training.

“This is takeover language,” Jessup said of the law. “We have to let them know that our communities and public education is not for sale.”