Much has been justifiably made about the damage the Roberts Supreme Court has done to voting rights in their recent decision, Shelby County v. Holder. However, a potentially more insidious plot denying the precious right to vote is occurring in my own state of Michigan, where Republican Governor Rick Snyder has appointed an Emergency Manager to run Detroit in place of the duly elected Mayor and City Council. Even more troubling, the Governor did so after Michigan voters had rejected the Emergency Manager law at the ballot box, when late last year he signed a lame duck replacement law.
In addition to undermining our voting rights, Governor Snyder and the Emergency Manager he appointed, are seeking to slash the pensions of police officers, fire fighters and other city workers who have sacrificed long and hard for Detroit.
Because of these concerns, I held a forum in Detroit last week. As I wrote in my Detroit News op-ed, Governor “Snyder needs to know that ignoring the will of the voters by signing a lame-duck law allowing him to appoint an unelected manager insults those of us who have fought so long and sacrificed so to protect and expand the right to vote.”
Will you join me in signing this open letter to Governor Snyder that we oppose his efforts to deny Detroit citizens their right to vote and take away the hard earned pensions from city workers?
We need as many voices as possible to send Governor Snyder a powerful message that this assault on our democracy cannot stand. Read the open letter, sign on, and have your voice heard.