Despite Protests, Emergency Financial Manager to Take Over Detroit

Governor Rick Snyder appointed Kevyn Orr to the position of emergency financial manager of Detroit on Thursday, but many residents of the predominantly black city feel the appointment of an EFM will  disenfranchise them and are protesting in an effort to stop the action from going forward, the Huffington Post reports.

During Snyder’s press conference at the Cadillac Place Building, picketers from Good Jobs Now and the National Action Network voiced their opposition to the State takeover. Also, a series of traffic jam protests began last week that backed up traffic on I-75 southbound in Detroit.

Activist Stephen Boyle told the Huffington Post  that the traffic protesters are upset that state officials have ignored strong public opposition to state takeovers — Michigan voters repealed the emergency manager law Public Act 4 last November.

“We basically decided, if [the state was] not going to listen to the public, the public was going to slow down traffic,” Boyle said. “If we slow down traffic, maybe people will stop and listen for a moment, as to what’s going on. This isn’t business as usual.”

Read more about the protests at the Huffington Post.