I don't understand how this can be legal. I'd appreciate it if someone could explain

[cali]

Benton Harbor emergency manager strips power from all elected officials
How can elected official be stripped of their power by an appointee?

By Todd A. Heywood | 04.15.11 | 6:05 pm


The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order striping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.

Actions such as Harris’ are explicitly allowed under a newly approved law which granted sweeping new powers to emergency financial managers. That legislation had drawn large protests, including attempts by some protesters to take over the state capitol building. The sit-in resulted in numerous arrests.

Harris’ move comes as Detroit Public Schools’ emergency financial manager Robert Bobb announced that he would use powers granted to him under the act to change union contracts.

<snip>
http://michiganmessenger.com/48278/benton-harbor-emergency-manager-strips-power-from-all-elected-officials

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. Rec'ing for an answer nt

[barbtries]

2. i don't see how either

and if i were a prophet i would say this is a matter for the courts.

[Hannah Bell]

3. Haven't you noticed this trend? Politicians doing blatantly illegal things & daring someone to call

them on it?

[cali]

4. that doesn't answer the question

and actually I've noticed a lot of people filing suits over the illegal shit that repukes are pulling- from Maine to Wisconsin.

[madrchsod]

5. it was approved by legislation

as someone said yesterday..democracy is dead in michigan

[cali]

6. I still don't see how legislating away the elected rights of local officials

is legal.

[Chris_Texas]

7. Towns, like states, cannot simply print their way out of debt or otherwise ignore the law

If the elected local representatives cannot or will not resolve the issues, even with the threat of action like this anging over their heads, they the state -- as the entity responsible, must have some mechanism for stepping in, and the power when they do so to ensure that corrupt or incompetent officials are removed and any assistance offered from the state level is properly channeled.

The same applies, obviously, at the state and federal level. You might even say that the civil war was fought over just this (or as another example, that town in california where the locals decided and voted to give themselves obscene salaries, bankrupting the town).

You can assume (or hope) that the Federal government is watching events there closely.

[Casandia]

9. Where do I begin....but I will keep this short and simple

First of all, we have a democratic republic in the United States. Bottom up. Small communites elect local officials...then state... then federal.

Where- in the history of Benton Harbor, or Michigan, or in the United States - do we allow elected officials/municipalities to no longer exist?

My biggest fear? That the people of Michigan do nothing about this......

[Snoutport]

19. yes, but, an appointee did not step in usurp the power of EVERY elected official

[walldude]

21. And what if the person that takes over is the

corrupt or incompetent official?

What then?

Are you really sitting there justifying a suspension of Democracy because some elected official says some other elected official is corrupt? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Call me crazy but isn't that how we ended up with Nazi Germany?

[jpak]

22. We have those mechanisms - they are called ballot boxes - they have them in Texas too

Maybe asshole Rick Perry would welcome a Federal Takeover of Texas to solve its fiscal problem

yup

[dems_rightnow]

8. Edited- wrong thread

Excuse me.

[myrna minx]

10. A kick because I'm curious too. I think this new legislation

may well go to the SC. Yikes.

[hobbit709]

11. The new Commissars!

[fasttense]

12. It doesn't make sense to me either.

It's like the President firing the Vice President. It can't be done. The Vice President can give his resignation but the president can't fire him because he is an elected official.

Even if the legislature passed a law saying the President can fire the Vice President, it would have no affect unless the Constitution were changed and amended. A law does not amend a Constitution. Does the Michigan Constitution allow for executives to fire elected officials? That is the question.

[Donnachaidh]

13. This is the kind of shit the Brits used to do, before people got pissed and started

having riots, which ended usually with the Governor's houses being flattened - literally.

[WinkyDink]

14. Crimes can be committed now under the rubric "EMERGENCY." Dubya wishes he'd thought of it.

[jpak]

24. E-mhairgency E-mhairgency Everyone to get from street!!11

[bvar22]

25. He did.

They called it "The Patriot Act",
and our current president has EXPANDED the powers of the Unitary Executive.

[rurallib]

15. how very dictatorial of them.

I would like to think a court challenge would stop this nonsense immediately, but Republicans seem to ignore judgments against themselves. Plus they own most of the judges.

[doublethink]

16. Here ya go ...... it falls under the 'financial crisis' laws ......

Repubs have been pursuing, the following link answers it ..... be sure to check out the quick Rachel Maddow video at the bottom of the page too .....

http://portsidepolitics.blogspot.com/2011/03/michigan-governor-will-impose-financial.html


My only response is it's called "Fascism" and if this ain't it then America is even more hoodwinked then I thought. Peace.

[notadmblnd]

17. I wonder if someone in Federal government could enact a law stripping

governors of their elected rights and duties?

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. You'd need someone to look at the state constitution and see if it's unconstitutional

The federal government stripping states of their power, as referred to in reply #17, would be against the US constitution. When it's one level down, with the state governor stripping local councillors of their powers, you need to see if there are powers guaranteed for the councillors, or if the state legislature has the power to remove them, or allow the governor to remove them, when they want.

[Yo_Mama]

26. These powers are derived from the state constitution, I think

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/EMF_Fact_Sheet2_347889_7.pdf

However I am sure this will go to court and be challenged. It's not random - something has to have happened to trigger any intervention. The above explains a little of the justification in a talking-point kind of way.

Older versions of this have been around for a long while in MI, but I think the real change in this law is the collective bargaining piece. In MI, I think this is used to prevent the locality from going BK. I think most states have a law that allows the state or some state agency to move in when a local government is collapsing. The sovereignty of local governments in states is usually structurally subordinated to that of the state. There are laws in each state governing how local governments are organized, recognized, etc. It's akin to states having a state police force that is authorized to respond to complaints about the activities of local police forces.

State laws utterly govern in this tyoe of situation.

More background:
http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/03/10/news/doc4d78d0d4d764d009636769.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[jpak]

20. Some GOP asshole named Woo wrote a memo that said it was legal

get with the group think

PDQ

[treestar]

23. Legislation empowered it

Ill advised legislation maybe, but it is procedure built into their law.

They may be able to challenge it under the state constitution.

Or pay attention to who they vote for in local elections.