Michigan's Snyder under siege over racial impact of strategy
Source: Associated Press
May 4, 5:47 PM EDT
Michigan's Snyder under siege over racial impact of strategy
By TAMMY WEBBER and DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- When Gov. Rick Snyder was elected in 2010, he bragged about being a "tough nerd" who'd use his business background to fix Michigan's sagging economy and debt-wracked cities. He led Detroit through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. He cut corporate taxes. He was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
Now he's a governor under siege, his successes overshadowed by the lead-tainted water crisis in Flint and the turmoil in Detroit public schools - both of which have drawn accusations that the Republican former tax accountant and venture capitalist is dismissive and patronizing toward poor black residents.
At the center of those complaints is his use of a Michigan law to exert near-total control of distressed cities and school districts. "Emergency managers" appointed by the state can break labor contracts and consolidate services without input from elected officials or residents. During his tenure, Snyder has had eight cities and three school districts under state control, most with majority black populations and black elected leaders. The financial overhauls have disenfranchised huge swaths of residents and relegated them to second-class citizens, some charge.
"People have died for the right to vote. They've been beaten, had dogs sicced on them, had hoses sicced on them, been put in jail. It's a very precious thing when you're talking to the African-American community," said state Sen. Coleman Young II, a Detroit Democrat whose late father was mayor for 20 years. "For them to ... come in there and to take it away from them is despicable."
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DETROIT_SCHOOLS_SNYDERS_STATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-04-17-47-05
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