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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Protestors cut Snyder's meeting with pastors in Detroit short ...
www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/18886917/2012/06/26/protestors-cut-snyders-meeting-wi...
21 hours ago ... Snyder was in Detroit Tuesday meeting with the Council of Baptist Pastors, but the meeting was cut short by protesters who wanted the governor to ... Fox 2 News HeadlinesProtestors cut Snyder's meeting with pastors in Detroit short ... Inside the church, Snyder met with pastors about his vision for the city.
Protestors cut Snyder's meeting with pastors in Detroit short
Posted: Jun 26, 2012 6:13 PM EDT Updated: Jun 26, 2012 10:06 PM EDT
By Sherry Margolis -
Gov. Rick Snyder speaks to the Council of Baptist Pastors in Detroit. (Credit: WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com)
DETROIT (WJBK) -
Governor Rick Snyder was in Detroit Tuesday meeting with the Council of Baptist Pastors, but the meeting was cut short by protesters who wanted the governor to answer their concerns about a number of issues.
Several dozen demonstrators showed up outside the Bethel Baptist Church on Detroit's east side. They chanted and carried signs that read "don't sell out Detroiters", "pay us our 224 million" and "stop bullying Detroit".
Inside the church, Snyder met with pastors about his vision for the city. He spoke about voter registration legislation, the newly planned bridge to Canada and the state's consent agreement with Detroit.
"My goal is not to run the City of Detroit, but to be a supportive partner, to support the people of Detroit in terms of being successful, of bringing the city back," Snyder said.
The meeting was cut short when protesters tried to ask the governor about the emergency manager law and voting rights.
"Governor Snyder has been an absentee landlord, a bad landlord over the State of Michigan. His policies [are] anti-working class, anti-poor. You have the super dictator law -- Public Act 4," said activist Rev. Malik Shabazz.
"You want to help the kids and help the babies, make sure that my kid can vote one day. Make sure that the people who we put in office [aren't] dismissed because he wants to come in and take over cities and municipalities," said Rev. Charles Williams II, president of the National Action Network Michigan Chapter.
Some promised that the demonstrations would continue and even escalate, but the president of the Council of Baptist Pastors says dialogue is good.
"We are on opposite poles on many of the issues that he has espoused, but it's always good to have dialogue and debate because with that comes sensitivity," said Michael Owens. |
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Lost in shouting, Snyder shares vision for Detroit: Making things 'less worse' isn't good enough
Published: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 8:14 AM Updated: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 8:57 AM
By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com
DETROIT, MI -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder stuck by his "relentless positive action" mantra on Tuesday, sharing optimistic goals for Detroit even as protesters twice shouted him down at Bethel East Baptist Church.
Many of the activists, as we reported yesterday, voiced outrage over a series of election bills awaiting the governor's signature that they believe are designed to suppress the urban vote in the upcoming presidential election.
The Council of Baptist Pastors, who invited Sndyer to yesterday's meeting, expressed similar concerns even as they chastised the protesters' "disrespectful" tactics.
But Snyder, who fielded questions from the pastors following a 10 minute speech, stuck to his message, promoting partnership over partisan division until he cut short his final answer when an activist stood and challenged him.
"Michigan is doing well, but Detroit is not participating the way I would like, and we need to do something about it," Snyder said.
"...We need a vision. This cannot simply be about making things less worse. We need something that can develop fire, passion and excitement."
More than two months after he and local leaders signed a consent agreement designed to resolve the Detroit's financial crisis, Snyder shared four long-term goals for city.
1. Made in Detroit: Snyder said the city must continue to embrace manufacturing and reaffirm its reputation as a national leader. "That's where trade is important," he said, referencing plans for a new bridge connecting the city to Canada. "It's about exporting things we build here, whether it be to other parts of Michigan, other states or other countries."
2. Embrace young people: The governor, who has often argued that there is more opportunity for young people to make a splash in Detroit than Chicago, cited the need for more housing in Midtown, downtown and other areas increasingly popular with recent college graduates.
3. Safe neighborhoods: "This cannot simply be about downtown areas, Midtown areas and riverfronts," Snyder went on to say. "We need a Detroit where people can raise their families safely, where they can have an education."
4. Marketing a new Detroit: The city and state must show outsiders they can work together to solve problems, Snyder said, if Detroit's national image is too improve. "The rest of the country is too used to looking at Detroit as a place where people are fighting one another," he said.
Admirable goals all, Snyder's vision for the city drew praise from the influential Baptist pastors that hosted him. But they also made clear, in much calmer tones than the protesters, that the election bills awaiting his signature could complicate the partnership he hopes for.
"If you do sign, we have to be honest with you, it will have great ramifications for any type of cooperation that you are seeking with the City of Detroit," Pastor Bertram Marks, council attorney, told the governor.
The series of bills would, among other things, require residents to present valid identification when registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot, require all voters to sign an affirmative statement of citizenship and set strict requirements for third-party groups that help register voters in bulk.
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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June 26, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Demonstrators interrupt Snyder's appearance at Detroit church
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News
Detroit— Gov. Rick Snyder said he thought he was having a constructive conversation with a local Baptist pastors group when his speech before the group was disrupted by protesters seated inside the Bethel Baptist Church, East, where the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity hosted the governor Tuesday.
"We had good dialogue going, and then other people in the audience decided they didn't want to have a good discussion go on any longer," said Snyder on Tuesday during a news conference after the incident. "They basically just started shouting and yelling in a house of worship."
Demonstrators interrupted Snyder over several issues, including what they called "voter suppression" and the state's emergency manager law.
Snyder spoke briefly at the church and had been taking questions for about 10 minutes when about 50 demonstrators demanded he answer their questions about Public Act 4, which authorizes emergency managers for financially troubled cities and school distric
ts.
"Answer that, what about that," protesters called.
Snyder exited the pulpit where he had been speaking and left the church shortly after speaking with reporters gathered in the basement of the church. As Snyder prepared to leave, protesters collected outside carrying signs that read, "Stop bullying Detroit," and shouting, "Cowards," as the governor was driven away in a black SUV.
"Having divisiveness, having people fighting, doesn't solve (problems)," said Snyder during the news conference. "That's not the message to solve the problem, nor the message we want to send to the rest of the state or the country. I would emphasize the fact that I had a good discussion going with the Council of Baptist Pastors; we were talking about some good tough issues; we were making progress, and I hope it continues."
Earlier, Snyder was interrupted by protesters who stood up and chanted, "Give us our money," and "No bridge card … no bridge." The governor's spokeswoman said the governor knew about the planned protests and that he cut the question and answer portion short because he was running a few minutes behind in his allotted time for the pastors' meeting and he had another engagement to get to.
The protesters were warned that they would be ousted by the Rev. Michael Owens, the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, East, and president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity.
Later, when the Rev. Charles Williams II asked Snyder to answer questions about more than 200,000 signatures gathered for a petition drive against PA 4, other demonstrators stood up inside the church, demanding that Snyder answer the question.
In April, the Board of State Canvassers refused to put the question on the November ballot. The petitions were challenged by Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, which argued the type size in the petition's headline was too small.
The panel's two Democrats voted to approve the petitions, while its two Republicans voted no.
"Voter suppression and Public Act 4 go hand in hand," Williams said outside the church after the protest.
Williams said the Baptist pastors' invitation for Snyder to speak Monday was "window dressing."
During the news conference, the governor said progress is being made on the consent agreement.
"The Financial Advisory Board has met now, we have our program manager," said Snyder. "Detroit still has very serious challenges.This still is a crisis. No one should mistake that. We're working hard from the state's side to fulfill the agreement, and I hope the city continues to work hard on fulfilling their part of the agreement."
Asked if he could promise Detroit won't be declared bankrupt, Snyder said, "I'm not going to promise something like that."
Before he was interrupted, Snyder discussed his hopes that Detroit can become a great city again and reiterated that state taxpayers won't have to pay toward construction of a second bridge to Canada.
The governor and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed an agreement this month to build a $2.1 billion span across the Detroit River in southwest Detroit. The Canadian government is lending Michigan up to $550 million for the state's share of the project, with the money to be paid back through bridge tolls.
"The Canadian government is going to advance the funds to pay for the bridge project," Snyder said. "There is no obligation to Michigan taxpayers."
The governor also took questions from ministers and others about several pending bills concerning voter laws and voter registration.
Snyder told the audience that he didn't want to have "legislation that would discourage people from voting."
Owens said he was pleased that the governor spoke with the ministers, "but we have found him always willing to talk."
Owens said while he welcomes the participation of everyone in the meetings, they are "not a forum for a street rally."
bwilliams@detnews.com
(313) 222-2027
Detroit News Staff Writer Karen Bouffard contributed. |
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:42 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Activists say women's, voters' rights under attack in Michigan
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 9:21 PM EDT Updated: Jun 19, 2012 9:25 PM EDT
By Amy Lange -
Rev. Charles Williams (Credit: WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com)
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) -
"This is an attack on the public's democracy and it's an attack on personal democracy," said Rev. Charles Williams.
They say voters and women are under attack. Activists are looking at legislation in Lansing aimed at limiting access to abortion and access to the voting booth, legislation they say is dangerous.
"There's something wrong with a governor, a government, that says you don't have the right to vote," said Maureen Taylor.
"If you don't have your I.D., they let you vote, but your vote ends up getting marked as a challenged ballot," Williams explained.
Under newly approved legislation, that vote could be challenged in court, even though you're a registered voter. There's worry this kind of legislation disproportionately impacts poor people, young people, the elderly and minorities, who may not have a photo I.D. These are also people more likely to vote Democratic.
"You could go to sleep and there be one candidate in place who won, and then you could wake up and there will be judges deciding whether challenged ballots should be counted or not counted," said Williams.
But that's not the only issue that has this group fired up. They're standing with state Representative Lisa Brown, who was barred from speaking after saying vagina on the House floor.
"The legislature is offended by the word vagina, but they're not offended by the destruction of democracy," said Pastor Ed Rowe.
They'll march on Tuesday from Gratiot and Holcomb to Bethel East Baptist Church. That's where a meeting is planned between Governor Rick Snyder and the Council of Baptist Pastors. |
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:45 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Protesters disrupt Gov. Rick Snyder's talk with Baptist pastors in Detroit
June 27, 2012 |
By Kathleen Gray
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
An appearance by Gov. Rick Snyder with the Council of Baptist Pastors in Detroit came to an abrupt end Tuesday when several dozen protesters disrupted the meeting with shouts about the emergency manager law.
"Are you going to make sure the repeal gets on the ballot?" one protester hollered, with several others taking up chants.
After a few moments, Snyder was whisked out of the Bethel Baptist Church on the east side of Detroit by his security detail.
The departure came after about a half hour of discussion between Snyder and the pastors on a range of subjects.
"One thing that's been missing is what is the vision for the city of Detroit," he said. "I'm here to be a supportive partner."
That partnership will be difficult, said the Rev. Bertram Marks, legal counsel for the pastors, if Snyder signs legislation that critics say is intended to discourage minority voting.
"These are issues that our ancestors fought very hard to achieve," Marks said. "We feel there is a national movement to curtail people's ability to vote to impact the presidential election. If you sign these bills into law, it will have great ramification for any cooperation."
Snyder said he's reviewing the bills, which include requiring a photo identification when requesting an absentee ballot. GOP legislators view the bills as tools to prevent voter fraud.
"I don't want to have legislation that would disenfranchise people," Snyder said.
Later in the day, Snyder said the dialogue in Detroit started off well, "and then other persons in the audience decided they didn't want to have a good discussion ... They started shouting and yelling in a house of worship."
The Rev. Oscar King of the Northwest Unity Baptist Church in Detroit gave Snyder credit for meeting with the council, knowing that he would face protesters.
"It was a way for us to allow the voiceless to show their passion over public policy," he said.
Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4407 or kgray99@freepress.com. Staff writer Paul Egan contributed to this report. |
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:50 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| It is interesting to note the difference in the way the story was slanted by the various media, especially the differnce between the News and the Free Press. |
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Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:54 pm |
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