The group “Michigan Forward,” says a campaign to repeal the state’s emergency manager law is on track to get on the November ballot.
That’s even though the group decided to wait another six to seven weeks before submitting its petition signatures.
Initially, Michigan Forward had planned to turn in signatures on the same day as the Governor's 2012 State of the State address.
CEO Brandon Jessup says he hopes to have 250,000 signatures in favor of a repeal measure, far more than required by law. He says people have collected about 180,000 signatures so far.
"We’re on the buses, we’re at at the bus stops, that’s just one component of the campaign that’s picking up now," says Jessup. "We have a very strong church component, we’ve visited, I believe, 75 churches over the last two Sundays, just here in Detroit by itself."
Jessup says the emergency manager law takes away people’s constitutional right to elect their leaders.
Governor Rick Snyder says the law encourages the state to help cities and schools without resorting to the appointment of an emergency manager. But he says sometimes an emergency manager is necessary for cities facing insolvency.
