Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr
The Miami Herald gives a shout to former Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr in a front-page article that talks about his Florida roots, and why he took the emergency manager job.
Linda Robertson of The Herald writes:
Orr, son of Fort Lauderdale schoolteachers and civil rights activists, declared Detroit bankrupt, then steered the Motor City through the largest municipal reorganization in U.S. history, forging deals with angry unions, panicked retirees and litigious creditors to dig out from under $18 billion in debt.
The Washington, D.C., corporate turnaround lawyer who worked on the Chrysler bankruptcy rejected the job the first time Michigan’s governor called in 2013, believing it was “a suicide mission,” he said.
But Orr, who was planning to move back home to manage his firm’s Miami office, changed his mind after talking with his law partner, his mother and his wife.
Orr tells the paper:
“I realized it was a call to action. Detroit is 83-percent black. I’m black. Detroit was in deep trouble. I’m specially trained to help. How could I say no? What would my mom and dad think if I bailed out on my people?"
