Politics

Who Else Besides Kevyn Orr Was Considered for EM? We May Soon Know

June 12, 2013, 3:10 PM

It's the Who's Who list of prospective candidates for Detroit Emergency Manager.

And Ingham County Circuit Court judge orders Gov. Rick Snyder's aide, Rich Baird, to disclose that list -- the names of 20 candidates for the job that ultimately went to Kevyn Orr, according to Chad Livengood of The Detroit News.

Judge William Collette's ruling Wednesday comes in a lawsuit by activist Robert Davis, who claims the state violated the Open Meetings Act by offering Orr the job in February before the state's review team declared Detroit in a financial emergency and a month before Orr was hired March 14 by a state board controlled by the governor, according to The News.

The judge rejected claims by Baird that he had executive privilege granted by Snyder, and did not have to release information.  Baird, who was involved in the selection process,  is not a state employee and is paid $100,000 a year form Snyder's nonprofit civic fund, the NERD Fund.

"He is a private citizen claiming to be under an umbrella of the governor,” Collette said during a Wednesday morning hearing, according to The News. “The governor wants it both ways, apparently. He wants the ability to hide behind this corporate entity — to hide behind this umbrella and do all of this behind-the-scenes stuff and hide it from everybody.”


Read more:  Detroit News


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