Author Archive

Jocelyn Benson

Imagine going to the polls on Election Day to vote in your city election, only to be told essentially that your vote for mayor will likely not matter – because a state authority is going to overrule it by appointing an emergency financial manager to take over the city.

That is exactly what happened last week in Flint, when state officials announced on Election Day that they would likely appoint an emergency manager to oversee Flint’s finances after declaring a financial emergency in the city.

Reforms that promote accountability and transparency from our public officials can change government for the better, particularly when they improve the efficient and cost-effective delivery of government services.  But the recent changes to Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager law, increasing the powers of state appointees at the expense of locally elected officials, take us further away from the democratic ideals embedded in the U.S. and Michigan constitutions.

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Jocelyn Benson

I started my career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, investigating the activities of hate groups throughout the country. During my time covering these incidents, I learned that, contrary to modern stereotypes, perpetrators of such nastiness were – ironically – a diverse group.  From an older gentleman with a PhD in physics to a young lady without a high school degree, individuals who committed hate crimes, or joined or led anti-government, neo-Nazi and other “hate” groups, span all age groups, nationalities, genders, races, education levels and income brackets.

But I found a striking similarity among this group of miscreants on the fringes of society that I studied, tracked and investigated: Every single one of them had been bullied as a child.

And every single one could, at the drop of a hat, recount a story or anecdote about having been the target of harassment growing up.

I thought about that fact this week, when the Michigan Senate voted 26-11 to enact a law that would permit bullying where motivated by “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

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Jocelyn Benson

The Michigan and United States Constitutions provide the bedrock of our democracy.  They establish the standards, the protections and the promises that government cannot abridge.  They establish a right to free speech, to worship and to vote, along with other protections.  And the Michigan Constitution grants citizens the right to hold our state officials accountable, by giving them the authority to overturn bad laws.

“The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws,” says the Michigan Constitution, including “the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature.”

This means that, under our state constitution, if enough citizens disagree with legislation that the state enacts, they can vote to get rid of it.

But crafty lawmakers in Lansing have figured out a way to override this overriding authority.  Because courts have ruled that if legislation they enact in some way grants funding – an “appropriation” – the further its purpose, then that new law is immune to potential repeal from the voters.

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Jocelyn Benson

I am proud to be a part of Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.  And contrary to anti-government rhetoric that is popular in some circles these days, it is a good example of how successful people in the private sector and dedicated public servants in government can work together to achieve remarkable things.

This week was a banner week for us. We celebrated the official opening of the building that will house the Center, which is dedicated to furthering Judge Keith’s legacy as one of our country’s greatest civil rights leaders and jurists.

As the Center’s associate director and a former clerk to Judge Keith, I’ve had the opportunity to see this Center and the building grow from an idea in the mind of Judge Keith’s network of supporters, mentees and former law clerks to one of the cornerstones of Wayne Law’s programming.

In fact, I distinctly remember, during my clerkship with Judge Keith nearly a decade ago, observing the initial conversations around the idea to build a Center for Civil Rights at Wayne Law, dedicated to Judge Keith.  It was one of the primary reasons I decided to accept an offer to teach at Wayne Law following my clerkship.

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Jocelyn Benson

Imagine this: It’s the final two minutes of a football game, and the score is 42-3. The losing team’s coach complains that the rules for scoring touchdowns are unclear. The referee agrees with the coach, invalidates the other team’s touchdowns and cancels the game.

Sound strange?  It should. It is not fair to change the rules in the middle of the game. But that’s exactly what happened last week when, thanks to legal games and gimmicks from State Rep. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc) and his team of attorneys, a state court cancelled his recall election and eliminated the opportunity for voters to make their voice heard.

This decision invalided a long and concerted effort by a group of citizens who worked hard to follow the law.

Unhappy with several votes from Scott to cut funding for their children’s education, 12,000 of his constituents signed a petition this past summer that would allow citizens in his district to vote on whether to recall him in the next election. The voters followed all of the rules, and Michigan Director of Elections Chris Thomas rightly accepted their signatures as valid. The recall question was to be put before the voters this November.

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Jocelyn Benson

I know I would not be the person I am today without teachers.

My parents were teachers – special education teachers – which meant a childhood spent in classrooms while my mother worked late to meet with parents or finish reports for the day. And conversations around the dinner table involved Dad talking about the importance of studying history, while Mom shared stories about her students’ achievements. Their work was a mission that continued long after the end of the school day.

My high school English teacher appointed me to my first leadership position and gave me the confidence to seek out ways that I could contribute to righting things that were wrong. And a junior high civics teacher inspired me study all sides of an issue, and to see political work as an avenue to improve peoples’ lives.

Teachers exist to help unlock the ability in each of us to live up to our full potential as citizens.

So what does it mean for the future of our state if politicians wage a war against this group of people who are charged with training and inspiring our youngest Michiganders?

Because in Lansing, at the same time many of us are sending our children off to school, some legislators are pushing bills that target the very teachers who are working to educate our next generation of citizens and voters.

Last week the House passed legislation to make it harder for teachers to work together, build a unified voice and participate in the democratic process. The bill eliminates the ability for teachers to choose to contribute to their union electronically through their payroll.

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