DETROIT – Residents of Detroit gathered Monday for a town hall meeting that addressed the possibility of a state takeover.
Hundreds showed up at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, including Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).
The massage was clear: No state-appointed emergency manager is needed for the city of Detroit.
"Emergency managers, so-called, are merely a dictatorial means for a governor to take over and suspend democratic management," Conyers said to the crowd.
The financial review committee, chosen by the state of Michigan, was invited to the town hall meeting, but no members showed up.
Local union leaders also were at the meeting.
"I need to know exactly what they plan to do," said American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 217 President Henry Gaffney. "I'm really here tonight to find out exactly what the Congressman, the (City Council) and all the dignitary, what are they actually doing to stop this attack on the city of Detroit by Lansing."