joseph and benton harbor. the one collective asset that benton harbor had, the beautiful beach front park. it would turn it into a place where caddies carry bags for whirlpool executives and rich folks that drive in from chicago at their new lovely signature home. i don't know what a signature home is. they're very expensive and part of the whole golf course deal. the park was deeded as a gift to the town. one of the poorest towns in michigan. it was deeded to the town in perpetuity in 1917. perpetuity i guess is not as long as it used to be. benton harbor residents are looking at a golf course where the cost of an annual pass for a family to play there is $5,000. $5,000 is half the actual income of actually families living in benton harbor. this golf course development thing is not for them. neither is democratic local government. on friday the new state appointed emergency overseer joe hair is, issued an executive order that restricted the mayor and city commissions to three duties, they can call a meeting,

benton harbor was taken over by the state under the old law.april under the enhanced version their emergency manager issued an order that said the outcome of boent harbor's local elections was in effect being overthrown, overruled. what the people of that town voted for, null and void. the emergency manager decreed that the elected town commission no longer had any power. based on his own ruling, he alone would be the government of benton harbor. >> the fact of the matter is, the city manager is now gone. i am the city manager. i replaced the finance director. so i'm the finance director and the city manager. i am the mayor and the commission, and i don't need them. you're running the city. you are the mayor. you are the commission. >> now benton harbor's part of the story may almost be over. that emergency manager says his time there is nearly done. but michigan's republican majority is just getting started. on friday the state began a review of the finances of the city of detroit. as a possible precurse-off to installing an emergency manager

in benton harbor they voted for a mayor. they voted for city commissioners. and so then the state can come in and appoint one man or one woman to unilaterally make decisions about collective bargaining agreements, make decisions about selling city assets. the people have no voice? their vote does not count in the city of pontiac? >> pastor, i just find this so hard to believe, that a governor has the power now to appoint somebody who has nothing to do with the city to come in for $180,000 a year, i might add, and start making all the decisions with the citizens having no say whatsoever. do i have that correct? >> you have that right. ed, you find it hard to believe, we thought that the enemy of democracy was in egypt. it turns out that the enemy of democracy is in michigan. michigan is the new mississippi, where you have a governor who puts emergency dictators over cities and school districts and unilaterally makes our voices and our vote null and void. this is happening in michigan. we're so happy to be on the show tonight because we need to highlight the at