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Angry Wayne County residents, at a Feb. 27 public hearing, denounced a deal to create a private Wayne County airport authority as a "power grab" by Gov. John Engler and Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara.
"It is reminiscent of the Detroit School Board takeover, of the abolition of Recorders' Court and residency rules," said Wayne County Commission Chair Ricardo Solomon during the hearing at the Northwest Activities Center.
"We cannot allow this to stand, if we have to go to court or to a referendum," Solomon added. "It is not just about Detroit, but about all 43 cities in Wayne County, the rights of Black and white citizens to public scrutiny. This is not about checks and balances, this is about being bamboozled."
Senate Bill 690, which would create an appointed, part-time seven member authority to manage Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run Airports, was approved in the Michigan Senate 26-10 on February 27 and is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives.
The bill would take effect before lame ducks McNamara and Engler leave office this year, allowing McNamara to appoint four...