By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-1000085.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Governor Rick Snyder is defending Michigan's local emergency manager against charges from critics that state takeovers are racially motivated. Protestors are marching on the governor's personal residence Monday. Many of them are calling for the law to be repealed. More from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta.
Governor Snyder says it's easy to see why the four cities and one school district being run by emergency managers were taken over - they all lost population at an alarming pace, which undermined their finances.
"There's nothing to do with race," he says.
The governor says the goal now is to fix the cities so they can offer the services that will make people want to live in them.
"It shouldn't just be about how you cut things," he adds. "It's really about how you create financial stability so we can grow these cities. We want thriving cities and good school districts."
The governor says he wants to focus on fixing the "three evils" identified by civil rights leader Martin Luther King: poverty, racism, and violence. He says improving the state's economy is a critical part of the answer to all three problems.