As smart as Snyder is, he blew the creation and implementation of the Emergency Manager law. He was so successful in his private business career that he ignored important elements of being a leader in a democracy; keep the citizens informed, citizens have a right to voice their concerns about what he is doing and when he fails to get his way do not trample on those who he represents.
I still believe Snyder is doing what he believes is right for the state and Detroit. What is wrong is how he has gone about trying to achieve what he wants. He still operates as if he is the CEO of a corporation where he handpicked the people he reports to, the Board of Directors. In a corporate entity, the Board tends to rubber stamp everything the CEO does. This is not the case in a democracy. Citizens have rights including the right to be informed and the right to expect everything their elected leader does is above-board.
I have no doubt Detroit needs an Emergency Manager. Snyder made the mistake of thinking that his new Board of Directors, the voter, would rubber stamp everything he wanted and there was no need for him to waste time informing and convincing voters that it was the right thing to do. As a result of over confidence, his emergency manager law was voted down in 2012. He then scrambled and pushed the law through the legislature in the winter of 2012-2013. Continue reading