Tagged: john conyers

It was a controversial hearing to begin with. Yesterday, a House subcommittee was looking into a bill that would make English the official language of the United States and require that government functions like naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English.

Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan was not a fan, so he decided to deliver his opening statement in Spanish.

Congressional primary races are normally pretty boring, whenever an incumbent is on the ballot. Mostly they win almost automatically. The only exceptions tend to be cases when redistricting pits two incumbents against each other.

That’s what is going on this year in the half-Detroit, half-suburban 14th District, where Democratic Congressmen Hansen Clarke and Gary Peters are going at it.

But there’s another primary race this year that is just as dramatic – but which is happening mostly under the radar.

An influential, Detroit-based Political Action Committee has made its endorsements for the August primary elections.

The Fannie Lou Hamer PAC is led by the Reverend Wendell Anthony, who also heads the Detroit branch of the NAACP.

Anthony decried the latest round of state and federal re-districting. He said it’s diluted Detroit’s voting power and caused “political havoc” in the city.

Union supporters of veteran Congressman John Conyers are holding a re-election rally Monday for the Detroit Democrat. The 82-year-old is seeking a 24th term in the House and faces several challengers in the Aug. 7 party primary.

The group Working Families for Southeast Michigan says its rally is set for 5-8 p.m. at the Michigan Conference-Teamsters hall in Detroit.

Others in the Democratic race in the 13th District include state Sens. Glenn Anderson of Westland and Bert Johnson of Highland Park, and state Rep. Shanelle Jackson of Detroit.

Conyers is the second-most senior member of the House, dean of the Congressional Black Caucus and the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

President Barack Obama endorsed Conyers in February.

Opponents of Michigan’s emergency manager law called it illegal, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic at a public forum Tuesday night.

Detroit Congressman John Conyers hosted the often-passionate forum on the legality of Public Act 4 in Highland Park.

Conyers is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary committee. That committee’s staff issued a report finding that Public Act 4 violates the contracts clause of the US Constitution, because it allows emergency managers to breach collective bargaining contracts.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Representative John Conyers will be among those who plan to march to Governor Rick Snyder's gated community this afternoon.

They're protesting Michigan's emergency manager law. They say the law is racially biased.

From Associated Press:

The Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. John Conyers and others say they plan a demonstration outside Gov. Rick Snyder's gated community against what they say is a racially biased law making easier for Michigan to take over financially struggling communities and school districts.

A rally is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. on Martin Luther King Monday at Parker Mill County Park, followed by a march to the community's gatehouse in Washtenaw County's Superior Township near Ann Arbor.

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel says the Republican governor supports citizens' right to protest, calling it "part of democracy in action."

Snyder denies the law is racially motivated.

Emergency managers are in place in Benton Harbor, Pontiac, Flint and Detroit's schools. Detroit's finances are under a review that could bring it under state control.

The Michigan Public Radio Network's Laura Weber will be covering the event.

We'll post her updates later today.

Hundreds of people gathered at a Detroit church to voice their opposition to the possibility that the state could
take over the city's government.

Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers was among those at Monday's gathering at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. He told the crowd he would use his relationship with the White House to fight any attempt to appoint an emergency manager.

Last week, Gov. Rick Snyder announced members of a review team that will dig deeply into Detroit's finances.

The team's appointment comes after a preliminary review found that there was "probable financial stress" in Michigan's largest city.

Ultimately, Detroit could be appointed an emergency manager, which state and city officials have said they want to avoid.

Auditors say Detroit may run out of money as early as April.