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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Barrow, 313-922-7769 - Option 4
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013
TEXT: Keyword "BARROW" to 313131
www.BarrowForMayor.Com
BARROW STATEMENT ON CHAPTER 9 BANKRUPTCY FILING
Says Now is Time for City Council to Re-Take the Leadership Mantle
(TODAY, July 18) - - On February 8, 2013, in a published letter to the Mayor and the Detroit City Council, I predicted that only a Chapter 9 filing would lead to a more stable Detroit and be in the best interest of the city.
Then, I explained that only a Chapter 9 filing would solidly placed the mayor and council in control and provide a clear opportunity to negotiate from a position of strength. At that time, it was exceedingly clear, at least to me, that such a filing was inevitable and the visuals now being depicted by the world media would have been prevented.
However, there was no will by the Mayor's office. Now the EM did what we should have done ourselves.
Before, any filing would clearly have been under the purview and control of the city's elected officials and the new mayor and council to be elected in just days. Now again, we have an excellent opportunity to reassert leadership on this matter as the bankruptcy law defines the "debtor" as the municipality. The law does not provide for a "designee" or EM to be the debtor. it will be necessary for Mr. Orr and Jones Day to file a formal motion to have himself appointed by the court which the city, the unions and pensioners etc should vigorously resist.
Now is the time to flood our officials with demands that the debtor be as set forth in the statute, the city and thereby extension, its elected officials. After the August Primary, we will know that one of two will be the new mayor...and the chance to become whole again.
As an expert myself in bankruptcies (Chapter 9's are somewhat different) , I will issue a more definitive and probative statement on this matter later this evening as I sit with my experts. However, it must be acknowledged that the time is now to re-take control. We must not let the EM overstep his bounds simply by just doing it like he made the police chief report to him when there is no such authority!
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