So Calling a Detroit Politician a Dictator Online Can Get You Sued

In March of last year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appointed former business lawyer Kevyn Orr as the city's emergency manager, a move that was met with consternation from Detroit residents, who felt Orr was coming in as the hatchet man for the bankrupt city.

In response, an anonymous individual registered the domain name KevynOrr.com in early June, a site that features quotes from Orr in which he plays to type. (Sample: "I can cut somebody’s throat and leave them to bleed out in the gutter with the best of them.")

After the Detroit Metro Times blogged about it, Jones Day, Orr's former law firm, filed a cease and desist letter against the site's owner, citing trademark infringement. The website used the Jones Day logo as part of a satirical blow against the Wall Street effort to force Detroit into divesting its public assets on the cheap. The website owner has since enlisted the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help fight Jones Day.

As the website owner—who prefers to remain anonymous—told me in a recent email interview, he initially wasn't thinking of creating a satirical website once he secured the domain name. But, he claims he is always on the look-out for creative ways of combating the "corporate takeover of Detroit."

While the whole brouhaha might seem hyper-local, the site owner says the case has clear national implications. When an emergency manager is appointed, he or she assumes quasi-dictatorial powers across a broad range of municipal decision-making.

Such powers now lie with Orr, a man who made a career as a corporate lawyer at Jones Day, which is on retainer for a wide array of Fortune 500 companies. While at Jones Day, Orr represented Chrysler during its bankruptcy and debt restructuring processes, before it was sold to Fiat.

Orr, who has been a central figure in Detroit's contentious bankruptcy proceedings—most recently, hundreds of thousands have been threatened with water shutoffs despite professional sports teams owing millions to Detroit's water utility—hopes to continue after his tenure ends, which could come as early as September.

The site's owner said that people on the ground recognize dictatorships when they see them. And so it is with Detroit.

"[Orr] is not accountable to voters or our community, which he controls," he added. "The quote on the front of the website says 'If you’re offended by content on this site, join the club—How do you feel about the white power structure using a black man as emergency manager to disenfranchise, dispossess and exploit Detroiters? It is offensive, and that’s the point.'"

"Jones Day is the largest law firm in America, and one of the largest in the world," he added. "They clearly care more about protecting their fat cat clients than the constitutional rights of Michigan citizens or Detroiters."

Even more troubling is the legal mechanism at the heart of Orr's position.

Orr's power emanates from a piece of Michigan legislation called Public Act 436 (PA 436). Under PA436, the emergency manager is empowered to reject or terminate collective bargaining agreements, strip local officials of duty and pay, and sell off (privatize) local government and school district assets. Critics say the law is opening the door for financial interests to slash public services while negotiating their own lucrative contracts.

"Wall Street is attempting to map out a blueprint for the future city and using Detroit as its test case, and America is at risk," said the KevynOrr.com site owner. "I firmly believe that if PA436 comes out on top in the federal challenge to its constitutionality (currently being argued by the Detroit and Michigan Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the Sugar Law Center), then many states will see similar legislation."

KevynOrr.com's owner credited Gov. Snyder and conservative legislators, backed by corporate money and lobbyists, with using Michigan's 2012 lame duck session to create laws that usurped the state's democracy. Granted, Detroit, with its vast debt and economic stagnation, is a special case. But, if the process works with Detroit, it would be hard to argue against its use in the future. And, what's more, thanks to PA436 it might be impossible to stop the emergency management process once it's begun.

"PA436 is at the forefront of those laws that are backed by legislation that prevents even the possibility of a referendum," he said. "PA436 is referendum-proof, unlike its predecessor, PA4, which was struck down in a state-wide vote."

Synder, conservative Michigan legislators, and their corporate backers must have learned an important lesson after PA4's crash and burn: voters need to be blockaded from the emergency management process. And so now, with PA436, Orr is virtually free of any democratic check and balance—free to do as he and his corporate buddies please.

"Kevyn Orr is privatizing as many public services as he can," he added. "This process transfers wealth that was created by and for the public into private coffers and shrinks the power of our local democracy, driving that power to corporations."

Ultimately, the site's owner doesn't consider himself a satirist. As he said, it's hard crafting humor out of the economic displacement and disenfranchisement of anyone unfortunate enough to live in an emergency manager-controlled city. Currently, there are nine of them in the state of Michigan, though many more emergency manager appointments ran their course over the last few years.

The site owner said it's essential that illegitimate, non-democratic power be exposed. "I hope this is an electronic pie in the face of anyone who would create a better future for some, but not for all," he said.