Senator Clark-Coleman, under her constitutional right of protest (Art. 4, Sec. 18), protested against the passage of Senate Bill Nos. 585, 586, 587, and 588.
Senator Clark-Coleman’s statement is as follows:
This is my “no” vote explanation on the Cobo Hall deal. You know why we all believe in and want to be part of regional cooperation. We cannot support—I could not support that legislation—that whole package. These bills were solely written by the other side of the aisle.
Now we have Democrats here. We have Detroiters here and this affects the folks in southeastern Michigan in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. It appears to me that there should have been some reaching out to find out what it is that we could present that folks would support and appreciate. So because there was no effort made by the other side of the aisle to reach out to craft legislation that would be bipartisan that we could all support, it gives me pause but to wonder if this was done in hopes that you—then you attach to it too some bullying-type of legislation—so this gives me pause to wonder whether or not you really wanted to get this legislation passed. Is this really something that you wanted to have done, or is this something that you wanted to do to send a message to Detroit and to the City Council that we want to move this thing, and this is the best way to do it? We will insult the people in Detroit, and we will insult the council members so that even the ones who supported it last time can’t even vote for it.
So if your intentions were to make sure that this legislation was passed, it appears that there would have been collaboration, and that is what we are all about. We should be about collaboration, but, in fact, what this does is it deepens the pit of mistrust and the one-upmanship that has dogged southeast Michigan for decades.
Lawmakers must choose to lead by positive example and not by these bullying tactics. The Detroit Senators have made themselves available for negotiations. We did it last time. We would have done it this time. We would work hard, and we will continue to do so. The Cobo deal must not be a stopping point but the beginning of reshaping this part of our world. In these challenging financial times, legislators need not pit one part of our state against the other. We need for our state to act as one healthy body, not like a body that has turned against itself. Cooperation is the answer, and it must begin with us. There are too many other important issues, such as mass transit, and economic revitalization which need our undivided attention.
What we do now lays the groundwork for the future of Michigan. Our future must be greater than our past. Or we will be stuck in separatism, hatred, mistrust, and likewise, failure. Let’s not forget that as Detroit goes, so goes Michigan. Let’s work together, and let’s move this state forward. Let’s put aside childish antics, and let’s act like mature, responsible adults.