Livonia — The old idiom “politics ain’t beanbag” is meant to show the unforgiving and hard fastball nature of government.
Michigan Enjoyer’s reporting last week on a proposed ordinance change allowing elected officials to retroactively opt-in on their previously waived retirement benefits—referred to as a housekeeping item in the last council meeting—has resulted in a municipal meltdown.
During Wednesday night’s council meeting, the ordinance change was voted into committee, a procedural move effectively killing it and ending Councilwoman Laura Toy’s chances of receiving her much sought-after but previously opted-out benefits.
In the days preceding the meeting, Toy, the target of Michigan Enjoyer’s investigation, claimed Michigan Enjoyer never attempted to reach her for comment. In social media posts on Black Friday, Toy stated, “You are spreading a lot of misinformation. I would like to speak with you.”
Enjoyer ultimately spoke with her, provided evidence of our attempts to reach her, and asked for a statement detailing what we allegedly got wrong in our reporting. As of this Wednesday’s council meeting, Toy has yet to provide any official comment on the matter but did state, “I just want what I’m entitled to,” and proliferated the notion that someone else was behind the proposed ordinance change.
With enough council members signaling their intent to vote against this measure, the matter appeared resolved, or so I thought.
Within days of our story, a narrative began to proliferate on social media by several well-known area residents ostensibly defending Laura Toy and claiming the ordinance was placed on the council docket by a city attorney, though the official record indicates it was indeed placed on the docket by the council members.
Enjoyer spoke with multiple residents propelling this theory who refused to speak on the record but were adamant city hall and the mayor’s office had the true initiative behind the requested ordinance change.
Sources inside city hall and close to the city attorney stated no such activity occurred and the legal department has no unilateral power to place items on the city docket. That power rests solely with the council members.
In addition, through a source inside city hall, Enjoyer obtained copies of official city documents confirming Laura Toy’s multiple efforts to circumvent her opt-out over the last two decades. Those efforts included a detailed timeline of inter-city requests, contacts, memos, and reviews by multiple HR directors and mayors of the city.
Nevertheless, prior to the council’s vote Wednesday night, residents of the city spoke in defense of Toy and continued to promulgate the theory that Toy wasn’t behind the change. One Livonia resident spoke in defense of Toy at the meeting, declaring without evidence, “I believe the ordinance change came from the mayor’s office.”
But a more pernicious rumble on the streets occurred behind the scenes during the lead-up to Wednesday’s meeting. A current member of the city council called me and—in a carefully worded and veiled threat—claimed a lawsuit was being filed by a politically connected Lansing law firm against me and Michigan Enjoyer.
That infuriating play would indicate more deleterious motives are at play on the city council. Reporting on a “minor housekeeping item” results in threats of lawfare? Something is quite obviously amiss.
Local street-level journalism has been dying a slow death, and municipal and city-level politicians have operated under the comfort of darkness without any scrutiny for many years. The mere notion of spotlighting an ordinance change causes this much internal turmoil and a brush-back pitch?
Livonia politicos apparently want me to walk back to the dugout.
Bullshit. Now I’m looking for that fastball. I’m looking to go yard.
Jay Murray is a writer for Michigan Enjoyer and has been a Metro Detroit-based professional investigator for 22 years. Follow him on X @Stainless31.
