Billionaire Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun had a bad day Thursday. But he probably doesn’t have to worry that being jailed for contempt of court improves the chance Gov. Rick Snyder will persuade the Legislature to approve construction of a publicly owned bridge a few miles downriver from Moroun’s crossing.
Opponents of the public bridge project, which is languishing in the state Senate after it was rejected in committee last fall, said Moroun’s incarceration was irrelevant to their concerns about Snyder’s proposal.
“How Matty Moroun conducts his business is not a major concern with our members,” said Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall. “Our concerns are about the proposed new bridge, the need for it” and the potential that taxpayers could end up on the hook if it can’t pay for itself.
Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, who sponsored the bridge bill, said it was unlikely the views of lawmakers on either side of the issue would shift because Moroun and Detroit International Bridge Co. President Dan Stamper were jailed for contempt. Read more here.
