Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Hires Spin Doctors for Flint Health Crisis

Mayor Karen Weaver’s figure appears to reflect an analysis included in a Q&A published by the city’s Water Advisory Committee last March, before the city knew it had a lead problem.

Flint residents have recently filed two class action lawsuits calling for all water bills since April of 2014 to be considered null and void because of the fact that the water was poisonous.

The 57-year-old governor said that he won’t step down from his position and that he is working on solutions to fix Flint’s water system.

‘Gov. Snyder is committed to helping the people of Flint, protecting their health and safety and correcting the problems with the water, ‘ Dave Murray, press secretary for the governor, said in statement to MLive.com.

So, he explained, “we’re not able to avoid the subject”.

The suspensions came one day after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said a top regional official would resign because of the crisis. In March 2015, city and state officials told the New York Times that Flint water was perfectly safe.

Some have faulted the EPA’s Region 5 office for not acting more forcefully even though much of the blame over the crisis has been directed at Snyder and state officials, particularly the Department of Environmental Quality.

Sanders hasn’t been the only person in the public spotlight to call on the MI governor to resign.

He did not release the emails of his staff, drawing criticism from Democrats and open-government advocates. A third of the people infected used Flint water, which had high levels of lead. “An elected official, if you have a problem in your district, people are coming up and complaining and talking to you, (so) you take care of that issue”, Scott said. Locals drive up in a steady stream to pick up cases of water and filters, and National Guard members help carry the water out to residents’ cars, while others canvass neighborhoods and deliver water to the elderly and disabled.

The two unidentified Department of Environmental Quality managers are suspended without pay.

The task force chairman, Ken Sikkema, said in a separate message that the finding was “critical and urgent” and could not be delayed until the group completed its report.

Gov. Rick Snyder announced the actions Friday.

As the Times points out, decisions related to the environment involve political power, so that often, for example, unwanted garbage incinerators are built in Black neighborhoods where people lack the influence to stop them. The federal government denied a request for more aid through a disaster declaration, saying the program is designed for natural disasters and not appropriate for the city’s drinking water crisis. Snyder had estimated a need for up to $95 million over a year.

Mike Ahrens holds a sign during a rally about Flint’s water crisis January 18, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The city’s 100,000 residents, including its 9,000 children, were placed at risk. The population is almost 60 percent black. The corrosive water running through Flint’s aging lead pipes caused the metal to leach into the city’s tap water.

“I recognize, and we recognize, that we have a lot of work we have to do, I believe this is a step forward and I appreciate it”, Weaver told the board via a conference call.

“I don’t think anybody knows how long it will take or the amount of corrosion built up in the pipes”, longtime city Councilman Scott Kincaid said.

Don’t expect Cher to donate much to Michigan Governor Governor Rick Snyder’s re-election campaign.