While I agree basically with Grandholm here there is a whole lot of pandering
going on here in Flint. And note the fact she has abandoned Michigan since her
days as Governor were done. Also let us note the first Emergency Managers in
Flint were place there by Grandholm.
Now, I'm far from a Grandholm basher, but she is a Cadillac liberal and always
has been so.
Moreover, going to Calley. It was he who stood idly by when the civil rights of
PWD were violated at our own ADA celebration. See no evil and hear no evil.
Meanwhile back at the ranch while all eyes our on Flint and this County elites
are speaking for us while folks like me and hundreds of thousands of residents
can't even get in to the national debate tonight; and many of us can't even get
to it.
Ok, a rant here.
But, I sure do agree that folks like Snyder should actually hunker down here.
Joe
Granholm: Snyder should move to Flint
Chad Livengood,
Detroit News Lansing Bureau 7:48 a.m. EST March 6, 2016
Government Leaders Attend Clean Energy Summit In Vegas
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm told The Detroit News, “I think who’s
ever going to fix this problem should move to Flint and live in one of those
houses so that they can understand the urgency with which the citizens of Flint
are operating, that they feel it so deeply because every single day they
have to deal with water that has been poisoned.”(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty
Images file photo)
Gov. Rick Snyder should buy a Flint home with water service from a lead
pipeline and take up residency in the city until all of Flint’s lead-leaching
pipes
are replaced, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Saturday.
“I think who’s ever going to fix this problem should move to Flint and live in
one of those houses so that they can understand the urgency with which the
citizens of Flint are operating, that they feel it so deeply because every
single day they have to deal with water that has been poisoned,” Granholm said
in a telephone interview with The Detroit News.
Granholm, a Democrat who was governor from 2003 to 2011, said she doesn’t think
her successor should resign at this point over the Flint water crisis.
Snyder has resisted calls from Democrats to resign. But if Snyder were to leave
office before his term ends in January 2019, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley would
automatically become governor.
“I think he has the motivation to fix it,” Granholm said of Snyder. “... I
don’t know if he resigns that Brian Calley is in a better position to get things
done than he is.”
Last week, House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, became the
highest-ranking Democratic politician in Michigan to
call for Snyder to resign
over the Flint water crisis, citing a lack of “accountability and transparency”
by the governor.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders renewed his call for Snyder to
step down on Saturday night during a campaign rally at Macomb Community
College in Warren. “I think the governor should do the right thing and resign,”
Sanders told supporters.
Granholm now lives in California, where she is a law professor at the
University of California Berkeley. She said she’s been following the Flint
water crisis
from afar.
On Sunday, Granholm will be in Flint to do television commentary on the
Democratic presidential debate at The Whiting Auditorium.
Granholm was critical of the Snyder administration’s slow pace to take action
on removing up to
8,000 lead service lines
on private property in Flint.
“I would want to see pedal to the metal, hair on fire action in Flint. And I
think (Snyder), right now, can do that,” Granholm told The News. “But if not,
then I think somebody should come in who can look at … as the emergency that it
is and move heaven and earth to get those pipes replaced.”
The City of Flint began a
limited lead pipe removal
project last week, while Mayor Karen Weaver continues to lobby Snyder and the
Legislature to dedicate $55 million in state tax dollars to replace the
pipelines
damaged by corrosive Flint River water that caused lead to leach into the water
supply.
The Snyder administration has hired Rowe Professional Services to locate
Flint’s lead lines and do a preliminary sample replacement of 30 lead service
lines.
Weaver has complained about the pace of the lead pipe replacement, but Snyder
said
she approved the plan.
Since Snyder declared a state of emergency in Flint on Jan. 5, Calley has been
in Flint on an almost daily basis, coordinating the administration’s community
response to the water crisis.
On Friday, Calley said he was doing door-to-door canvassing in Flint as part of
an effort to identify homes with lead service lines so that environmental
officials can test and monitor the tap water for lead contamination.
“I think it’s great that he’s doing that. I think it’s really important to have
that presence there,” Granholm said of Calley’s efforts. “But … the lead
pipes have got to be pulled out, no doubt about it.”
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