Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Event: Vote Walling for Flint Mayor Today.

More from Blue Skies Falling here.

Complete coverage from the Flint Journal here.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Event: Last Plug Post for Walling v. Williamson.

So here it is... I found out why the Uncommon Sense has been unavailable lately.

More importantly, here is a page with all Flint Journal coverage of the race. It includes footage of several ads and profiles of the candidates, as well as many months of coverage.

In sum, Walling is a qualified candidate; any inexperience he may have is trumped by the diversity and range of experiences he has had. But most importantly, it is his style leadership that sets him above Don Williamson. Dayne has worked in many capacities in which the viability of government is tied to creative and collective initiative. In fact, one of the best summations of this tactic, one essential to Flint, is the Flint Journal endorsement, published this morning:

Walling would lead Flint to a bright future:

As Flint's mayor, Don Williamson operates as a one-man band. Dayne Walling would conduct an orchestra.

If re-elected Tuesday for four more years, Williamson would continue as he has, leading a fragile island contentiously, accepting help grudgingly. Walling, on the other hand, would build a mountain of opportunity with an army of allies.

If this were the 1950s or 1960s, the more-than-adequate record Williamson has compiled on basic services would merit re-election. Even now, in challenging and changing times, Williamson would receive our endorsement if he were running against someone less promising.

Fortunately, Flint voters aren't faced with this choice. In Walling, they have a candidate with the intelligence, vision, and, most valuable, the personal skills to become a true leader if given a chance.

Flint must provide him this opportunity, for the city's, and indeed the entire region's, prospects in the globally competitive 21st century very likely depend on this outcome.

We don't make this assessment casually. While government performance is always important to a community's success, it never has been more crucial to the Flint area's well-being than now because of our insecure situation.

And Flint's mayor is key. He must be the maestro, the creative team-builder who makes everyone perform better.

The right person in such a role can inspire stunning achievement, as exemplified by former Lansing Mayor David Hollister, who turned a city on a downward track into an object of admiration. Flint needs a mayor of this caliber.

Yet Williamson deserves credit. He's paved hundreds of lane miles of streets, made the city cleaner, replaced scores of city vehicles, and, most importantly, kept the books in the black after a state-ordered city takeover ended eight months into his term.

However, most of the deficit prompting the receivership was eliminated before Williamson took power. Recall, too, how he shamefully clashed with a state-appointed manager responsible for much of the recovery because the mayor wasn't yet in charge.

It's that my-way-or-the-highway attitude, which Williamson has exhibited throughout his term, that makes nearly every progressive step a precarious journey.

Credible organizations and individuals with the best of intentions worry constantly that the mayor might erect a roadblock. In fact, much of the redevelopment downtown and accomplishments in various economic and neighborhood initiatives occurred because talented people maneuvered around the city administration, or had its late participation.

Residents might accept Williamson's wars with the City Council, but there's no excuse for holding up projects because of orneriness or professional mediocrity, which describes a good many of the people the mayor has brought to City Hall, often for political reasons.

Such personnel practices may not get noticed because of Williamson's visibly good job with the city's housekeeping, compared to the past. But he doesn't have the skilled staff for Flint to reel in the partnerships and resources essential for prosperity.

Williamson, 73, isn't good at building coalitions because he doesn't have much faith in people. "Greed, animosity and jealousy" are key human motivations he volunteered to The Journal's Editorial Board.

Walling's outlook is refreshingly different. He believes that the "better angels" in people can be inspired to follow a quality leader with a well-conceived program.

Walling's campaign reflects this philosophy: His idealism and character have attracted a diverse body of supporters impressed by his practical plans for Flint's physical, economic and social renewal -- spearheaded by a high-quality city government.

Equally important, they have to admire his down-to-earth way of dealing with people from all walks of life. Walling, 33, would attract powerful players to Flint's cause, not shove them away. The Rhodes Scholarship he won alone would open doors.

Walling's service with Washington, D.C.'s mayor, his agency experience in Minneapolis and a stint at the nationally acclaimed Genesee County Land Bank provide examples of good governance to follow.

Most of all, though, he would lead Flint in a way with which it is not familiar, but would grow fond of. He would pave a road to a future many doubt possible. Voters on Tuesday should put their faith in Dayne Walling by making him their next mayor.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Event: All Walling / Williamson Posts.

Click on Labels "Flint" below.

From August through November, almost all of the posts on this label will deal with the Mayoral Race in Flint.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Event: Walling Gets a Wild Endorsement. Williamson Gets Schooled.

I know I've pointed out that Williamson has (debatably) taken the most influential endorsements in this race, but I am quite unexpectedly proven wrong.

The Flint Journal: Blistering radio ad targets mayor.

The ad doesn't pull any punches:

A new advertisement airing on several local radio stations says violent crime doubled in Flint under Williamson's watch, calls into question Williamson's values while noting he is a convicted felon, says two men in his administration have been accused of violence against women and says Williamson has been accused of sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

"If we live in one of the most violent cities in America, do you really feel confident knowing that your safety depends on Williamson's judgment?" the ad asks.

...

The advertisement is titled "King Kong" and it ends with the line "King Kong ain't got **** on me," a reference to the movie "Training Day."

The main character, played by Denzel Washington, a corrupt cop, says the line as a show of his power, but the community turns on him, and he is killed shortly thereafter.

---

But the ad itself isn't what extraordinary. It's that the ad is paid for by the Michigan Democratic Party.

[State Party Chairman] Brewer said the party "very much" wants challenger Dayne Walling elected.

"Dayne Walling is a Democrat. Don Williamson is not," he said.

...

"Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words, and by his actions, he's a Republican," Brewer said.

The Michigan branch is one of the most influential in the nation and in a study conducted following the 2004 Presidential Election, Flint voters came in ninth of over 300 cities by percent of votes cast for Kerry. When I said before that the UAW were the most-coveted endorsement that was, of course, because I assumed that the Democratic Party wouldn't be getting involved in an important non-partisan election.

Ultimately, though, it makes sense. Though Don Williamson has occasionally and conditionally professed to be a Democrat, he donated substantially to the Bush campaign and other Republicans, and his pre-political life was filled with unambiguous conservative endorsements and moments of union-bashing. Perhaps even more to the point, the Democratic Party recognizes a hazard to their viability in Williamson's ability to cripple dozens official municipal positions (all held by Democrats) serving one of their most reliable constituencies.

Let's be honest: the ad is nasty. One could lament that, or make the realpolitik observation that at least this means that weapons are drawn without Wallings having to slop around in the blood himself. Voting fairly reliably Democratic myself, however, I'm just glad to see the party flexing some muscle where a, underfunded fledgling candidate deserves and benefits from it. It's certainly a high stakes move for Michigan Democrats and drives the ball pretty hard into Williamson's court.

A tiny caveat: This could backfire. I'm just superstitious enough not to say how right now. But when the election has "cleared the air," I will. For the moment, though, I'm optimistic.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Event: More Walling vs. Williamson.

This week's coverage of Dayne Walling vs. Don Williamson, courtesy of The Flint Journal:

Economy key part in race. Mostly interviews pared down to single-sentences, but if you read through to the end, the last paragraph-worth is devastating.

Q&A: Walling on Flint's economy and Q&A: Williamson on Flint's economy. These could have the most important and galvanizing moments of the campaign, since they deal with what is arguably Flint's most pressing issue. Unfortunately, because the questions are so generic and the responses so trunchated, nothing of substance is really said. Walling and Williamson have never sounded so similar as they do here.

Current, past City Council members back Walling. The full list is: Jim Ananich, Sheldon Neeley, Jackie Poplar, Carolyn Sims (from the current City Council); Ralph Arellano, Johnnie Coleman, Verdell Duncan, Josh Freeman, Mark Horrigan, Jack D. Minore, Lawrence B. Murphy, Matt Schlinker, Ed Taylor and Barry Williams (the former City Council). I have, and you probably do too, mixed feelings about many in this crowd. It is still a preponderant number, including more than a couple former Williamson supporters. In his campaign's rebuttal, Joe Conroy said "it's ironic that the mayor drove these people out of City Hall, because they were giving contracts away to their friends and overspending." The quote is a nice textbook definition of the pot calling the kettle black.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Event: Don Williamson is Acting Like a Banana Republic Dictator... Once Again.

Just a few weeks to go until the election, and it looks like Walling has taken more endorsements, while Williamson has perhaps taken more influential endorsements.

---

As usual, though, Williamson is his own worst enemy. I don't know, for example, whether Sheldon Neeley's insisting on an apology in exchange for a lawsuit is really anything other than typical cloak-and-dagger Flint politics. Sheldon has always strongly opposed Wiliamson and, intentional or not, it is problematic to include him in campaign literature. Williamson ought to apologize. While the lawsuit has no legal basis, the threat was sufficient to get Neeley's complaint coverage in the Flint Journal. Again, Flint politics.

THIS, on the other hand, is much more serious. You should read the whole article, but in a nutshell Williamson paid an unspecified amount (the Walling campaign estimates $10,000) to send a statement by mail (with official city letterhead) to all Flint residents. The letter attempts to refute the Walling campaign's arguments on Williamson's budget, although this is more of a deliberate distortion than a rebuttal.

There are several valid grounds for complaint here.

Two are more or less incidental: First, why isn't the amount spent known (a problem that doesn't say much for the city's bookkeeping ability under Williamson's watch), and couldn't that money have been better spent elsewhere? Second, the letters don't address Walling's claims, and in fact, mischaracterize them. Walling has alleged that Williamson has allowed federal grants to expire, a fact that nobody has contested. The city's budget surplus, confirmed in the letter at $6.4 million, is also uncontested. It avoids an issue that Williamson cannot refute by attaching a complaint to Walling that his campaign has never made. So we have valid complaints that public money was poorly spent, and that it was actually wasted in that the letter did not resolve any outstanding issue.

A third complaint, however, is far from incidental. That is that Williamson is essentially laundering taxpayers' money in order to promote his campaign. Worse, by having Flint pay for his statement and using the city's letterhead, Williamson creates the appearance that the city itself, the very municipal structure he is contained within and theoretically beholden to, endorses his mayorality. This is illegal and despicable. It is not only a blatant act of political manipulation that would make a Chicago alderman blush, but it's a weird shadow of the one-party states and single-candidate ballots of the worst governments in the world: Belorussia, Iran, China, North Korea, oh, and if memory serves me, Burma.

This is not the first time Mr. Williamson has behaved in this way... in his first year as mayor he used the city seal in an ad for his wife's car dealership, and during her run for the state legislature, a park in the East Village was remarkably reconstructed days before she hosted a fundraising event there. Yet this present violation is more serious than these embarassing episodes of the past. By mobilizing the municipal government on behalf of his own campaign, Williamson seeks to illegally manipulate the election's outcome in his favor.

Lesson to be learned? Never trust a mayor who signs away on his own paycheck.

What to do in the meantime? Take it to court. Any Flint resident ought to be able to file suit, with consultation. This is a serious matter, and it should result in criminal charges.

---

On a last note, Andy Heller has been writing a streak of great columns lately. Check them out.

In All quiet on Flint mayoral election front, he actually quotes me from a comment I left on his blog, and I'm flattered, but that's not why I'm giving him props today. How could I say no to an idea like this?:

It's only a few weeks until the mayoral election. Flint, do you know where your Don is? Honest to gosh, where's he been? I see his campaign signs everywhere, so I know he's out there, but other than that, you'd hardly know an election was nigh. This last month is supposed to be the silly season. Where's the Don's customary announcement of some bizarro project that will turn Flint around -- like, say, turning Genesee Towers into the world's biggest haunted house or making the former Forest Park into a hunting preserve?

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Event: Flint mayoral race update, 10/9/07.

From the Flint Journal:
Complete Coverage.
Recent posts: Share your thoughts, Top Pastors Endorse Williamson, Walling, Williamson to speak at Rotary, City of Flint lowers suplus estimate, Time is running out to register to vote, Chamber PAC to host candidates, Prized UAW endorsement goes to no one, Firefighters union backs Williamson, Mayor says city has jail money, Former Stanley aide heads Walling's north-end HQ, Court of public opinion: Lawsuit costs become election issue.

Also updates to the anti-Williamson blog Williamson Watch.

Meanwhile, the Uncommon Sense hasn't been updated since June. What gives? Their fortè is depth in political coverage that outer outlets cannot or will not provide. We need you, Uncommon Sense.

---

If you look at the headlines above, you might gather that this has been a bad week for Walling. The pastors' endorsement stings hard, and they have been some of the most decisive factors in recent elections. If anything, however, it points to what a close election this is likely to be. Without the UAW endorsement (which would count for much more than the AFL-CIO position), there's a vacuum in the race. There is a chance, of course, that influential individuals in the UAW will endorse a candidate (several already have, on both sides), but logistically speaking, it's hard to make any predictions. Walling's cooperation with former-mayor's Stanley's administration may help to offset the pastors' endorsement in the African American community. And that, itself, may damage Walling's standing in the white community, since there was nothing they ever came together on as strongly as opposition to Stanley. Aren't the messy memories of racial politics just lovely?

One interesting effect, incidently, is that this election could be less even along racial lines than any other in recent history. It may even polarize more by age and occupation than by race. We'll see.

The upshot, of course, is that if you can vote, you need to. This looks like it's going to be a very close race.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, politics

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Event: Walling / Williamson Crunch Time is Here.

Well, how disappointing.

In a move that may have been decisive, the AFL-CIO has formally endorsed Don Williamson. The Flint Journal article mentions allegations of bias; that the endorsement was very conveniently timed, given the renewal of key contracts. I don't know enough about the scene today to comment on the likelihood of that, but it's not necessary. It may be that ALF-CIO endorsed Williamson because he has set up a modest record of progress of painting over graffiti and repaving roads.

That's why this the endorsement so disappointing. "Modest progress" is insufficient for Flint's needs. Have the graffiti efforts made a real tangible effort in the quality of life? I doubt it. It could be fairly argued that violent crime has increased dramatically during the Williamson administration. Graffiti removal is a firstoff a matter of beautification, not crime control. I live in Brooklyn now, where every sidewalk, wall, and subway post is covered in graffiti, but the crime rate doesn't hold a candle to Flint's. While it's erroneous to think that graffiti is not related to the gang culture that thrives in Flint, it is certainly fair to say that graffiti cleanup has taken on an importance disproportionate to its actual benefits.

The road paving is another achievement that the Williamson administration loves to credit itself with. But it's quickly forgotten that most of that repaving happened through the use of state funds, and Williamson, given his constant feuds with the city council, local unions, and media outlets, can't possibly claim to have brought this home through any sort of diplomacy or negotiation.

Even if he somehow could assume credit for infrastructural improvments, does that really offset the $16 million in federal support Flint has lost under his watch? Remember that a few years ago, a debt of double that amount was sufficient to place Flint into state receivership and make local elections irrelevant. It also breaks down to $4 million a year, which is more than twice as expensive as maintaining an empty and derelict AutoWorld. Again, these are all funds that would have been earmarked for public housing, the schools, and public programs.

So I ask you, ALF-CIO members. Does this endorsement really make much sense?

Here's Winston Smith's manifesto on Williamson's record.

Here are my thoughts on Dayne Walling.

Here is Dayne Walling's website.

Labels: elections, EVENT, Flint, Michigan, politics

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Event: I give up.

Part 4:

The Flint Journal: A beheaded Snow White latest statue to find its way back to Flint Twp. home.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, media

Monday, September 17, 2007

Event: No Dwarves, No Cars, No What, Whatever (what ever).

Thank God the Flint Journal has continued it's 24-7 coverage of the Dwarf Decapitation Crisis. This is their third article on the subject in the last week.

Meanwhile, while the Journal gives the ongoing GM/UAW contracts the requisite nod, at least the New York Times is able to do the Journal's job for them.

Seriously, what does it say about a community's daily when local issues of crushing economic importance are better covered by a newspaper 600 miles away?

Labels: economics, EVENT, Flint, labor

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Event: Stop the Presses! Pocket Lint Found in Pocket!

The Flint Journal continues to follow important stories in the lives 450,000 souls. This week, they're following a veritable Ring Cycle involving the theft of some ceramic dwarves from Sue Austin's front yard. Gee, I can hardly wait to find out what happens tomorrow.

---

Dear Flint Journal,

How can we take you seriously when you treat yourself like a joke?

---

This at least, is somewhat better.

Labels: EVENT, Flint

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Event: It will be Dayne Walling against Don Williamson.

Some big news here. The Flint Journal writes of yesterday's primary: Williamson vs. Walling: Newcomer shows mayor is vulnerable.

With 12% of the population voting, incumbent Don Williamson took the plurality. However two thirds of the votes were divided among his six challengers. As some predicted, Dayne Walling handily walked off with the challenger's spot, taking 23% of the vote.

In fact, after the decisive tally was completed, mayoral candidate Norm Bryant drove to Walling's HQ at Luigi's Restaurant to formally endorse him. Even if Bryant's votes went to Walling, and all of the other challengers' votes went to Williamson (an unlikely situation, since it was pretty much a pile-on upon the sitting mayor), the challenger would win in a general election of the same distribution.

The wild cards, of course, are in whether the greater turnout of a general election would affect this distribution, and whether Williamson's better funding will make a critical difference.

---

I'm planning to use this blog to support the Walling campaign, though strictly in an independent capacity. Williamson hasn't been completely ineffective as a mayor, but he's cost the city millions of dollars in expired federal grants. He has been able to paint over graffiti and pave the roads. Still, given the lack of more substantial progress due to his perpetual stalemate with the city council as well as state and federal agencies, he has not earned a second term. On top of this, his autocratic style and high-flown pronouncements are particularly damaging to a city struggling towards innovative solutions and expediencies. These are remedies that can only come about in the context of a vigorous, open dialogue and with the cooperation and oversight of many levels of government.

Dayne Walling may not have the grit between his teeth we expect from a "typical Flint mayor". Maybe we somehow associate GM layoffs with his equally young and well-coiffed predecessor, Matthew Collier. Maybe he seems too new to the scene. Maybe there is something to the suspicion that navigating Americorps is not the same as surviving a political scene so bloodied and angry that it makes Chicago seem tame.

And yet, Walling's background is not of incidental importance. If there is one strand we can draw between his Americorps work and the photos with President Clinton, his association with D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and his writing for The Uncommon Sense, it is an impulse toward public service and an understanding of political realities. As I've been saying for years, this is, in fact, precisely the combination Flint needs in any effective mayor. It is a combination from which Flint has not recently benefitted, with the possible exception of the sadly trunchated term of Interim Mayor Darnell Earley in 2002.

So I'm officially putting my support behind the Dayne Walling candidacy.

I support it emphatically.

---

It's worth mentioning from time to time, but I don't live in Flint anymore. I love my hometown, and follow the news there weekly. If I think I have something worthwhile to say about local politics, it's my right and privilege to say it. I won't apologize about posting, even if I end up posting from Pitcairn Island. However, I've gotten comments from Flint residents from time to time, and I always hope to receive more. I ask and encourage Flint locals to either comment on these posts, of if you'd like to approach me about posting something you wrote yourself, I can be contacted here.

Labels: economics, EVENT, Flint, Michigan, poverty

Monday, August 06, 2007

Event: Flint's many possible mayors.

Evidently people were too belligerent to even have a debate. Which is a shame. This is an important election.

Tomorrow, Flint will select the two mayoral candidates who will face off in November. I'm calling Walling and Williamson.

Anyway, if you live in Flint, you should vote.

Labels: EVENT, Flint

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Event: :(

New York Times: Detroit is Outsold by Imports in U.S..

Labels: Detroit, economics, EVENT, Flint, Michigan

Event: Get the Balance Right.

by Depeche Mode:

There's more besides joyrides,
Bumblebee from Transformers.

a little house in the countryside.
Daily Kos: Wishing for Good, Accepting the Truth.

Understand, learn to demand,
Daily Freeman: Hinchey calls for Bush, Cheney to be Censured.

compromise, sometimes lie.
Daily Kos: Signed, Sealed, & Delivered.

 

Get the balance right.
New York Times: Violence Rages in Iraq as Sunni Bloc Leaves Cabinet.

 

Be responsible, respectable,
The Detroit Free Press: Detroit named No. 1 sports city.

Stable but gullible
The Economist: Kazakhstan turns the screw.

Concerned and caring, help the helpless
The Flint Journal: Resource Center's Sybyl Atwood dies at 72.

But always remain ultimately selfish
Andrew Heller: And so goeth the story all over again.

 

Get the balance right.
MSNBC: Mr. Mayor vs. Mr. Moore.

 

You think you've got a hold of it all.
The Detroit Free Press: GM sales down, but improves on retail side.

You haven't got a hold at all.
Daily Kos: Just Like Kansas.

When you reach the top, get ready to drop.
Pollster.com: Bush Approval from 1/1/2005 through 07/18/2007.

Prepare yourself for the fall.
The Onion: There's No Such Thing as Bad Publicity.

You're gonna fall
New York Times: Stocks Are Flat After Sell-Offs in Asia and Europe.

It's almost predictable.
Project Censored Media: The Media Can Legally Lie.

 

Don't take this way. Don't take that way.
Emperor Valens' legacy.

Straight down the middle until next Thursday.
The Democratic Party.

Push to the left, back to the right.
Daily Kos: Media Narrative: The Mainstream Is Now "The Left".

Twist and turn til you've got it right.
The Economist: China's Chicago.

 

Get the balance right
Lollapalooza.

Every week is epic.

Labels: civil liberties, Detroit, diplomacy, EVENT, Flint, health care, politics, war

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Event: Flint crime rate improves, but why?

The Flint Police Department is making much out of the decrease in crime so far this year, extrapolating on wide reaching economic and cultural differences to account for the change:

Increased patrols, the reopening of the city jail this year and increased partnerships with other police agencies have all contributed to Flint's improved numbers, Hagler said.

While these are all promising developments, Flint is not large enough to cancel out the margin of error due to such adjustments. I suspect that the circumstances are more local than Police Chief Hagler suggests. Last year's murder spike, for example, was largely related to a rap feud that involved four or five homicides in a two month period. The crime rate isn't usually that bad. This year's decrease is just as likely to be determined by policy externalities. Certainly the economoic solvency of the city and funding of municipal services (like the police department) haven't changed so dramatically as to account for the extent of improvement.

I'm not critical of the policy adjustments that the administration has made for 2007, but I think that the resulting rhetoric is DIY to a reckless extreme. Flint's best-case scenario crime rate is abominable compared to rest of the country. As such, we should concentrate ongoing pressure to alleviate the economic conditions that prompt violent crime in the first place. That is, in the long run, the only solution to Flint's crime woes.

Labels: crime, EVENT, Flint

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Event: News(?) from Flint.

Nice to know that the Flint Journal's on top of pressing matters in Flushing, Michigan.

On the other hand, Andy Heller is taking a break from Moon Dimple to post about some all-too-real features of Mayor Don's record.

All this understandably makes me very excited about my visit this August. I'm tired of this crap.

Labels: EVENT, Flint, Flushing

Monday, July 16, 2007

Event: Mayor George W. Williamson.

Flint Journal columnist Andrew Heller has made a series of astute comparisons between our Commander-in-Chief and the Mayor of Flint. Talk about a double negative.

Labels: Bush, city council, Flint, mayor, Michigan, Williamson