FLINT – A group of roughly 100 citizens protesting the water crisis and associated conditions in Flint called for Governor Rick Snyder to resign, and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel agreed with them but only under certain conditions.
“If the governor knew the seriousness of these problems and chose not to act, then he should resign,” Greimel said in also calling for the executive branch to effectively reveal itself by being subject to the Freedom of Information Act (which it is currently not subject to).
“We need to know who knew what, when, and we don’t yet know that because the governor and his administration have not disclosed all of the relevant documents,” Greimel said. “We need to ascertain who knew what when.”
Greimel said it is important that everyone work together to solve the problem “but we also need to make sure we have full disclosure and transparency about what occurred here so we can prevent it from happening again,” he said. “And to that end, the governor and his administration need to disclose all relevant documents.”
Meanwhile, a group of protesters from the city made their concerns known outside and inside of the building early Thursday afternoon. Some carried signs calling for the governor to be jailed, and others sought his arrest. The group eventually convened inside the Capitol, surrounding the rotunda and chanting, “hey hey, ho ho, Snyder’s got to go.”
They also attempted to sit in on House session in the gallery, but by the time they had all entered the chamber, the House was adjourning for the day.
Reverend David Bullock, of Detroit, who was leading the chants in the rotunda, said the calls for resignation by residents were about the water in Flint but also about emergency management and “a failed governor.”
“His legacy is emergency managers destroying cities and school districts. He needs to own up to that legacy, do the people of Michigan a favor, and resign,” Bullock said. “We’re holding the entire administration accountable. We’re holding the DEQ accountable. And we are hoping the federal government will side with the people. We want to see not just an administrative investigation but a criminal investigation. How long did the governor know the water was poisonous?
“There is no cure for lead poisoning. How many people are collateral damaged for a new pipeline and a failed emergency management policy? These are the questions that have to be answered,” Bullock said. “This is not incompetence. This is environmental racism.”
Bullock said residents he became involved in the issue when residents started calling him some 14 months ago for help, at which time he and others started taking water to the citizens.
He said he primarily played phone tag with Snyder’s chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, who has been at the center of controversy lately because of an email he sent to state officials in the summer – well before Snyder claims to have had knowledge of the water crisis in Flint.
“I called Dennis Muchmore personally. We played phone tag. That’s how much they cared about people being poisoned in Flint. We went to the governor’s office multiple times – it’s on record – went and met with Dan Wyant,” Bullock said. “They’re playing a game, they’re playing politics, but these are peoples’ lives. They need to stop playing all the tricks and do the right thing.”
This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com
