Flint Expatriates: Flint mayor emerges as comic genius

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Flint mayor emerges as comic genius

You have to admit that Don Williamson can be pretty entertaining. If only he were an oddball character on a sitcom, or a colorfully corrupt small-town mayor on The Sopranos or something. Sadly, he's in charge of a city that desperately needs competent leadership.

Flint has made the national news recently for all the wrong reasons. First there was the baggy pants "crack down." Then there was the adopt-a-surveillance camera debacle. You may be asking yourself what Williamson can do next to maintain his lofty status as Clown Prince of American Mayors?

Well, how about if the leader of a city with the worst economy in the nation issues a press release offering advice on how to eliminate high gas prices and save the entire the U.S. economy?

"Mayor Don Williamson today urged Gov. Jennifer Granholm to 'declare a state emergency' and eliminate state gasoline taxes," reports Joe Lawlor of The Flint Journal.
"Williamson, in a news release, also said the federal government should eliminate federal gasoline taxes, drill for oil in Alaska and offshore and create more oil refineries. Williamson said he believes gas prices will be reduced to $2.75 per gallon if those measure are taken, and the economy will improve."

Apparently, the mayor is unaware of just how much state and federal money from these gas taxes flows into Flint. Or that a chorus of economists has already determined that these measures wouldn't do much to lower prices and would probably hurt the economy in the long run.

But hey, given President Bush's track record, Williamson just might find a sympathetic ear in the White House.

3 comments:

AnonymousJuly 30, 2008 at 4:01 PM
And to think, he's a Democrat!
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redgirlJuly 31, 2008 at 4:23 AM
I wonder if Don the Con has ever given an inkling of thought to the relations between the US and Saudi Arabia and just how every cent of that money gets recycled every single time there's a price hike. Naaaahhhh. Silly me - what was I thinking?

As for corruption and idiocy - it's obviously not bound to party lines.
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Dave McDonaldAugust 1, 2008 at 4:59 AM
According to the Flint Urinal, King Don is now demanding an audience with President Bush because he has the solution to get gas back down to $2.75.

To paraphrase the article the reporter asked if he really thought that the President would meet with him, King Don's response was "I am more than just somebody"
well said King Don.
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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.

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