Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Suddenly, The Don is Lovable

According to The Flint Journal, Don Williamson has suddenly transformed himself from an incompetent mayor with a penchant for trampling civil liberties and getting the city embroiled in money losing lawsuits into a lovable curmudgeon. Who knew The Don was more of an iconoclast than an idiot?

The
puff piece begins:
Say goodbye to the combative, in-your-face, gruff mayor of Flint.

Don Williamson is leaving office and it's unlikely Flint will ever see another mayor like him.

He's abrupt.

He's controversial.

And he does things his way. During the past five years, Williamson has boasted a style that has brought strong opinions from the public. Simply put, people either love him or hate him.

There's no in between.

"He doesn't do the anticipated," said Joe Wilson, former Genesee County sheriff and Williamson's longtime friend. "There's nothing traditional with him including his background, education and associations. He's not the type to tell you what you want to hear and then talk behind your back. At least he tells you to your face."
Wow, I had the guy all wrong. He's a straight shooter. A maverick. You might even call him The Decider. Gosh, maybe we can convince him to come back and be mayor again.



8 comments:

  1. I will stick with referring to him as a criminal. Maybe now that he has some spare time on his hands, he can go back and get his GED.

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  2. yeah, lovable...kinda like 'dolph and joe stalin were lovable. I'm not writing the donster off yet. he's kinda like herpes...the gift that keeps on giving. While Heller was trying to be sarcastic, I think he fell a wee bit short.

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  3. Please GOD NO !!! He has bigger fish to fry now. He can relax and plan his run for GOV !! eeek...

    And LOL @ Flint Skinny, you got that right! I am still trying to figure out how an convicted felon can run for any political office.

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  4. For years I thought convicted felons were not allowed to run for office. I could swear I actually learned that in a political science course at one time. Then the Don came along. Is there really nothing on the books about that? Or is there some sort of statute of limitations?

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  5. As long as a convicted felon has the ability to vote, they can run for office.

    In Michigan, your right to run for office requires that you be eligible to vote.

    I am sure some mob ties does not hurt your chances to get elected either.

    When I listen to Pink Floyd's Animals, the song Pig comes to mind when I think of Williamson. I remember him when he was a 300 pounder smoking cigars and falling asleep at Bosleys back in the 80s.

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  6. So that's how it works with felons. Thanks for clearing that up, Paul. Bosley's - wasn't that over on Beecher Road in that plaza near Calkin's, or is my memory failing me?

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  7. Being "in your face" works great if it's attached to genius, like Rahm Emmanuel.

    In Williamson's case, his "tell it like it is" persona was a mask for almost total incompetence.

    I'll sum up the whole thing with:

    “The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.” - Art Spander

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  8. Bosley's was in Flushing on Pierson Road next to Colonial Lanes. It's still there, just something else now.

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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.