Flint Photos: Dale and Dan Kildee

Congressional candidate Dan Kildee (left) presents a lifetime achievement award to his uncle, Rep. Dale Kildee, who has represented the Flint area for decades, at the recent Michigan Democratic Convention.

America's Toughest Job?

Brenda Clack and Dayne Walling looking carefree on the campaign trail last June. (Photos by Gordon Young)

When I was writing about the Flint mayor's race last summer for Slate, I was impressed that two rational, well-adjusted candidates — Dayne Walling and Brenda Clack — were fighting so hard for a job that seemed so thankless.

“The winner of this city's Aug. 4 special mayoral election will be expected to solve problems caused by complex global economic forces that he or she is powerless to control, while also mastering the mundane yet vexing task of running a weary city in need of jobs and revenue,” I wrote. “Hey, I got a pothole on my block, and the garbage truck missed my house yesterday. And while you're at it, could you please do something about deindustrialization?”

Less than a year into office, Dayne Walling is discovering that the honeymoon is very short for Flint mayors. He was immediately criticized for two high-profile appointments to his administration. A Flint school board member launched a quixotic recall effort against him. Then he was forced to lay off police and firefighters to help erase a massive budget deficit he inherited after efforts to renegotiate union contracts stalled. The layoffs happened to coincide with a series of fires in abandoned houses and buildings. Arson is suspected, and Walling said the fires had a “perverted political purpose.” Awkwardly, Walling has had to request special police protection at his home after he received anonymous threats. Oh, he also had to reduce garbage pickup, causing residents to fret about rats.

Of course, let’s not forget about Flint’s seemingly never ending unemployment problems and shrinking tax base.

Just to make life interesting, Walling plans to run for re-election in 2011, and he may face a familiar opponent. Former Mayor Don Williamson, who resigned in the face of a recall election, is hinting at a possible return to politics.

Kristen Longley of The Flint Journal reports:

But Williamson said he’s recently received “a couple thousand phone calls — or more” from supporters who say they’d like to see him go for it.

He said he’s recovered from the health issues that prompted his resignation from the mayor’s office, and he feels “in perfect shape.”

“Somebody has to save the city of Flint,” Williamson said. “The people are calling me.”

More than 2,000 calls? Really? That’s about 10 percent of the people who voted in the last mayor's race. Let’s see, Walling was elected in early August, so if the calls of support for Williamson started immediately, that means about 9 calls a day, every day, until now. No wonder the former mayor is in such good shape; he’s spending a lot of time running to the phone.

And Walling is spending all his time trying to run the city. No one said it would be easy.

Kildee for Governor? Not So Fast

Dave Barber's thoughts — via Facebook — on a possible run for governor by Dan Kildee? Not a chance.

"I love the quote, "I feel strongly obligated to think about this." Obligated to "think" about it? I'm obligated to think about breathing. Dan must be laughing his ass off. He's milking this for all it's worth. His stock continues to go UP. He is NOT going to run for gov. That's wayyyyy too much work. Off to DC for Mr. Kildee. Lunch at the Palm, Larry King Live and five star hotels. I hope he's started his book about shrinking cities. Then he can go back to obligatory THINKING."

Kildee for Governor?

The news that Lt. Gov. John Cherry is dropping out of the race to be Michigan's next governor has increased speculation about Dan Kildee entering the race.

Chris Christoff and Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press report:

"Meanwhile, former Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee said he is thinking about the governor's race.

“'Obviously, this is something I’m interested in and very passionate about,' Kildee said. 'I feel strongly obligated to think about this.' 

"Kildee was contemplating a run for governor last year, but said his decision against the run was contingent upon Cherry’s ultimate decision. Now that Cherry is out of the hunt, Kildee may be back in. He just quit his job as treasurer to form a think tank geared toward land use.

“'I’ve gotten a ton of phone calls over the last couple of days,' Kildee said. 'Some of the people who were harder to get a hold of last year are calling me now.'"

Talking Politics at The Torch

Okay, this is what passes for "celebrity journalism" in Flint Expats...

I paid a visit to The Torch last night with my old pal Sparky Sanford. At about 10:30 U.S. Congressman Dale E. Kildee — looking dapper in a dark suit — stopped in for nightcap. I hadn't seen him since I was an ineffectual intern at his Washington office in 1986. Through the haze of smoke in the bar, he shook hands, gave us a brief update on Flint politics, then settled in at a nearby table. After 30 years representing Flint, he still knows how to connect with his constituents or, in this case, two former constituents.

Paul's Pipe Shop lays down the law on smoking in Flint.

The Don is Done

It won't take a recall vote later this month to remove Flint Mayor Don Williamson from office. He just resigned.

The Flint Journal reports:

Mayor Don Williamson announced today that he is "retiring," finally putting to rest weeks of speculation.

In an 11:20 a.m. news conference, Williamson cited health reasons for leaving office. His resignation is effective midnight Sunday. He took no questions from the media, and read from a prepared statement.

"Last month, I celebrated my third sinus infection in 13 months and my eighth kidney stone since Nov. 1. My doctors have told me that I should think about relaxing my schedule and reducing the demands on my time," said Williamson.

Obama (and Ike) visit Flint

Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama was in Flint on Monday talking about the economy and Sarah Palin's fictitious opposition to the "Bridge to Nowhere."

This political event gives me a great excuse to run some more of Mary Fisher's great photos of Flint in the fifties. On October 1, 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the Vehicle City. Ike gave a speech downtown touching on foreign policy, the Korean War, and Democratic partisanship. (I apologize in advance for my inability to figure out how to insert an arrow in the photos to identify Ike. Consider this a presidential version of Where's Waldo?)

You may need to break out the magnifying glass for this, but Ike is on the far left, framed by the second window on the left, wearing a light-colored suit and distinguished by his familiar bald head.

The speaker's podium. No idea if Ike is up there or not.

A man in a dark suit waves to the crowd as if he's the president, but he's not. No idea who he is. (Aren't these informative cutlines?)

Boot the Don

(Click on the flyer for a larger image)

As you can see, there's an effort underway to recall Flint Mayor Don Williamson. In fact, Flint may be catching recall fever.