Flint water crisis to remain an issue through the 2018 governor's election

LANSING — The poisoning of Flint's drinking water will leave a stain on the legacy of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

And whoever replaces Snyder will have to confront the aftermath of the public health disaster — and how he or she proposes to deal with it — during the 2018 campaign, where most candidates from both major parties say they expect it will be a significant issue.

On Saturday, Democratic candidates for governor will participate in a forum in Flint on the water crisis sponsored by the Michigan People's Campaign and other Democratic organizations.

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"No place better reflects the challenges that Michigan faces more than the city of Flint," said Erik Shelley, a spokesman for the forum organizers.

Many Republican candidates are also highlighting the lead contamination of Flint's water as they talk to voters, though in some cases they sound different notes on how much emphasis it should get.

"The Democrats have invested a lot of time and money in making it an even bigger issue than it is," said Sen. Patrick Colbeck of Canton, a Republican candidate for governor who feels parts of the Flint story have been overblown.

The Flint crisis, which began in 2014 when the city switched its water supply while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, also promises to figure prominently in the campaigns of candidates who have not joined the race, but are expected to do so.

Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, has brought criminal charges against 15 current or former state and city officials, through his ongoing criminal investigation. He has been accused both of overreaching and grandstanding on Flint to advance his political ambitions and of failing to go far enough to charge those at the top levels of state government, including Snyder.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, another Republican expected to run for governor in 2018, could face difficulties with respect to Flint because of his close ties with Snyder, on whose watch the catastrophe happened. On the other hand, Calley took a lead role in the administration's efforts to remedy problems for Flint residents and businesses.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, a Democrat who is signalling he is interested in a second run for governor, has filed a $100-million lawsuit over Legionnaires' disease cases that could be linked to the water switch and has said state officials thought they could get away with poisoning Flint "because those poisoned were poor and primarily black."

Generally, candidates from both parties say they are most focused on addressing health problems and other issues in Flint related to the lead poisoning, replacing lead pipes, and making sure a crisis like the one in Flint never happens again. Not surprisingly, Democratic candidates are more critical of the Snyder administration and its response to the crisis than Republican candidates are.

Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer of East Lansing, an attorney and former Senate minority leader, said Flint illustrates a lack of state government accountability that goes far beyond the water crisis.

"During the Flint water crisis, our state's top leaders were not just silent, they actively hid the truth from the public," Whitmer said. "Three years later, the state is foreclosing on the homes of people who refused to pay for poisoned water, when many still can’t drink (it)."

Democratic candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the former director of the Detroit health department, said what happened in Flint "is the most outstanding demonstration of the failure of this system of government by spreadsheet" under Snyder.

The state must make sure Flint residents have access to needed health care, healthy food, safe water pipes and jobs, El-Sayed said. And the state needs to increase its spending on public health beyond Flint, he said.

Snyder has apologized for what happened in Flint and described the crisis as a failure at the federal, state and local government levels. He has denied that he believes state government can be run like a business.

Democratic candidate Shri Thanedar, an Ann Arbor businessman, said the state's overall response to Flint was too slow and the lead pipe replacement specifically is taking too long.

"Cost-cutting is jumping over other people's needs," Thanedar said. "It shows a lack of compassion and a lack of heart."

Republican candidate Jim Hines, a Saginaw physician who has praised Snyder for acknowledging mistakes with respect to Flint and working to correct them, said the crisis represented a failure to take responsibility at all levels of government.

"That is why we need an outsider who knows how to get things done and does not care about political credit," Hines said.

Colbeck said lead pipe replacement should be dealt with on a statewide basis after identifying what communities have the highest concentration of them. Flint should not be singled out for funding alone, he said.

But Democratic candidate Bill Cobbs, a retired Xerox executive from Farmington Hills, disagreed. Flint should be "a paramount issue" in the gubernatorial campaign because of the length of time the people there have suffered, he said.

The state has hundreds of millions of dollars in its Rainy Day Fund but has not used that money to help Flint, Cobbs said. "It makes me really wonder, what are we using that fund for?"

Democrat Kentiel White, a health care worker from Southgate, said the state "decided to save a dollar and cost multiple lives" — a reference to a dozen Flint-area deaths from Legionnaires' disease that have not been definitively linked to the water switch.

"Everyone who had a hand in that situation should have been charged," White said.

Republican Joseph DeRose, a Williamston insurance agent, said the Flint crisis represents a failure of leadership, particularly at the local level.

DeRose said he was not aware that Flint was under state receivership when the lead contamination happened, and "the people at the local level were the ones responsible."

Republican Evan Space of Lansing, who owns a window washing company, said Flint will continue to be an issue until all problems resulting from the water switch and lead contamination are fully resolved.

"Flint won't be able to recover just by a quick fix," he said.

Democrat Justin Giroux, a Wayland restaurant worker, said the major issue is making sure a disaster such as Flint never happens in Michigan again.

"There were signs and symptoms that people had suppressed," Giroux said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.