Nolan Finley

The Detroit News

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is learning a tough lesson about the political spotlight — it switches off quickly once you no longer serve its purpose.

The mayor came into office in January solely focused on solving her city’s water contamination crisis. She worked closely at first with Gov. Rick Snyder and stayed away from the partisan gamesmanship.

But then the presidential primary campaign came to Michigan and Weaver was co-opted by Hillary Clinton’s camp. She was a hot commodity for a while, feted by Clinton and making joint appearances with her. Weaver played nicely into Clinton’s attempt to cast herself as Flint’s savior.

Clinton even cut a national commercial that claimed once she found out what was going on in Flint and gave Washington the what-for, federal funds began flowing to the city.

And then the campaign moved on. With New York and other states on her mind, Clinton forgot about Flint and Weaver.

The mayor is fretting the fading of the intense national attention the city received in February and March will hurt Flint’s chances of capturing those federal funds Clinton boasted of delivering but that still haven’t arrived.

Now she’s back where she started, with Snyder as Flint’s best hope. The mayor and governor did a joint appearance last Friday decrying the slowness of the federal response.

Weaver does have one more shot. Clinton is coming to Detroit in May to headline the NAACP’s Freedom Fund dinner. She’ll need a talking point, and she may find it useful to dust off Flint and Weaver for the night.

Nolan Finley’s “Little Red Hen: A Collection of Columns from Detroit’s Conservative Voice,” is available from Amazon, iBooks and Barnes & Noble Nook.

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