By Ron Fonger
A Flint city councilman (cilck here) says other Black council members who have challenged him are “handkerchief-head Negros,” “Uncle Toms” and “Sambos.”
1st Ward Councilman Eric Mays unleashed the barrage of racial slurs before he was removed from a council meeting on Monday, Jan. 23, the most recent discord among council members who have struggled to do the city’s business partly because of internal bickering and name-calling....
By Ronnie Dahl
A Genesee County man (click here) says he's innocent of the charges brought against him in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots in Washington, D.C.
Isaac Thomas appeared in U.S. District Court in downtown Flint on Thursday. He anticipated being charged with a misdemeanor but was surprised when a judge read charges against him, which included several felony charges.
"I was being told I was being charged with one count of second-degree misdemeanor for trespassing. I get in there today, they hand me this paper that says you are a felon," Thomas said after Thursday's hearing.
- According to federal court documents, Thomas is facing 10 charges. They include:
- Entering or remaining in a restricted building.
- Disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
- Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
- Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. and other charges....
A Genesee County man (click here) says he's innocent of the charges brought against him in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots in Washington, D.C.
Isaac Thomas appeared in U.S. District Court in downtown Flint on Thursday. He anticipated being charged with a misdemeanor but was surprised when a judge read charges against him, which included several felony charges.
"I was being told I was being charged with one count of second-degree misdemeanor for trespassing. I get in there today, they hand me this paper that says you are a felon," Thomas said after Thursday's hearing.
- According to federal court documents, Thomas is facing 10 charges. They include:
- Entering or remaining in a restricted building.
- Disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
- Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
- Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. and other charges....
A woman who was a public official in a Michigan community (click here) admitted Wednesday that she broke a seal on a ballot box to ensure that votes could not be recounted in her 2020 race, prosecutors said.
Kathy Funk, 59, pleaded no contest to misconduct in office, a felony, under an agreement that includes no time in jail.
Funk, a Democrat, was the Flint Township clerk in 2020 with responsibility over elections. She was accused of sabotaging a ballot box after the August primary that year, an act that would make those ballots ineligible for a recount.
Funk had won the race by just 79 votes out of about 5,300. A recount was not conducted.
Election officials who “undermine the very foundation of our democracy and will be held accountable,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Funk quit her township post in 2021 for a bigger job as elections supervisor for Genesee County. She was dismissed last year....
In addition to all this mess is the fact there is still a challenge to the idea a one man grand jury is highly unethical as well as immoral and corrupt.
The Michigan AG will try to hold onto these charges regardless of the idiocy involved in the first place. This is the wrong venue for such efforts. The Michigan state prosecutors needs to admit this is corruption and ask the US DOJ to step in to preserve the process of prosecution in the face of deep seated corruption.
When one looks at the issues in Flint, Michigan it was the Executive Office corruption that allowed the tragedy to exist in the first place. That corruption lasted for over a year until the national media exposed the heinous outcomes of a state government out of control. The problems that Flint experienced were racist through and through. There is no reason to have a division in the community regarding the issue of "Justice for Flint." The problems experienced in Flint, Michigan are human rights violations. They were facilitated by hateful prejudice that allowed a Governor and his staff to believe the reason was that minorities are corrupt and can't govern.
The Executive offices of Snyder turned away from the problems within Flint and decided it best to sell off all the assets of the community to pay bills. The problems in Flint were not solved by such actions. The real problem is the lack of value within the city which caused low property tax collections. The issue is not failure by political leaders to solve Flint's problems, it was the fact the problems were due to segregation and impoverishment.
When Snyder looked at the balance sheets of these cities, it was more than Flint, he didn't see the problem, he saw the opportunity to sell assets for others to purchase and profit. The Governor's minions actions in Flint were draconian robbing of city assets further driving down tax income. All this was approved by Snyder. He knew the Emergency Managers were acting within his directions to balance the books in these minority cities.
The problem in Flint and all the other cities in Michigan that Snyder robbed, were their property values and tax income. These towns were primarily minority cities with little recourse to any debt they held. They didn't have high quality municipal bonds to sell. There weren't new public works projects. Flint, Michigan was deteriorating because of segregation. Sure, the economy was lousy in Michigan after GM closed plants and moved manufacturing to Mexico. But, Grand Blanc was facing the same circumstances. Grand Blanc never had the problems that Flint experienced.
...Notwithstanding their economic challenges, (click here) Detroit and other Michigan cities under emergency management continue to function; the nature and quality of the “emergencies” in those cities pale in comparison to those that justify the suspension of political rights under international law.
Additionally, the implementation of the emergency manager law runs afoul of international law’s prohibition of practices that have the “purpose or effect” of racial discrimination. The installation of emergency managers in cities like Pontiac, Flint, Benton Harbor, River Rouge, Highland Park, and of course Detroit disproportionately impact the political rights of people of color....
Cities segregated into impoverishment need to start talking to surrounding towns and cities to work out mergers to begin to roll back the segregation and raise these cities full of great people out of impoverishment. There is nothing wrong with these communities that an infusion of well financed city services could solve, including education. If Flint, Michigan had a school system that was turning out high percentages of high school graduates who'd destination is college, things would be different.
A $100,000 property in Grand Blanc would bring $4,624 in property taxes with a millage of 46,24. The population in Grand Blanc is mostly static with minor growth of 8,020 people and one school system.
A $100,000 property in Flint would bring $5334 in property taxes and a millage rate of 53.34. Flint's population is in decline with a total number of residents at 80,628 and five school systems within that tax district.
The millage in Flint continues to go up because there are less people paying property tax.
Grand Blanc will be okay for some time to come with little growth and consistent expenses. Flint on the other hand will continue to lose population growth while still attempting to support the same number of schools for their children.
Flint is in an impossible situation whereby their expenses are the same or greater while their population is dropping. Not much different than Detroit.
There are currently houses with two or three bedrooms for sale in Flint for less than $100,000 (click here).
There are currently no homes in Grand Blanc for $100,000 (click here). However, there are empty, well groomed lots for sale for less than that amount.
The problem is obvious. The value of property is vastly different. With a decreasing population in Flint, no matter how much the city council and mayor wants to solve the problems of the city and its residents, it has increasing pressure to do more with less.
The common mayor and council in free and fair elections of a merged Flint and Grand Blanc can go to work to bring economic stability to the area and stabilize a tax structure. The demands for city services will be carried by a common treasury and will be consolidated while pushing Flint property values higher. There would be some bussing to provide an opportunity for all students. I know this is a bizarre idea, but, it would end segregation and the victimization of minority cities.
This concept needs to be explored. In the meantime, the cities victimized by Snyder should be suing the State of Michigan to deliver on the promise Snyder made in that the emergency manager would bring about better services with bills paid and more money to go around for funding of schools of opportunity. It is still the state's issue and it doesn't end with an election to change governors. The problems these minority cities experience must be a priority in any administration. The solutions are to bring the city to better property values and stable tax income.
Oh, by the way, corruption at all levels of the public and private sectors must stop and end the adverse effects that rob the citizens of the services their money should bring. It is time the Michigan Attorney General's office recognizes the corruption of Snyder's administration, including a one man grand jury, and seek a greater authority to bring about better outcomes for all the people of Michigan. Flint is just the beginning.
