Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders gave Flint residents the chance to vent their anger and frustration about how they’ve been affected by contamination of the city’s water supply, with lead leaching from pipes.
For about an hour, the Woodside Church, where the forum was held, transformed on a snowy Thursday afternoon from a place of worship to a political gathering spot.
“Day-to-day I see people who can’t even afford a ride to go and get water,” said Earl Logan of Flint. “And you’re charging us to drink death.”
Other residents talked about the need to remove and replace the lead service lines and pipes in the city, and yet others were angry with the state government for the response — or lack of response — to the crisis.
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Unlike other Sanders’ campaign events — last week, 9,000 supporters crammed into the Convocation Center at Eastern Michigan University — the Flint forum attracted about 300 people and Sanders did very little talking. Instead, this event was about the residents. Sanders let them talk about what problems they have been facing since the city, which was under the authority of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched from Lake Huron water provided by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the more corrosive Flint River.
It was about Nakiya Wakes' 7-year-old-son, Jaylon Tyson, who has high lead levels in his blood and has been suspended from school 56 times this year. She attributes his behavioral problems to the lead.
It was also about Paula McGee of Flint and her frustration with the emergency manager law, which allowed the state to take control of the city. And the fact that the governor and Legislature are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which requires the disclosure of public documents.