I'm not an Elephant, I swear...
...but maybe, just maybe, I... voted for a Republican.
I know, I know, I'm hanging my head in shame! Honestly, voting for the republican for mayor was the lesser of two evils.
You see, the only thing on the ballot in the city of Flint yesterday was the mayoral seat. There were no mileages, no school board seats, no city council seats, no nothing up for grab. The only thing up for grabs this year was our future mayor.
In the past, for years (Eight, or Twelve maybe?) the city of Flint had been sent further downhill by our horrid mayor, Woodrow Stanley. He was horrible. Now, of course, I can't confirm any of this as being factual... but my dad is around the same age as Woodrow Stanley. They apparently grew up in the same neighborhood. When my dad was in his twenties, he said that Stanley was renting an apartment from a friend of my father's. My dad says that his friend suspected that Stanley was selling drugs out of the apartment, so he decided to kick Stanley out. His friend went on to say that even after having the power and water shut off, he couldn't get Stanley out. Finally, he had to be evicted.
For those reasons alone, my dad said he'd never vote for Stanley, a democrat. Well, in this city, unfortunately, a lot has to do with race. Stanley, who is black, played a huge race card to get himself in office. His main opponent at the time was Don Williamson, a city big wig who happened to be both a republican, and white. With 51% of the city being black, Stanley played his cards right, and got re-elected time after time, even after doing a perfectly horrible job as a mayor.
Fast forward to the year 2002. Crime was at an all time high. Seeing as Flint at that time was ranked at #2 in the country for the city with the highest crime rate per capita, and you can see that there wasn't much worse we could get, without renaming our city Detroit. (Which this still amuses me, because I live in a great neighborhood, and this being my "home" it just doesn't seem so bad. Then when I remember when we didn't live in such a great neighborhood as a kid, and our house got graffitied by a gang, and there was bullet hole in the window, I think... okay, maybe it isn't so great. I look back at those moments and think #1 why did we live in that neighborhood? My dad had a good job... and #2, this is what most people in this city deal with, and I'm one of the lucky 5% who don't live in a crime infested neighborhood.) During Stanley's stay in office, crime was high, and everyone was unhappy. The city was more than $30 million in debt, with the most of the money spent being completely unaccountable for. Finally, the people had had enough, and set forth to recall Stanley. Thankfully this was successful, and Stanley was booted out on his ass. It wasn't long after this when the State declared it was taking control of the city. Due to the debt, and lack of mayor, the Michigan government decided that the city was unable to to govern itself, and put some government official in charge of our budget, until further notice.
Enter in to the picture, Don Williamson once again. Don Williamson is better known as the husband of Patsy Lou Williamson. Patsy Lou is a Flint celebrity, so to speak. She's really kind of like a Paris Hilton celebrity, because she's really only famous for having a lot of money. She happens to own the largest car dealership in the world, and it is located, of all places, in Flint, Michigan. Yes, this place, looks like the Taj Mahal. It is ridiculous. It has huge spotlights, and is more lit up than Bronners. Patsy Lou is best known for wearing ten pounds of makeup, and filming commercials around the city of herself in a new Cadillac with Burt Reynolds. Yes... and her husband is our mayor. He's a loud mouth, should-be-from-Texas kind of mayor. And, yes. I voted for him.
Why, did I vote for this guy? Well, since he's been mayor, our crime has went down. Not tremendously, but there are some differences. Downtown is suddenly starting to come alive again. The University of Michigan-Flint is now building dorms, which means it will no longer be a commuter campus. The city not only has fixed the $30 million deficit, we now have a surplus of millions.
The other guy, Walling, seemed like a nice enough guy. He even had a bunch of endorsements from the Kildees. (I grew up with some of the Kildee children, and let me say, I'm not overly impressed.) Except there were three reasons why I wouldn't vote for him. Number one, the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Why vote someone out of office who is actually making a difference? Republican or not, he seems to have a clue, which is something we haven't seen in a mayor in years. Number two, I knew nothing about this guy at all. All of the commercials he put on tv were to bash Williamson, but yet, I never once learned anything about his platform. I can't vote for someone I know nothing about. Number three, and this was a big number three. He was endorsed by Stanley. YES, he had the nerve to be endorsed by Woodrow Stanley. Which made me feel like he'd do anything to be mayor, and in this case, I felt like he was simply trying to play a race card. I felt like he was practically standing on a soap box screaming "Please, black people! Vote for me! The old BLACK mayor likes me, so that means you should too!" To me, having Stanley's endorsement was pretty much a nail in the coffin. No way was I going to vote for anyone who was supported by Stanley, and I certainly wasn't going to vote for someone who was playing a race card. Give me a little credit for having an opinion, that has nothing to do with my ethnic background.
So, I voted for a republican.
Don Williamson was re-elected, 51% to 49%.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
I'm not an Elephant, I swear...
I'm not an Elephant, I swear...
...but maybe, just maybe, I... voted for a Republican.
I know, I know, I'm hanging my head in shame! Honestly, voting for the republican for mayor was the lesser of two evils.
You see, the only thing on the ballot in the city of Flint yesterday was the mayoral seat. There were no mileages, no school board seats, no city council seats, no nothing up for grab. The only thing up for grabs this year was our future mayor.
In the past, for years (Eight, or Twelve maybe?) the city of Flint had been sent further downhill by our horrid mayor, Woodrow Stanley. He was horrible. Now, of course, I can't confirm any of this as being factual... but my dad is around the same age as Woodrow Stanley. They apparently grew up in the same neighborhood. When my dad was in his twenties, he said that Stanley was renting an apartment from a friend of my father's. My dad says that his friend suspected that Stanley was selling drugs out of the apartment, so he decided to kick Stanley out. His friend went on to say that even after having the power and water shut off, he couldn't get Stanley out. Finally, he had to be evicted.
For those reasons alone, my dad said he'd never vote for Stanley, a democrat. Well, in this city, unfortunately, a lot has to do with race. Stanley, who is black, played a huge race card to get himself in office. His main opponent at the time was Don Williamson, a city big wig who happened to be both a republican, and white. With 51% of the city being black, Stanley played his cards right, and got re-elected time after time, even after doing a perfectly horrible job as a mayor.
Fast forward to the year 2002. Crime was at an all time high. Seeing as Flint at that time was ranked at #2 in the country for the city with the highest crime rate per capita, and you can see that there wasn't much worse we could get, without renaming our city Detroit. (Which this still amuses me, because I live in a great neighborhood, and this being my "home" it just doesn't seem so bad. Then when I remember when we didn't live in such a great neighborhood as a kid, and our house got graffitied by a gang, and there was bullet hole in the window, I think... okay, maybe it isn't so great. I look back at those moments and think #1 why did we live in that neighborhood? My dad had a good job... and #2, this is what most people in this city deal with, and I'm one of the lucky 5% who don't live in a crime infested neighborhood.) During Stanley's stay in office, crime was high, and everyone was unhappy. The city was more than $30 million in debt, with the most of the money spent being completely unaccountable for. Finally, the people had had enough, and set forth to recall Stanley. Thankfully this was successful, and Stanley was booted out on his ass. It wasn't long after this when the State declared it was taking control of the city. Due to the debt, and lack of mayor, the Michigan government decided that the city was unable to to govern itself, and put some government official in charge of our budget, until further notice.
Enter in to the picture, Don Williamson once again. Don Williamson is better known as the husband of Patsy Lou Williamson. Patsy Lou is a Flint celebrity, so to speak. She's really kind of like a Paris Hilton celebrity, because she's really only famous for having a lot of money. She happens to own the largest car dealership in the world, and it is located, of all places, in Flint, Michigan. Yes, this place, looks like the Taj Mahal. It is ridiculous. It has huge spotlights, and is more lit up than Bronners. Patsy Lou is best known for wearing ten pounds of makeup, and filming commercials around the city of herself in a new Cadillac with Burt Reynolds. Yes... and her husband is our mayor. He's a loud mouth, should-be-from-Texas kind of mayor. And, yes. I voted for him.
Why, did I vote for this guy? Well, since he's been mayor, our crime has went down. Not tremendously, but there are some differences. Downtown is suddenly starting to come alive again. The University of Michigan-Flint is now building dorms, which means it will no longer be a commuter campus. The city not only has fixed the $30 million deficit, we now have a surplus of millions.
The other guy, Walling, seemed like a nice enough guy. He even had a bunch of endorsements from the Kildees. (I grew up with some of the Kildee children, and let me say, I'm not overly impressed.) Except there were three reasons why I wouldn't vote for him. Number one, the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Why vote someone out of office who is actually making a difference? Republican or not, he seems to have a clue, which is something we haven't seen in a mayor in years. Number two, I knew nothing about this guy at all. All of the commercials he put on tv were to bash Williamson, but yet, I never once learned anything about his platform. I can't vote for someone I know nothing about. Number three, and this was a big number three. He was endorsed by Stanley. YES, he had the nerve to be endorsed by Woodrow Stanley. Which made me feel like he'd do anything to be mayor, and in this case, I felt like he was simply trying to play a race card. I felt like he was practically standing on a soap box screaming "Please, black people! Vote for me! The old BLACK mayor likes me, so that means you should too!" To me, having Stanley's endorsement was pretty much a nail in the coffin. No way was I going to vote for anyone who was supported by Stanley, and I certainly wasn't going to vote for someone who was playing a race card. Give me a little credit for having an opinion, that has nothing to do with my ethnic background.
So, I voted for a republican.
Don Williamson was re-elected, 51% to 49%.
...but maybe, just maybe, I... voted for a Republican.
I know, I know, I'm hanging my head in shame! Honestly, voting for the republican for mayor was the lesser of two evils.
You see, the only thing on the ballot in the city of Flint yesterday was the mayoral seat. There were no mileages, no school board seats, no city council seats, no nothing up for grab. The only thing up for grabs this year was our future mayor.
In the past, for years (Eight, or Twelve maybe?) the city of Flint had been sent further downhill by our horrid mayor, Woodrow Stanley. He was horrible. Now, of course, I can't confirm any of this as being factual... but my dad is around the same age as Woodrow Stanley. They apparently grew up in the same neighborhood. When my dad was in his twenties, he said that Stanley was renting an apartment from a friend of my father's. My dad says that his friend suspected that Stanley was selling drugs out of the apartment, so he decided to kick Stanley out. His friend went on to say that even after having the power and water shut off, he couldn't get Stanley out. Finally, he had to be evicted.
For those reasons alone, my dad said he'd never vote for Stanley, a democrat. Well, in this city, unfortunately, a lot has to do with race. Stanley, who is black, played a huge race card to get himself in office. His main opponent at the time was Don Williamson, a city big wig who happened to be both a republican, and white. With 51% of the city being black, Stanley played his cards right, and got re-elected time after time, even after doing a perfectly horrible job as a mayor.
Fast forward to the year 2002. Crime was at an all time high. Seeing as Flint at that time was ranked at #2 in the country for the city with the highest crime rate per capita, and you can see that there wasn't much worse we could get, without renaming our city Detroit. (Which this still amuses me, because I live in a great neighborhood, and this being my "home" it just doesn't seem so bad. Then when I remember when we didn't live in such a great neighborhood as a kid, and our house got graffitied by a gang, and there was bullet hole in the window, I think... okay, maybe it isn't so great. I look back at those moments and think #1 why did we live in that neighborhood? My dad had a good job... and #2, this is what most people in this city deal with, and I'm one of the lucky 5% who don't live in a crime infested neighborhood.) During Stanley's stay in office, crime was high, and everyone was unhappy. The city was more than $30 million in debt, with the most of the money spent being completely unaccountable for. Finally, the people had had enough, and set forth to recall Stanley. Thankfully this was successful, and Stanley was booted out on his ass. It wasn't long after this when the State declared it was taking control of the city. Due to the debt, and lack of mayor, the Michigan government decided that the city was unable to to govern itself, and put some government official in charge of our budget, until further notice.
Enter in to the picture, Don Williamson once again. Don Williamson is better known as the husband of Patsy Lou Williamson. Patsy Lou is a Flint celebrity, so to speak. She's really kind of like a Paris Hilton celebrity, because she's really only famous for having a lot of money. She happens to own the largest car dealership in the world, and it is located, of all places, in Flint, Michigan. Yes, this place, looks like the Taj Mahal. It is ridiculous. It has huge spotlights, and is more lit up than Bronners. Patsy Lou is best known for wearing ten pounds of makeup, and filming commercials around the city of herself in a new Cadillac with Burt Reynolds. Yes... and her husband is our mayor. He's a loud mouth, should-be-from-Texas kind of mayor. And, yes. I voted for him.
Why, did I vote for this guy? Well, since he's been mayor, our crime has went down. Not tremendously, but there are some differences. Downtown is suddenly starting to come alive again. The University of Michigan-Flint is now building dorms, which means it will no longer be a commuter campus. The city not only has fixed the $30 million deficit, we now have a surplus of millions.
The other guy, Walling, seemed like a nice enough guy. He even had a bunch of endorsements from the Kildees. (I grew up with some of the Kildee children, and let me say, I'm not overly impressed.) Except there were three reasons why I wouldn't vote for him. Number one, the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Why vote someone out of office who is actually making a difference? Republican or not, he seems to have a clue, which is something we haven't seen in a mayor in years. Number two, I knew nothing about this guy at all. All of the commercials he put on tv were to bash Williamson, but yet, I never once learned anything about his platform. I can't vote for someone I know nothing about. Number three, and this was a big number three. He was endorsed by Stanley. YES, he had the nerve to be endorsed by Woodrow Stanley. Which made me feel like he'd do anything to be mayor, and in this case, I felt like he was simply trying to play a race card. I felt like he was practically standing on a soap box screaming "Please, black people! Vote for me! The old BLACK mayor likes me, so that means you should too!" To me, having Stanley's endorsement was pretty much a nail in the coffin. No way was I going to vote for anyone who was supported by Stanley, and I certainly wasn't going to vote for someone who was playing a race card. Give me a little credit for having an opinion, that has nothing to do with my ethnic background.
So, I voted for a republican.
Don Williamson was re-elected, 51% to 49%.
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