Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are coming to Flint March 6. Though it will be easy to lose sight of the major issues the city faces in the wake of political infighting, many in the MSU community have hope that the debate will be beneficial for Flint’s citizens, not just the candidates on stage.
MSU College Democrats communications director and social relations and policy junior Daniel Eggerding admitted that for Democrats, some of the motivation to highlight the crisis could be self-serving, as it occurred in a state completely controlled by the Republican party. But he still feels that the crisis is emblematic of the failures of Gov. Rick Snyder’s use of his business expertise in governing.
“When you start to run government like a business, things like Flint or Detroit happen,” Eggerding said. “You have to put people over profit, and I don’t think that’s what’s happening.”
Eggerding also said Republicans have been avoiding discussion of the Flint water crisis because it took place under a Republican regime. A representative from the MSU College Republicans was not available for comment.
James Madison College associate professor Louise Jezierski said she believes that while the water crisis will be politicized by the two Democratic candidates, the debate in Flint could serve the important function of highlighting what she said is a national issue not exclusive to Flint.
“It’s just going to be a political backdrop for these people, that is one concern,” Jezierski said. “But on the other hand, people don’t understand how far-flung these issues are.”
Jezierski said Washington, D.C., and Toledo, Ohio have also experienced water contamination issues in recent years. In Washington, lead contamination was uncovered by Virginia Polytechnic and State University, or Virginia Tech, civil engineering professor Dr. Marc Edwards, according to a Washington Post article. Edwards is the same expert who helped uncover Flint’s water issues.
Toledo’s issues were not caused by lead, but by an uncontainable poisonous algae bloom, Jezierski said. Jezierski said she thinks a national overhaul is needed in order to stop these issues from cropping up time and time again.
“This is an infrastructure issue,” Jezierski said. “The United States has to get some money for infrastructure.”
Detroit, Jezierski said, has wooden water pipes supplying the city that are more than 100 years old. Cities with older piping lines like Detroit could be next in line to face these issues, she said.
“These things come and go, but then people realize, 'oh my gosh, this could be our town,'” Jezierski said.
Eggerding took a more local view of the issue, pointing out that the city of Flint has had troubles dating back far before this water crisis. He thinks that the publicity from hosting a nationally televised debate will lead to increased attention to the city’s many issues.
“Maybe this will be the turning point for the city of Flint,” Eggerding said.
For social relations and policy senior and Flint native Mary Herman, seeing the city’s troubles remain in the national spotlight seems like the best path to recovery.
“It needs to stay in the news,” Herman said. “As soon as the media leaves, people are going to forget about this. They’ll think it’s resolved or something’s happening.”
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