The End of the Beginning...

Don Williamson moves on to the General Election, it seems. But let us not forget, my friends, that 67% of Flint voted for someone else. That, in and of itself, is a victory. And though the election in November seems a lifetime away in the context of our struggle, allow me to quote a great leader whose fight was immeasurably greater than our own: on the 19th of May 1940, a dark, desperate time, Winston Churchill gave his first speech as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Here is what he said:

"Centuries ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice: 'Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valor, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be.'"

We're with you, Dayne! There's not a door we won't knock for you! We're in it to win it!

Harassment and Record

Check out Andrew Heller's response to Don Williamson's plea for citizens of Flint to judge him based on his record as mayor.

Yet, when his record as mayor is scrutinized, he tries to hide the facts. The Mayor does not want these facts to be revealed and has tried to stop us. They have followed us, harassed us, threatened us, and intimidated us. They think citizens should be arrested for exercising their God given right to freedom of speech. They think it should be against the law to speak your mind about your elected officials. These people only believe in the First Amendment when it suits their needs and when it does not they use every dirty trick to silence speech. But we are not going to back down because unlike Mayor Williamson we care about Flint's future and your Constitutional rights.

Mr. Williamson, be careful of what you wish for. The record states that the Mayor has cost the city of Flint $8.2 million in legal damages alone for allowing the city to take advantage of its citizens. When combined with damages accrued for blatant mismanagement including unused grants, Williamson has cost the city nearly $16 million according to the folks at williamsonwatch.blogspot.com.

Crime is at a new high and jobs are still scarce. We have lost schools and the schools we do have are poorly managed leading to some of the lowest test scores in the state.

Williamson continues to fight downtown redevelopers and non-profit groups just like he fought the state government. These people are Flint citizens who care deeply about their community who have dedicated their lives to rebuilding Flint. Yet the Mayor calls them crooks for finding parties to invest in downtown Flint.

Mr. Williamson, get the record straight and come clean with the job you have done. And remember to take all of this into account before you vote on August 7th.

10 Things Flint Needs More Than Don Williamson

10) A hole in the head (metaphorically speaking).

9) Jobs.

8) A minor league baseball team.

7) Student housing at UofM Flint (could it be for real this time?!?).

6) Jobs.

5) Intelligent, thoughtful leadership.

4) Ultimate Fighting every night at the Perani Arena.

3) A 500% increase in ciriculation for The Uncommon Sense.

2) Friggin' jobs already, okay?

And the Number One Thing Flint Needs More Than Don Williamson...

*drumroll*

1) A new mayor!!!!

Was that a letdown? I mean, it's anybodybutwilliamson.blogspot.com. Seriously, what else was I supposed to say?

~Emmanuel Goldstein

Flint is Getting What It Paid For: $8.2 million in Legal Damages

There was an interesting article in the Uncommon Sense, July 2007 issue (a newspaper free through ads and available at most Flint restaurants as well as the Flint Public Library), that laid out just how much Williamson has cost the city due to his irresponsibility. While the Don may only be taking a $1 monthly wage, he seems bound and determined to get the city of Flint into as much legal trouble as possible.

He wrongfully discharged the manager of a water treatment plant and refused to let him come back to work in violation of the court order which forced him to. The cost of Williamson's stubbornness: $100,000.

Then Williamson arrested a Flint Journal newspaper delivery boy for doing his job and delivering papers to employees at city hall. Makes sense considering the Journal's negative portrayal of the Mayor. This cost the city $150,000.

Williamson then decided to stiff Complete Auto and Truck Parts for service they had already performed in towing vehicles for the city of Flint. The court awarded Complete Auto $365,000. However, the city's refusal to pay the court cost created interest forcing the city to eventually pay Complete Auto $441,000.

Finally, after sewer backups caused damage to the property of Flint residents, a class action suit was launched against the city of Flint. They were going to settle out of court for $3 million. Don Williamson refused to settle. His stubbornness in this instance cost the city of Flint $10.8 million awarded by the court because he refused to settle.

The city of Flint is still facing serious legal challenges due to Williamson's mismanagement. The city of Flint now faces repercussions for policies passed by the Don which authorized the strip and cavity search of over 100 innocent people at a nightclub in Flint.

How much is Williamson going to cost the city over the next 4 years? Vote on August 7th for anybody but Williamson.

Our Manifesto

You may often wonder why so many of our fellow Flintstones disapprove of Mayor Don Williamson. With the primary only a month away this is a great opportunity to lay out the facts against the Mayor.

Fact #1: Don Williamson does not support organized labor. In 1991, he dumped a dump truck of manure on a picket line of workers who were striking to unionize at one of the facilities he owns. Williamson is also reported in the Detroit Free Press as telling an aide to buy a truck full of pizza and pop to throw a going away party for any of his employees who did not accept the terms of his proposed contract.

Fact #2: Don Williamson has lied to the people of Flint on several occasions. For example, he has lied about being a Democrat. Both he and his wife have claimed to be Democrats yet they contributed the maximum contribution to George W. Bush when he was running for re-election against John Kerry.

Fact #3: Don Williamson is an ex-con. He was sentenced to a Federal Penitentiary for operating a stolen car ring in the 1960's. That is why his wife Patsy Lou owns the car lot; the government does not trust Mr. Williamson to run a used car lot. Should we trust him to run a city of 150,000?

Fact #4: Williamson promised in his campaign for Mayor to reduce crime. Flint's crime rate has steadily increased since Williamson has been in office. His proposed solution is to re-open the city jail, but he has not identified how he plans to keep it open indefinitely or how he is going to incarcerate criminals with a diminishing police force.

Fact #5: Don Williamson promised to clean up Flint. Yet Williamson operates a junk yard that violates the state of Michigan's environmental standards as the junk yard is located over an aquafier. He refuses to comply with the orders to shut the junk yard down. Also, Williamson only bothers to clean up city parks when his wife plans to use them for campaign events. Several parks have been allowed to fall into complete disrepair. Try playing baseball on a diamond of mud and knee-deep weeds. Try playing tennis when the closest thing to a net are the weeds growing up from beneath deep cracks.

Fact #6: Don Williamson also promised during his campaign to bring 3000-7000 new jobs to Flint. He has only been able to bring 500 and many other jobs have been lost since then.

Fact #7: Don Williamson refuses to cooperate with Flint's City Council in an investigation to determine possible budgetary fraud. He also refused to cooperate with state officials and with non-profit organizations which have helped to redevelop Flint's downtown. He has directly told non-profits to but out.

Fact #8: Don Williamson thinks he can violate Flint's Constitutional rights. He had a Flint Journal delivery boy arrested for delivering newspapers to officials at City Hall because the Flint Journal is "biased" against Williamson.

Think about these facts and judge for yourself whether Flint is better off now than before he took office. Look at all the candidates before you vote on August 7th.

~Winston Smith