Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
There are two seats on the Flint City Council that are on the ballot, for the primary August 6: the 1st Ward and the 7th Ward.
All the candidates for the seat were invited to a recent candidate forum presented by The Genesee County Democratic Party Black Caucus, in partnership with the NAACP-Flint Chapter and the Concerned Pastors for Social Action. The forum was held at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library. Some of the candidates were either not able to attend or chose not participate in the forum.
Candidates for Ward 1 seat who took part in the forum included: John Billings, Carol McIntosh and Rosemary Morrow.
Billings stated he has been a resident of Flint for over 50 years and a resident of the 1st Ward for over 50 years. He pointed out he was also elected by his peers to be president of the senior advisory committee at Hasselbring Community Center. He also helped to institute senior computer programs throughout various centers.
“In the future I hope to get blight to do their job, as well as the city in cleaning up,” Billings said.
In regards to the city’s remaining ARPA dollars, he would send every Flint citizen a check in the mail that they could spend how they would like. He also stated he would like money to go towards fixing sidewalks and porches.
McIntosh stated she also has been a resident of the 1st Ward for over 50 years. She is a university graduate, an NAACP member, a 28-year UAW member and has been elected to a public service position by members of the public. She served on the Flint Community School Board, where she was president on occasion and has sat on the Ethics and Accountability Board as representative for the 1st Ward.
McIntosh said: “What I hope to accomplish is to touch the residents and make a difference in everyday life for everyday people – taxpayers and those who have been forgotten people on fixed incomes who are not getting the economic relief that they so deserve, and to just bless the people of the 1st Ward who have stood the test of time, stood in there during the Water Crisis, the pandemic…
“We need to look at our porches. We need to look at sidewalks…But we also need to look at our water situation regardless. The first thing we need to do is, from tap – clean, available drinking water…”
McIntosh said she would look to the residents for what their direct needs were. She also said she realizes residents also need windows, sidewalks and things of that nature. In addition, she said money should be allocated to economic development.
Morrow stated she was born and raised in Flint, and she graduated from Flint Northern. She explained she left Flint before, but was coming back “enough to see the city was forgotten.”
Morrow served 29 years as a public safety officer. She has helped with home repair and improvement, as well as with cleaning projects.
“The city is not going to work by itself; we all have to work together,” stated Morrow.
“If there is any funds left, we could possibly take that and continue either working with Habitat, volunteering…and G-CARD to help residents in the 1st Ward and actually Genesee County to be able to complete applications because they didn’t know the funding was there.”
Morrow explained she would take part of the money and do home repair and improvement, while lifting some of the requirements needed to receive it, and pay the water bills, as well as the tax liens.
“We need to also audit the account …That’s some of the things I will be fighting for…”
For the 1st Ward, Liberty C. Bell, Current Flint City Councilman Leon El-Alamin and Cynthia Haynes are also listed on the candidate page at https://www.geneseecountymi.gov/.
Jan Marie Arbor, a candidate for the seat in Ward 7, also participated in the forum.
Arbor stated that neighborhood stabilization is very important in order to grow the city and that more money should be allocated to homes. She also pointed out that in cities like Saginaw and Pontiac more money had been allocated to this purpose than in Flint.
“I think that a considerable amount should be applied towards property lien abatement,” she said. “You might remember we lost 190 homes. That could have not happened had we chosen to use ARPA dollars, which was permissible by law, to keep from giving those homes away to an investor through the Genesee County office.”
She also suggested a portal for residents to see what properties are available, what needs to be done and how the properties can be utilized.
She thanked those present for their interest in their local government and added it was very important to pay attention to what is going on locally.
“I’m running for this office because the office needs change,” stated Arbor.
Arbor elaborated on her statement by saying the office needs a person with respect for all, honesty and integrity – an individual who wants to work with their colleagues to achieve progressive things for Flint. Arbor stated, if elected, she would serve the entire ward – not isolating any part of it.
Current Flint City Councilwoman Candice Mushatt is also listed on the Genesee County, Michigan web page as a Ward 7 candidate in the upcoming primary.
