Featured photo: State Senator John Cherry with Flint Resident Judy Church
Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
Local residents were invited to attend a Community Conversation on Monday, March 24, with State Senator John Cherry, held at Berston Fieldhouse. Over 80 community members joined to ensure they shared with Cherry what they would like him to do in Lansing.
Cherry said to the attendees: “The point is to hear from you what I should be working on.”
Questions from attendees ranged from asking “What are Democrats doing?” in the face of threats to cut federal funding for government health insurance and other programs from largely Republican officials who narrowly control Congress, to asking “Are they teaching Civics in school?”
Some of the local residents who attended brought their concerns about water testing in Flint before the senator, with at least one of them bringing used water filters for Cherry and his team to examine.
Flint Resident Roy Fields Sr. stated: “I came for the senator to see what I see every day, in the world, in my life. I am a follower of Christ, and I say yes to the God of heaven every day. But, there is so much happening here in our city with the water and stuff, this administration doesn’t seem to realize that if the young people realized that the water was safe here in the city of Flint to drink, they would come back here, and it doesn’t make sense to keep lying about it.”
Fields said he was happy that at the event he was able to listen “to people that care.”
“God’s law supersedes all politics, and I know that,” Fields added. “But, there are things we must do, and that’s working together and being able to share the truth of the situation with senators and the people we can talk to.”
Cherry noted the House’s new Republican speaker passed a budget that cut $5 billion for schools and completely zeroed out numerous departments, including DHHS, which handles all of the Medicaid, public assistance and public health programs. This budget also zeroed out the EGLE budget, for the environmental regulatory agency. Additionally, it zeroed out the LEO budget, the workforce and labor agency and numerous other agencies, as well as cut revenue sharing for local communities.
“They said before we do anything, you have to pass this budget, and we’re just not going to do that,” Cherry said. “We’re not going to pass a budget that cuts $5 billion to local schools. You can’t respond to threats like that.”
The House speaker, Matt Hall (R-Richland Township), said he wouldn’t close the state books until the budget was passed, referring to an administrative piece done at end of the fiscal year for audits to ensure the numbers balance.
The plan is one the GOP majority framed as one put in place in order to set aside cash for essential state services in the event of a government shutdown. If state leaders aren’t able to reach a budget deal by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, a shutdown is expected to occur.
Additionally, Cherry talked about the unemployment bills passed at the end of last year to fix many of the issues that arose during the pandemic.
“Over a course of three years, we increased the maximum benefit for folks,” said Cherry. “It hasn’t been increased in over twenty years. Right now, it’s $362. On April 2, it will be increased by $84, then next year by another $84, and the year after that it will be increased by another $84.”
Cherry also talked about how he worked with others to change the revenue-sharing formula so that revenue sharing is “more equitable.”
“Communities like Flint that are maybe less wealthy than maybe Oakland county will get a greater proportion of those dollars,” Cherry said. “In this year’s revenue sharing budget, Flint got an increase of $3 million.”
Cherry shared what he heard from the residents is they want their leaders to fight.
“They don’t want us to roll over, and I think we should fight too.”
Flint Resident Judy Church shared why she felt it was important to attend the community conversation.
“I’ve been shocked by what’s happening week after week with the federal government,” stated Church. “I’m sure I’ve got a lot of company, too. I was going to tell them, it seems like every time I turn on PBS, it’s like an apple. You get nutrition from the apple. But the way things have been handled – you don’t take that apple – you polish it up -if it’s got a little bruise you cut out the bruise. You don’t smash it in smithereens with a bul-peen hammer. That’s what’s happening. ‘Well, we’re going to shut down this, and we’re shutting down that.’ No! We don’t want to end up with messy, moldy applesauce- the rest of us. We save the apple. We save the good programs. We cut out the excessive fraud or whatever, like cutting out a spot on an apple. But, we don’t smash it to smithereens. And that seems to be what’s happening week after week with the federal government.”
Another Flint Resident, Carla Roberts Caudle, a teacher at Dye Elementary, stated “I think it’s really important to see how changes in the federal government are going to impact education, and I’m just concerned with the children’s future in education and also just their educators’ futures. I think the concerns were valid. I think we have to start first with thinking about issues that were already in place – the water crisis first. Secondly, just empowering people and giving them more insight and making us understand what’s happening on the government level and how it impacts us. We’re not seeing it the way that it’s transparent the way we would like to see it. So, I would like to think this meeting brought transparency and clarity to a lot of issues.”
Roberts Caudle told the Courier that not only did the community conversation help her learn many residents and leaders are on the same page and fighting for the same causes, but it inspired her to get more involved and to help enlighten others so they, together, can make an impact.
