The mayor of Flint, Mich., on Wednesday welcomed Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) latest plans to address the city’s drinking water crisis, but said it’s far from what residents need.
Speaking in Washington, D.C. at a meeting of the Conference of Mayors, Karen Weaver asked that the governor commit more resources to Flint and pledge to hold people accountable for the lead concentrations in the city’s water.
{mosads}“These are some good first steps,” Weaver said of the resignation of Snyder’s chief environmental regulator, his pledge to fix the problem, his $28 million plan and her meeting Tuesday with President Obama.
“What [Snyder] talked about was a very good start. We want that, but we know that we didn’t deserve what happened to us, that we deserve more support, we deserve more resources and finances as a result of this,” Weaver, a Democrat, said of her meeting with Obama.
“But it is still not enough. One of the things that we know has to happen is to hold the state accountable,” she said.
“There’s money there, and Flint needs to be made a priority about how these funds are distributed.”
Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint over the weekend, and federal officials have sent Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Environmental Protection Agency employees there, among others, to help the city.
Obama is visiting Detroit Wednesday for an auto show, but the White House said he has no plans to visit Flint. He will, however, meet with Snyder, which Weaver called a great opportunity to press Snyder for accountability.
Weaver declined to call for Snyder’s resignation, as leaders like Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders have done.
Instead, she asked that Snyder stay in place to manage the resources the city and state need to recover.