Gov. Snyder, Flint Water Crisis and Blame

In an interview with Ron Fournier of the National Journal and being reported in the Detroit Free Press Governor Snyder admitted that he made mistakes in the handling of the water crisis in Flint.  Governor Snyder is quoted in the article saying the following:

"It makes you feel terrible, it’s a disaster, it’s a mess."  He went on to say the Flint issues is "clearly a negative on what we've accomplished since I've become governor." He believes he lost some public trust and "that's hard, that's awful."

Governor Snyder even went on to express that he did not think it was unfair for some people to compare President George W. Bush’s Hurricane Katrina crisis to his Flint water crisis.

We now know that the state Department of Environmental Quality failed to require the needed chemicals to be added to the corrosive Flint River water which then lead to the pipes leaching lead into the drinking water.

Governor Snyder went on to say”

"This was a case where we had people who had been in these jobs for years, (who) hadn’t gotten the change memo yet saying there’s got to be a better way of doing things. So they kept doing things the way they have …"

When questioned about releasing all of his emails concerning this issue the Governor said "I haven't made a decision yet. I was just asked”.

Governor Snyder said “there were multiple failures at multiple levels," and he acknowledged that he was aware in the summer of 2015 about the concerns related to lead in the drinking water but said tests showed they weren't at dangerous levels but he did say he and other state officials should have been more proactive about getting better information.

Do you believe Governor Snyder should resign due to what some consider his late response to this issue?

If the Governor knew of the extent of the crisis earlier then he is stating does that change your opinion?

I do not believe that this Governor would endanger people if he truly knew the extent, what Governor would.  From a personal standpoint I do not believe any Governor would put the people of their state in danger and from a political standpoint it would be a death knell to their political career.

The question now as it is in many of these types of issues is what did he know and when did he know about it.

Let’s discuss this today on my program, The Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.