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Schuette failed residents in Flint water crisis, say some community leaders

steve carmody
/
Michigan Radio
Credit steve carmody / Michigan Radio
/
Michigan Radio

Several Flint commmunity leaders said Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette has a record of ignoring the people of Flint.

They spoke at a press conference Wednesday organized by the Michigan Democratic Party.

According to Chris Martin, pastor of the Cathedral of Faith Church in Flint, Schuette ignored 15 complaints in 2015 from residents reporting bad water quality in Flint.

Martin said complaints about bad water and health problems had fallen on deaf ears in Flint. 

"So people went, of course, to our number one law enforcement officer, and nothing was done," said Martin.

"Schuette should have been more proactive than just last year going on a head hunting mission because he's running for governor," said Martin.

Five of the 15 complaints sent by Flint residents to the Attorney General's Office were from January 2015.  Schuette announced an investigation into the Flint water crisis one year later. He filed charges against various government officials in 2016 and 2017.

In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for Schuette said the Attorney General's office receives almost 10 thousand complaints each year, and the Flint water complaints were turned over to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality which she described as the agency responsible for maintaining clean drinking water in Michigan.

"The MDEQ didn't act to protect residents, in fact they covered it up - and that's why the Attorney General has charged 15 people for their actions or lack there of related to the Flint Water Crisis," the spokeswoman wrote.

Copyright 2021 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.

Virginia Gordan has been a part-time reporter at Michigan Radio since fall 2013. She has a general beat covering news topics from across the state.