Opinion: Don Williamson to the rescue

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Mayor Dayne Walling. Faced with an $8 million dollar deficit he laid off 46 police officers and 23 firefighters in a city already nervous about the crime rate and old, vulnerable buildings.

In response, dozens of vacant houses have gone up in flames, forcing Flint to call on outside help to quench the nightly inferno.

Then, because of threats against him and his family, he used scarce police officers to protect the mayor's family and home. Though it may have been justified, the timing and PR couldn't have been worse, as the shrinking number of officers left all Flint citizens more worried about crime.

As a result, the ever-present recall machine was whipped up. Flint School Board member David Davenport launched an attempt to remove the mayor, citing danger to the public because of the fire and police cuts.

In the midst of the public safety firestorm, the mayor also cut garbage collection to every other week, prompting jokes about rats outnumbering the people in the shrinking city of Flint. Residents were encouraged to buy large, rat-proof trash containers.

The Flint City Council is starting to complain about the lack of communication with the mayor's office and the friction between the two has been building.

Throw in a little talk about raising taxes, (though not from the mayor) and it's been a tough couple of months. There are a lot of unhappy, angry voters out there.

Don Williamson to the rescue!

Is there anything that can make us feel a little better about the present situation than the prospect of a return of The Don to City Hall?

Remember the 'lawsuit of the week' between the council and the mayor?

Remember the promise of the city owned manufacturing plant?

Remember the promised drag strip in city of Flint?

Remember the race track that was promised right off Interstate 75?

Remember the petting zoo somewhere around the Patsy Lou dealership?

Remember the promise to pay off the city's debt with his personal funds?

Remember the federal grants that weren't available because the forms never were filed?

Remember the staffers who were fired, and sometimes rehired the same day?

Remember the midnight runs to fire or crime scenes in the "Don Mobile"?

The Don is the gift that keeps on giving. Walling should thank his lucky stars that he is even considering another run. Nothing could make us feel better (or maybe less badly) about the current situation than the prospect of a return to the days when a city council member was described "a pile of puke" and the typical mayoral interview was interspersed with bleeps on the local media.