Opinion: Top 10 reasons not to recall Walling

Assuming the signatures in the recent recall petition for Dayne Walling are verified and valid, Flint will soon be attempting a recall of its third mayor in eight years.

In this forum earlier I have stated my opinion that the recall process in Michigan is wildly overused. The recall makes sense where there are clear ethical or legal violations or obvious incompetence. The initial idea behind the recall was not to remove any elected official who had a disagreement with a constituent. Yet all too often that is the case in Genesee County.

Certainly a prime example of the overuse of recalls is the current attempt to recall Walling. Walling took over after an attempted recall of Don Williamson, (who resigned). And Williamson took over after the recall of Woodrow Stanley (with a state takeover in the midst of all that).

All too often the recall has become a local sport where anyone who has a disagreement with an official tries to recall that person at the earliest opportunity. There are lots of disagreements that one might have with Walling, but none of them merit a recall.

With that in mind, here are the Top Ten Reasons Walling should not be recalled.

10) Many people many have serious policy differences with the mayor over appointments, police and fire layoffs or his relations with the Flint City Council. They were tough calls, in a tough budget situation. Maybe they could have been done better. But making any decision will always make someone unhappy. That is the nature of politics and leadership. Policy differences alone should not be the basis for a recall.

9) There is only one year left in his term. If you don't like the job the mayor is doing, vote him out in 2011.

8) This would be the third mayor in a row that Flint has tried to recall. I don't know if that is the most in the nation, but it certainly must be close.  Is this the kind of record we want to set in Flint?

7) The overuse of the recall weakens any future mayor (or any other elected official).  Who will make a difficult decision if a recall is certain? Who will be willing to run for office?

6) A recall election and a new election campaign cycle will be costly to a city that can hardly afford it.

5) A recall will continue the turmoil of unsettled politics and policy that plagued Flint for too long.  A continuing image of conflict and turmoil is hardly an incentive for an outsider to invest in the city.

4) The recall will be a major distraction for the mayor, the council, the media and the public when other critical issues demand our attention.

3) It may prove to be one more national black eye. Once more Flint will make the national news with a story of how bad and crazy things are here.

2)  If members of the council run to replace the mayor it will weaken the chance of the council and mayor working together.

1)  And the number one reason for not recalling the mayor. If Walling is recalled, Don Williamson has promised to run again. Are you ready for a return of the "lawsuit of the week" and the Donmobile rushing to the next fire?

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Paul Rozycki is a professor of political science at Mott Community College. He has lived in Flint since 1969 and has been involved with and observed Flint politics for many years. He is author of Politics and Government in Michigan (with Jim Hanley) and A Clearer Image: The History of Mott Community College.