American local election
The 2017 mayoral recall election in Flint, Michigan was held on November 7, 2017, and resulted in incumbent mayor Karen Weaver being re-elected. [1] [2]
| Elections in Michigan |
|---|
 |
The 2017 mayoral recall election in Flint, Michigan was held on November 7, 2017, and resulted in incumbent mayor Karen Weaver being re-elected. [1] [2]
Karen Weaver, the first woman to serve as mayor of Flint, Michigan, took office in 2015 during the Flint water crisis, which remained a central issue in 2017. [2] [3] [4]
In August 2017 petitioners gathered sufficient signatures for a recall election. [5] The recall election was a single election, rather than a two-stage process in which an initial decision on whether to recall Weaver would be followed by another election for a new mayor if necessary. [6]
The recall election followed a controversy relating to Weaver's support for a waste collection contract with Rizzo Environmental Services, a company involved in a corruption scandal that led to criminal charges against 17 people. [1] The election also occurred amidst disagreement between Weaver and the City Council over the city's water provision. [1]
Weaver argued that the recall was motivated by racism and sexism. [2] [3] Her opponents criticized her for failing to work with the City Council and eroding public faith in government. [3]
In August 2017, Weaver filed a complaint that sought to cancel the recall election, alleging illegal behavior by those circulating the recall petition. [7] [8] The civil suit was dismissed later that month. [9]
Eighteen candidates contested the election: [10]
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 81,252, making it the twelfth largest city in Michigan. The Flint metropolitan area is located entirely within Genesee County. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan with a population of 406,892 in 2020. The city was incorporated in 1855.
Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan. The county seat and population center is Flint. Genesee County is considered to be a part of the greater Mid Michigan area.
Clayton Charter Township, or more officially Charter Township of Clayton, is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,581 at the 2010 census.
Flushing is a city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States. The population was 8,411 at the 2020 census. Flushing is considered a suburb of Flint. It is situated within the survey area of Flushing Charter Township, but is administratively autonomous.
Mount Morris Charter Township is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,501 as of the 2010 census. The city of Mount Morris borders on the east, but the two are administered autonomously.
Swartz Creek is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,758 at the 2010 census. The city is a suburb of Flint and has incorporated land formerly within Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, and Clayton Township, but is administratively autonomous from all three.
Thetford Township, is a civil township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,049 at the 2010 census, a large decrease from 8,277 at the 2000 census.
Donald J. Williamson was an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2003 to 2009. He was married to Patsy Lou Williamson, who owned several car dealerships in the Flint area. He was chairman of The Colonel's International, Inc., which manages two raceways.
Woodrow Stanley was an American Democratic Party politician. He was mayor of Flint, Michigan from 1991 until his recall in 2002, and was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from District 34 from 2009 to 2014.
The City of Flint has operated under at least four charters. The City is currently run under its 2017 charter that gives the city a Strong Mayor form of government. It is also instituted the appointed independent office of Ombudsman, while the city clerk is solely appointed by the City Council. The City Council is composed of members elected from the city's nine wards.
Michael Brown is the former city administrator and former emergency manager of Flint, Michigan, US. He also served as temporary mayor and city administrator of Flint after the resignation of Don Williamson.
Dayne Walling is an American politician who was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009 to 2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.
James Ananich is an American politician from the State of Michigan. He was a Democratic Party member of the Michigan State Senate from 2013 to 2023, representing the 27th district, which is located in Genesee County and includes the cities Burton, Clio, Flint, Mount Morris and Swartz Creek and the townships of Flint Township, Forest, Genesee, Mount Morris, Richfield, Thetford and Vienna. He was the minority leader from 2015 to 2023.
Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) is a municipal corporation responsible for distributing water services in the Mid-Michigan and Thumb areas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Members of the authority are the cities of Flint and Lapeer, and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer and Sanilac. Karegnondi is a word from the Petan Indian language meaning "lake" and another early name for Lake Huron.
The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis that started in 2014 after the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan was contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint's water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into the water supply, exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels. A pair of scientific studies confirmed that lead contamination was present in the water supply. The city switched back to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015. It later signed a 30-year contract with the new Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) on November 22, 2017.
Karen Williams Weaver is an American psychologist and politician who was the mayor of Flint, Michigan, from 2015 to 2019. She was the first female mayor of the city and the 5th African-American to hold the office.
On June 21, 2017, Airport Police Lieutenant Jeff Neville was stabbed in the neck at Bishop International Airport in the city of Flint, Michigan, in the United States. The assailant, Amor Ftouhi, yelled, "Allahu akbar" during the attack. Ftouhi was travelling on a Canadian passport. Numerous law enforcement agencies responded and the airport was evacuated. Bomb sniffing dogs searched the evacuated airport for evidence of a larger-scale attack, but found nothing. Ftouhi was charged with committing violence at an international airport and interfering with airport security. He was later charged with committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. He was found guilty of all three charges in November 2018, and was sentenced to life in federal prison in April 2019.
The Genesee County Savings Bank is an office building located at 352 South Saginaw Street in Flint, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Sheldon A. Neeley is an American politician, currently serving as the Mayor of Flint, Michigan. He was elected as Flint’s mayor in 2019 and served an abbreviated three-year term before being re-elected in 2022. Neeley is a registered Democrat and a former state representative in Michigan's 34th House district. He served two complete terms and one partial term in the Michigan House of Representatives between 2015 and 2019. He resigned from his position in the House when he was elected as the Mayor of Flint in 2019. Neeley's wife, Cynthia, was elected to his former seat on March 10, 2020. Neeley served two complete terms and one partial term on the Flint City Council between 2005 and 2014, prior to his tenure as Michigan Representative and was the Council's first African-American member to have come from Flint's Sixth Ward.
 | This Michigan elections-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |