Myth #10: Duggan is a Leader in Times of Disaster
Didn't we just go through this exact same flood in 2014? Didn't we get federal money back then to address the issue? What's the excuse this time? The same old shit: "There's no way we could have prepared for this much rain"...and so they didn't. Now they feel comfortable just blaming it on "climate change," as if that excuses their incompetence and malfeasance.
https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/28273/guest_commentary_detroit_flooding_is_predicted_and_predictable_because_half-steps_aren_t_enough
I won't call this a "natural disaster," because by now it is definitely a manmade disaster thanks to lack of planning, lack of priorities, and general lack of giving a damn over the course of decades. We have the largest freshwater system in the world, and one of the grandest municipal water distribution systems ever devised by man, but we can't figure out how to properly manage sewage and stormwater, partly because the city and the suburbs are fighting over control of the resource instead of working together to address the looming issues of climate change.
If Duggan had a soul, he would make sure the fee was applied more fairly against people like the Ilitch family, Dan Gilbert, the Fords, etc, who have massive buildings and parking lots, and billions in their coffers, while relaxing it against poor residents in houses with narrow roofs, tiny garages, and small driveways (if any driveway at all since many houses predate the automobile). But no, he subscribes to socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor. In America's poorest city, Mike Duggan—a supposed Democrat—is using fiscal austerity against an 80% majority black population. There's not even a lot of Republicans who are that cold hearted!
And then...there's shit like this:
Meanwhile, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller began calling for an investigation of the operation of the Conners Creek Pump Station in Detroit:
Due to the station's shortfall, which Miller refers to as a shut down that is refuted by GLWA leaders in reports, Macomb County was forced to shut down one pump station at the Macomb-Wayne counties border to stem flow to Connors Creek. Crews in Macomb County then had to discharge 96 million gallons of treated sewage from a basin to manage flow. This is the kind of shit service you get when you have big power players like Rick Snyder and Mike Duggan force a city into a fake bankruptcy and create "authorities" like the GLWA to manage your public infrastructure like the lighting, water, and sewer, etc. Sheer incompetence, austerity, and greed (Duggan had a bigger hand in that scheme than he wants us to know about). This is also what you get when you have a mayor who appoints an ex-cop, Gary Brown, to run the DWSD (which should also explain all the shutoffs).
So anyway, we have politicians out in the burbs asking serious questions about accountability, but all the leaders in the city such as Gary Brown and his boss Mike Duggan are still trying to get us to believe that nothing could have been done differently. In fact if you go on the DWSD page of the city's website where you are supposed to find information on how to get help for your situation, the first line reads, "We have experienced an extraordinary rain event, far beyond the designed capacity of the combined sewer system, please read this information carefully..." etc. Now if I were someone trying to get help for my flooded home, do you think I want the first thing out of your mouth to be you whining about how it's not your fault? Doesn't that seem like an inappropriate and strange place for such a statement? But this is the governmental culture under Mike Duggan's administration...if you can't pretend it didn't happen, shift the blame.
By the way there is a class action lawsuit forming against the DWSD, if you want to get in on it. Tell your neighbors:
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-detroit-water-dept-for-infrastructure-flood-failure
After one week there were still thousands of flooded basements in Detroit, and the only response by the city to the disaster was to set up a hotline (which was a non-working number for several days), tell people to "keep their receipts" (which sounds like the brush-off), and pass out mops (which you have to go to a recreation center to get). Impoverished people, especially elders, cannot handle the strenuous cleanup work on their own, cannot afford to hire people to do it, can't drive to a rec center. Many people cannot make an insurance claim because they can't afford insurance. Many people are now homeless because they were living in someone else's basement before the flood.
For what it's worth, the third anniversary of the death of Ca'Mya Davis also coincided with this flood...you may remember her as the 11-month-old who in 2018 fell through a hole in the floor of the abandoned house her impoverished mother was forced to live in, subsequently drowning in the sewage-filled basement.
Let's face it, this is the second catastrophic flood under Duggan's watch, and his response has been the same both times: no response. He has been in charge of an 80% majority black city for eight years, and we are now tied for first place as the most impoverished city in America. Ca'Mya Davis died because of poverty, perpetuated by Duggan-style politics. Where is the supposed "comeback"? Where is our leader?
But let's forget about finger-pointing and blame-gaming for a moment, and look around the room for a leader to stand up and just cut through all the bullshit to address the main thing, which is how we clean up from this mess now that it has occurred. I'm not really seeing any strong leader standing up and boldly leading the charge to make residents feel like believable help is on the way.
And this might explain why our mayor was so noticeably absent while his flooded city was in a state of emergency:
He was busy out in Novi, getting engaged to his mistress. The same mistress who was at the center of the "Make Your Date" scandal involving favoritism, misappropriated federal grant funds, and 2,000 deleted emails. A scandal that was investigated by Michigan Attorney General (and Duggan political endorsee) Dana Nessel, who recently absolved Duggan of wrongdoing in that case despite the obvious illegality of destroying public documents. So while you were here in the ghetto drowning in raw sewage, the Livonia Leprechaun was up on the high ground, getting his lucky charms polished by his sweetie. (For what it's worth I seriously doubt there is anything to this marriage other than the fact that Duggan and Hassan are now legally protected from having to testify against each other in court regarding the Make Your Date scandal).
As of today while I am writing this, it has been 16 days and there are still basements in Detroit flooded with sewage. There are still thousands of elderly, disabled, and impoverished people, who do not have the physical ability or the resources to remove the contaminated debris from their basements, drain the water, and sanitize their house so it is safe to live in. It's been 16 days, and yet it only takes 24-48 hours for mold to form. There are also areas of the city where the safety of the drinking water is still questionable. Yet there has been no actual concrete action from the city to resolve any of these problems, other than taking claims, supposedly asking Biden for FEMA money, and halfheartedly calling for volunteers to help do clean-outs.
Volunteers?! Isn't this something that the city should have taken the reigns on right after the disaster happened!? IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS, and now they want people to "volunteer" to do this? Where the hell is our leadership? This is about to turn into a massive health & sanitation crisis and Duggan's trying to bark up the Biden tree when Biden is already sick of his shit after that debacle where Duggan tried to refuse his help on getting J&J vaccines! FEMA money takes months to come through—Detroiters need help NOW. Has Duggan even checked the basement at the Manoogian Mansion? Oh that's right, he don't even go there. He's been out in Novi with his boo this whole time. The Manoogian's just a taxpayer-funded party pad for his spoiled brat son.
Then you got the mayor and City Council trying to tell us that we can't use this new $800M of American Rescue Plan money for flood relief efforts or sewer infrastructure, because "that's not what that money was meant for."
Excuse me? Did I just hear the same mayor and council who are n-o-t-o-r-i-o-u-s for misspending, misappropriating, misallocating, and outright stealing money at the state, local, and federal levels whenever it suits their own schemes try to tell me about ethical allocation? The same mayor who can always find some way to manipulate earmarked funds in order to funnel public tax dollars into the pockets of his mistress, his crony campaign donors, and his corporate masters like Dan Gilbert at the drop of a hat, even if it lands him under investigation, but whenever it's something for the people, especially poor black people, now he "can't break the rules" because that would be "unethical"? Miss me with that shit.
Another point on that "rain tax" that the DWSD came out with after the bankruptcy, which everyone always complains is so ridiculous and unfairly applied....Duggan loves it, because even though it is onerous to low-income homeowners, he uses it as a weapon to "persuade" the pastors of the churches in the city to endorse him. Churches have large impermeable surfaces such as big roofs and parking lots...so he gives drainage fee abatements to the ones he likes, and if they don't walk the line for him he revokes the favor, slamming them with huge increases. And we all know how preachers get when their pockets get light.
If Duggan had a soul, he would make sure the fee was applied more fairly against people like the Ilitch family, Dan Gilbert, the Fords, etc, who have massive buildings and parking lots, and billions in their coffers, while relaxing it against poor residents in houses with narrow roofs, tiny garages, and small driveways (if any driveway at all since many houses predate the automobile). But no, he subscribes to socialism for the rich and rugged individualism for the poor. In America's poorest city, Mike Duggan—a supposed Democrat—is using fiscal austerity against an 80% majority black population. There's not even a lot of Republicans who are that cold hearted!
On top of everything else going wrong from this flood, people whose cars were stuck on the freeway were getting charged up to $700 to get their cars back, when their basements were still flooded. Just another racket allowed free reign to operate in Mike Duggan's Detroit.
Now that we've established that Duggan fails miserably as a leader in times of disaster, let's get back to who's likely at fault for this manmade disaster. Russ Bellant, who retired from the City after working for the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department and later conducted multi-departmental training, said the city has used an inadequate water pump system for years. He said the Great Lakes Water Authority is “negligent in their responsibility to have high performance systems in place.” Though Bellant said there are temporary situations where water can be overwhelming, the City still should have been better prepared...
Now that we've established that Duggan fails miserably as a leader in times of disaster, let's get back to who's likely at fault for this manmade disaster. Russ Bellant, who retired from the City after working for the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department and later conducted multi-departmental training, said the city has used an inadequate water pump system for years. He said the Great Lakes Water Authority is “negligent in their responsibility to have high performance systems in place.” Though Bellant said there are temporary situations where water can be overwhelming, the City still should have been better prepared...
https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-flooding-residents-demand-solutions
“Whether it’s the mechanical elements of the pump or whether it’s the power supply to the pump, I do not know,” Bellant said. “But the reason I know it isn’t working is simply because of the flood conditions that persist.” Bellant said Detroiters need to know that the sewer lines run from Detroit’s northern suburbs (where Duggan's mistress lives) down to areas like East Jefferson Avenue, where water is likely to pool. According to Bellant, when the Conner Creek pump station on Detroit’s east side fails, “people’s basements become the reservoir.”
“Whether it’s the mechanical elements of the pump or whether it’s the power supply to the pump, I do not know,” Bellant said. “But the reason I know it isn’t working is simply because of the flood conditions that persist.” Bellant said Detroiters need to know that the sewer lines run from Detroit’s northern suburbs (where Duggan's mistress lives) down to areas like East Jefferson Avenue, where water is likely to pool. According to Bellant, when the Conner Creek pump station on Detroit’s east side fails, “people’s basements become the reservoir.”
There's also been a lot of rumors that the entrance gates to the Connor Creek Pumping Station were locked, and none of the GLWA employees sitting outside in the rain had the key. But at least this much is fact:
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/2021/07/02/great-lakes-water-authority-multiple-pumps-werent-working-night-of-the-floods
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/2021/07/02/great-lakes-water-authority-multiple-pumps-werent-working-night-of-the-floods
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/01/candice-miller-flooding-investigation-detroit-pumping-station-conners-creek
“The rain was coming—we all knew it was coming,” Miller said in a release Thursday. “It appears there was a management failure at the Conner Creek Pump Station. They needed to have it properly manned. They needed to have a backup plan, like a generator if the electricity went out.” While Miller concedes that no wastewater system in the state is capable of handling up to 7 inches of rainfall like some areas got, an investigation would further reveal if human error exacerbated flooding for communities along the Jefferson Avenue corridor. Miller suggested a management failure may have led to backup generators not turning on and an audit would clarify how the station is managed.
“The rain was coming—we all knew it was coming,” Miller said in a release Thursday. “It appears there was a management failure at the Conner Creek Pump Station. They needed to have it properly manned. They needed to have a backup plan, like a generator if the electricity went out.” While Miller concedes that no wastewater system in the state is capable of handling up to 7 inches of rainfall like some areas got, an investigation would further reveal if human error exacerbated flooding for communities along the Jefferson Avenue corridor. Miller suggested a management failure may have led to backup generators not turning on and an audit would clarify how the station is managed.
Due to the station's shortfall, which Miller refers to as a shut down that is refuted by GLWA leaders in reports, Macomb County was forced to shut down one pump station at the Macomb-Wayne counties border to stem flow to Connors Creek. Crews in Macomb County then had to discharge 96 million gallons of treated sewage from a basin to manage flow. This is the kind of shit service you get when you have big power players like Rick Snyder and Mike Duggan force a city into a fake bankruptcy and create "authorities" like the GLWA to manage your public infrastructure like the lighting, water, and sewer, etc. Sheer incompetence, austerity, and greed (Duggan had a bigger hand in that scheme than he wants us to know about). This is also what you get when you have a mayor who appoints an ex-cop, Gary Brown, to run the DWSD (which should also explain all the shutoffs).
By the way there is a class action lawsuit forming against the DWSD, if you want to get in on it. Tell your neighbors:
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-detroit-water-dept-for-infrastructure-flood-failure
After one week there were still thousands of flooded basements in Detroit, and the only response by the city to the disaster was to set up a hotline (which was a non-working number for several days), tell people to "keep their receipts" (which sounds like the brush-off), and pass out mops (which you have to go to a recreation center to get). Impoverished people, especially elders, cannot handle the strenuous cleanup work on their own, cannot afford to hire people to do it, can't drive to a rec center. Many people cannot make an insurance claim because they can't afford insurance. Many people are now homeless because they were living in someone else's basement before the flood.
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/07/05/its-a-city-problem-detroiters-say-massive-flooding-could-have-been-prevented
Meanwhile GLWA is trying to put the blame on global warming and fussing over the semantics of "malfunction" vs. "failure," Duggan is out there claiming Detroit has "never seen anything like it" as if the floods in 2014 and 2016 didn't happen, and DWSD is still collecting that drainage fee. The cause is debatable, but what about the response? It has now been over TWO weeks. Why is it taking so long to get any kind of a real response to the crisis for the poorer areas? People don't need to wait for their claims to be processed, or for FEMA money to come through—they need help NOW so that they can safely live in their smelly, moldy, sewage-infested houses again. Seems we can always find money to subsidize things like sports stadiums for billionaires (even if it means stealing from the schools & libraries), but when it comes to addressing poverty and its many effects on the city's taxpayers, there does not seem to be any urgency.
Meanwhile GLWA is trying to put the blame on global warming and fussing over the semantics of "malfunction" vs. "failure," Duggan is out there claiming Detroit has "never seen anything like it" as if the floods in 2014 and 2016 didn't happen, and DWSD is still collecting that drainage fee. The cause is debatable, but what about the response? It has now been over TWO weeks. Why is it taking so long to get any kind of a real response to the crisis for the poorer areas? People don't need to wait for their claims to be processed, or for FEMA money to come through—they need help NOW so that they can safely live in their smelly, moldy, sewage-infested houses again. Seems we can always find money to subsidize things like sports stadiums for billionaires (even if it means stealing from the schools & libraries), but when it comes to addressing poverty and its many effects on the city's taxpayers, there does not seem to be any urgency.
Let's face it, this is the second catastrophic flood under Duggan's watch, and his response has been the same both times: no response. He has been in charge of an 80% majority black city for eight years, and we are now tied for first place as the most impoverished city in America. Ca'Mya Davis died because of poverty, perpetuated by Duggan-style politics. Where is the supposed "comeback"? Where is our leader?
Update: as of July 16, 2021 it has been 20 days and not only are there still basements flooded in Detroit, but sewage is backing up again, causing basements to RE-flood. We know the problem is with the pumping stations here in Detroit, but Duggan seems to expect us all to sit and wait for Biden to come fix them. While we're still sitting on $800M in federal ARP money he already gave us.
