FLINT, MI -- A line of Flint residents asked City Council members to set aside issues that have left them mired in political gridlock on Monday, Dec. 17, and at least for that day, they got their wish.
Council members passed multiple resolutions during a series of meetings on Monday, setting aside efforts to elect a new council president or fill an open 3rd Ward council seat, two time-consuming issues they've been unable to agree on.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley, who has been increasingly critical of the lingering stalemate, issued a statement following Monday's meetings, saying he was "grateful that the partnership of government was performed tonight on behalf of the residents of Flint."
Neeley highlighted the council division in a news conference last week after a Genesee Circuit Court judge ordered members to enter mediation until they appoint a replacement for the late 3rd Ward Councilman Quincy Murphy.
Several residents joined in the call for cooperation on Monday.
"Across our city, Flint residents work every day with our neighbors -- whether we like them personally or not, whether we have deep disagreements or not -- to make our city a better place," said Carma Lewis, president of Flint Neighborhoods United, a coalition of community groups from across the city.
"There are too many great things taking place in our city for internal disagreements to undermine the progress," Lewis said.
7th Ward resident Dick Sadler, who attended the meeting with a group of his neighbors, also asked the council to work through city business first and make the 3rd Ward appointment later.
Appointment of a new council member could be key to resolving who'll lead the council in 2025 by adding a swing vote in what has been a 4-4 deadlock.
"I'm here begging you to set down any interpersonal issues you may have with one another and focus instead on the important task of serving the community you have been elected to serve," Sadler said. "I share my neighbors' collective anxiety that we are missing important opportunities to grow as a city when we let conflict get in the way of progress."
Neeley highlighted divisions on the council during a Dec. 11 news conference with Fire Chief Theron Wiggins, saying the department had waited unnecessarily for months for the council to approve new breathing apparatus and other equipment.
Council members approved what the mayor called essential spending for that equipment on Monday as well as multiple additional resolutions covering funding for projects ranging from the outfitting of police vehicles to work on a water line replacement.
Although a few rounds of voting took place on the 3rd Ward appointment and the council leadership, neither of those issues was resolved.
Council members have been divided on whether they want Jerri Winfrey-Carter (Ward 5), Candice Mushatt (Ward 7), or Jonathan Jarrett (Ward 9) to lead the council. Despite hundred of rounds of voting, no candidate has received the five votes needed for the position.
They have also been unable to agree on who to appoint to the open 3rd Ward seat among residents Beverly Biggs-Leavy, AC Dumas and Kerry Nelson.
Last week, Genesee Circuit Judge Elizabeth A. Kelly ordered council members to engage in court-supervised mediation until the 3rd Ward issue is resolved.
Kelly ordered mediation after Flint's Ethics and Accountability Board sued council members for violating the charter, which calls for the appointment to have been made within 30 days.
Murphy died on Sept. 29 and no candidate to replace him has been chosen in more than 130 rounds of voting.