Mott ’ s influence grew as the de facto gatekeeper of Flint city politics . Flint was the largest city in Genesee County ; politicians from both the city and county knew better than to make key decisions without the foundation ’ s say-so . As the decades passed , residents insisted that Mott , and the real estate developers connected to it , were leading a gentrification campaign to push poor , mostly Black people out of the city . The most outspoken Flint activists described the foundation as a shadow government .
Terry Bankert , the late former Flint city clerk and ombudsman , described Mott as more of a kingmaker than a charitable foundation .
“ I don ’ t think two boards get nailed together in this town without Ridgway getting the first look ,” he told me about Mott CEO Ridgway White .
I shared with Neeley what residents had told me . His response began a shocking series of revelations .
The mayoral hopeful asked if I had read a major civil rights report on the Flint water crisis that had been submitted to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission . I had . The analysis , authored by Wayne State law professor Peter Hammer , found structural and strategic racism to be the dark underbellies of the water crisis .
Neeley then brought up the book Demolition Means Progress : Flint , Michigan , and the Fate of the American Metropolis . The book , authored by Andrew R . Hightower , is essentially the bible on the dismantling of one-time vibrant industrial metropolises like Flint . In it , Hightower meticulously laid out Mott ’ s historical role in advocating for , and helping engineer , racist government policies in Flint — including redlining and de facto school segregation . Naturally Mott contested the book ’ s depiction of its history .
Neeley ’ s mention of the civil rights report , and the book chronicling Mott ’ s controversial racial past , sure sounded like he was insinuating that Mott had played a role in causing the water crisis . His next comment blew right past insinuation .
“ So , they don ’ t give $ 100 million dollars to a cause [ the Flint water crisis ] because they just say ‘ oh , we want to help out ,’” Neeley said with a deadpan , noshit-the-sky-is-blue expression . His words were surprising to hear from a politician , the implications explosive . His body language and words suggested something sinister ; the powerful foundation was funneling its cash to Flint in order to bury its role in helping cause the water crisis that had become a national scandal .
He then confirmed what I had heard from several sources . “ They [ Mott ] picked the first two emergency managers .” His casual , but emphatic , statement was major .
Here was Neeley , vying to become the top government official in Flint , validating what residents had passionately insisted to me . The state rep was all but confirming Mott ’ s role as the puppet master behind Governor Rick Snyder ’ s hijacking of democracy in Flint . More specifically , he was telling me that although the governor technically appointed Michael Brown and Ed Kurtz as emergency managers in Flint in 2011 and 2012 , it was the foundation who dictated the governor ’ s selections .
After the water crisis captured national news headlines and a criminal investigation was launched , Neeley made similar accusations in 2016 — this time about the Snyder administration . The governor ’ s lieutenants were busy “ cleaning their fingerprints from the room ” while Flint criminal investigators were “ still in the room ,” Neeley told those criminal investigators during an interview , according to a confidential investigative report I obtained .
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In 2020 Governor Snyder was asked why he selected Michael Brown as his emergency manager .
“ I don ’ t recall at this point in time ,” the then-former governor testified under oath as part of major Flint civil classaction lawsuit .
When asked if he ever met with Brown or Kurtz before appointing them
. . . ditto . “ I don ’ t recall .” His answers were hard to believe ; the former governor was known for his meticulousness . How is it he could not answer why he selected a leader for the important role of running the city he unilaterally seized control over ? At the very least , wouldn ’ t he remember meeting with the two men before appointing them as the unelected rulers of Flint ?
After a long career , Rick Snyder became a millionaire . In 1982 , right out of law school , he was interviewed for his first job by . . . Richard Baird . Baird hired him as a tax accountant at Coopers & Lybrand , which eventually became the powerhouse accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers . Snyder rose up quickly , eventually taking over the firm ’ s mergers and acquisitions department in Chicago . In 1991 , Snyder left to run Gateway Computers as executive vice president .
By the late 1990s , Snyder dipped his toes into political waters . He was appointed by Michigan governor John Engler as the chairman of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation ( MEDC ). MEDC was essentially a government body littered with elite businessmen , political donors , and ex-politicians . Snyder ’ s background instilled in him the Republican religiosity of “ running government like a business .” He even called himself “ one tough nerd .” And boy , did he run the government like a business .
Immediately after entering office in 2011 , Snyder moved to give a $ 1.8 billion tax cut to corporations . The unlucky losers of the deal were seniors , who saw taxes on their pensions rise . Governor Snyder then eliminated a vital lifeline for cities like Flint , cutting $ 300 million in the revenue sharing system in which the state sent surplus tax revenue back to cities . Flint , cash-strapped and nearly $ 20 million in debt , desperately depended on that money . But now the city was losing $ 8 million dollars .
It was all par for the course for a governor who , as a politician , never shed his businessman mentality . “ It ’ s sort of a single dimension for decision making — thinking that if it can ’ t be solved on a
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