Community remains shocked by retirement decision
(02/09/09)--As confident as Flint Mayor Don Williamson is, he didn't win his first nor his second bid for the city's top job.
But persistence -- or stubbornness -- eventually paid off for him. That, for many, made him a mayor like few others.
Click here to see Mayor Williamson's entire news conference.
You can't live in Mid-Michigan for very long, without knowing the name Don Williamson.
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"We have a tremendous response. People are ready for a change. They're tired of the politicians," he said when the first ran for mayor in 1991.
Despite a plan to put 50 police cars on the street, he did not make it past the primary.
In 1995, Williamson made a second run for the city's top job. The race was both heated and ugly.
Williamson took on Woodrow Stanley, the incumbent mayor, but he also lodged serious accusations against another challenger, Sam Riddle.
In the end, it wasn't enough. Williamson finished dead last in a five-man primary.
But in 2003, the third time proved the charm. Williamson beat Floyd Clack in the general election, but didn't take over until the following summer.
The city was still under state financial control, and at City Hall, that meant a lengthy power struggle with Ed Kurtz.
In fact, it was the middle of 2004 before Williamson fully took on the responsibilities of mayor.
In 2007, Williamson faced a close and heated race against Dayne Walling. In the end, the mayor kept the job by earning fewer than 600 votes.
Through the years, he's been a polarizing figure as mayor. That's part of the legacy Williamson will leave behind when he retires this weekend.
The sudden retirement of Flint's mayor came as a shock to many residents of the city.
Everyone seemed to have an opinion about the mayor Monday. And in our unscientific survey, most are sad to see him go.
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Citing health reasons, the Mayor of Flint, Michigan, Don Williamson announced Monday at an 11:20 A.M. news conference that he was resigning from office effective Sunday February 15, 2009 at midnight. Williamson, age 75, indicated that he had multiple sinus infections and kidney stones since November 1 and his doctors wanted him to slow down by reducing his schedule.
Genesee County, Michigan (orange).
A number of events has lead to speculation about Williamson's resignation. His interim Police Chief, David Dicks, has been charged with defrauding the United States government stemming from the Federal investigation into his father's security company, City Security, and its contract with Career Alliance in January. Further, a recall election was scheduled for February 24. The snap selection of Michael Brown to be the new Flint City Administrator and his current City Administrator Darryl Buchanan to the non-City Charter position of "deputy mayor" last week Wednesday. Last Thursday a press conference, originally announced to explain the switch in City Administrators and the position of "deputy mayor," was canceled. And finally, on Friday the Interim Police Chief David Forystek was replaced with a new Interim Police Chief, John Keahey. This returned Forystek to department's traffic bureau.  

Over the last weekend, Williamson denied the rumors. Buchanan was at the press conference while Brown did not attend.

Williamson is a multi-millionaire. He is majority stockholder and chairman of the publicly traded The Colonel's International Inc. (Nasdaq:COLO).

Williamson first stepped onto the political field by running for Mayor of Flint in 1991 but failed to get out the primary. In 1999 he lost to Woodrow Stanley in the general election. In 2003 election — the first full term election after the recall of Stanley — Williamson won the office of Mayor, while the city was still under state financial administration, succeeding Mayor James W. Rutherford into office.

In 2007, Williamson won a narrow re-election over Dayne Walling. He was only drawing a US$1 per year salary. A number of problems have cropped up since then including budget deficits, layoffs, and proposed drag strip.

Some leaders in the community that were surprised at his resignation. The ''Flint Journal'' quoted Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton as stating "I'm shocked." While County Sheriff Robert Pickell stated to the ''Journal'' that he was "absolutely shocked that the mayor resigned." Pickel added, that "with Darryl Buchanan working with Mr. Brown, it will be a good team."

City Councilor, and Williamson opponent, Scott Kincaid is quoted by ABC 12 News as stating that this "was a super-fantastic day" for the city of Flint. City Councilor Jackie Poplar said "Hallelujah!" to ABC 12. 

According to the City Charter, Michael Brown as the Flint City Administrator will take over as Temporary Mayor, with no veto nor ability to remove mayorial appointees with out City Council approval. A primary will be scheduled for the May election date and the general election in August for a replacement mayor.

The recall was based on charges that Williamson mishandled city funds and misstated the status of the city's finances. An additional recall charge according to recall supporters was he disregarded public safety by moving to eliminate 59 police officers and nine firefighters.