Flint City Council Includes Convicted KillerJanuary 23, 2016Daniel Greenfield
I wrote a brief piece about how Flint's dysfunction under Democratic rule contributed to its present disaster. But it only scratches the surface. The media is running left-wing talking points about Rick Snyder wrongly usurping local authority through an emergency manager.
Here's what local authority looks like in Flint. Meet Wantwaz Davis, convicted killer, Flint City Council member.
"He went and reached in his pocket, so I reached in my pocket and I shot him," Davis said Wednesday, Nov. 6. "When I found out he later died, I turned myself in. I never intended to shoot Mr. Morris. To this day, I am very remorseful."
Not as remorseful as the guy he shot in the mouth.
Morris died after being shot three times -- once each in the hip, abdomen and mouth, according to The Flint Journal archives.
But it gives the killer a unique perspective.
Wantwaz Davis knows that his background is atypical of most politicians. But the newly elected city councilman from Flint, Mich., says he's more interested in representing his constituents than following a typical career path.
Indeed, Davis -- a leader in what may be the most dangerous city in America -- has had a firsthand view of the impact of crime on his community from a unique vantage point: the inside of a prison cell.
Flint's newest elected official has spent the better part of the last 20 years incarcerated for second-degree murder.
Yet Davis says he sees his background as an asset, not a liability.
Of course he does. Because he's a Democrat. His voters are Democrats. Just think, one day we could have a convicted killer as president. Because this is what the Democratic Party is now.
As an elected official, he says he wants to work to do whatever he can do help people with criminal records find work.
Find them more spots on the Flint City Council which already has not one, but two convicted felons.
Davis went to confront Morris, but the end result was more than just a talk. Davis put two to three bullets in Morris and left him for dead.
As Davis tells the story, he had no intention on shooting Morris but brought the gun because he wanted protection from a man 10 years his senior. When Morris reached for his pocket, Davis responded with gunshots.
Davis, who pleaded guilty to second degree murder in order to avoid first-degree charge, repeatedly told the court "I just wanted to talk to him," according to transcripts.
Bringing a gun to talk to somebody is a popular thing for Flint City Council members to do. Meet Eric Mays, Flint's other felon.
First Ward councilman-elect Eric Mays pleaded guilty to felonious assault in 1987 and served a year of probation. Mays said the man had been threatening his life before Mays threatened him with a gun.
Since then Mays has been spending a whole lot of time in court after being elected.
Flint Councilman Eric Mays is on his way to jail for 28 days for impaired driving -- a case in which police said they found the elected official outside a disabled car, facing the wrong way on the expressway more than two years ago.
Mays, one of Flint's most outspoken and best-known public officials, represented himself in two trials connected to the November 2013 incident and had suggested he was the victim of "political, trumped-up charges" in the case.
Also there's the disorderly conduct trial.
Mays, who was a candidate for mayor at the time, claimed his arrest was an attempt to silence him as he spoke about allegations of parks being mowed in wards represented by council members who supported former Mayor Dayne Walling in advance of the primary election in August.
As he did in a drunken driving jury trial earlier this year, Mays plans to act as his own attorney in the disorderly conduct case.
I can't imagine why Flint's government can't run its own affairs or keep the water clean.
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