Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) ripped the current state of Michigan’s COVID-19 reporting system saying it “is just not reliable.”
April 16, 2020
What They Are Saying: Michigan Local Officials Critical of Whitmer’s Emergency Response and Orders
Yesterday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) ripped the current state of Michigan’s COVID-19 reporting system saying it “is just not reliable.” Duggan’s frustration comes after Michigan’s largest hospital system’s CEO blamed the state for a lack of reporting, leading to an increase in ER wait times. Local news outlets have reported that Michigan is third in the nation for coronavirus cases and last for data transparency about patients.
State Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) told MIRS News that Governor Gretchen Whitmer was “giving false reports” to federal officials on the dire situation in Detroit.
MIRS: “Whitsett has been complimentary of Trump’s handling of the pandemic. She is much less happy with Whitmer’s handling of the crisis. ‘There is no need for me to have a conversation with someone who is not doing anything. I mean, if you are going to do something, then I want to have a conversation with you. If you are not going to do anything, I don’t have time to have a conversation with you. I have people dying in my city. I don’t have time to waste,’ she said.”
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said Whitmer’s ban on single-person lawn mowing operations could do more harm than good. Fouts told the Detroit News, “I’m not going to support giving any citation. We have a large number of senior citizens, and many of them have special needs. They don’t own lawnmowers; they rely on commercial services.”
Four northern Michigan Sheriffs said they will not strictly enforce Whitmer’s orders, telling Mlive, “While we understand her desire to protect the public, we question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority…She has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan citizens.”
From the city of Detroit to the top of the mitten, the frustrations with Whitmer’s poor emergency response management and growing confusion from excessive decrees are concerning local officials and residents alike. Whitmer has time to audition for VP on national shows and criticize citizens for pointing out confusion but has avoided responding to local officials on her poor management and the growing frustration with her handling of this emergency response. It’s past time for Whitmer to put the needs of Michiganders first. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action