Don Williamson

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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

Donald J. Williamson is the mayor of Flint, Michigan. He was elected in 2004 after Mayor Woodrow Stanley was recalled. He is the husband of Patsy Lou Williamson, owner of several car dealerships in the Flint area. He has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Michigan in 2010.

[edit] Elections

The following is from Williamson's re-election site: "When Mayor Donald J. Williamson took office on 1, July 2004, the city of Flint had a 28 million-dollar deficit in the general fund. The cash on hand at the time was 45.840 million dollars. Today's cash on hand fluctuates from 80 million to 85 million dollars and there is a 8.9 million dollar surplus in the general fund." He only receives one dollar a year as his payment for mayor. His wife owns a lucrative car dealership and he is the founder of a company which makes bumpers and truck liners.

Williamson is running for governor of Michigan in 2010.[1]

[edit] Election Controversy

During the 2007 election, Williamson claimed that the city had an $8.9 million surplus. However, after the mayoral elections, it was revealed that the city was in a $4 Million deficit. Don Williamson had to fire 60 city employees and has proposed to fire 60 Police officers, 9 Firefighters, and close the city jail.

Williamson was accused of bribing citizens for votes by handing out more than $20,000 at the car dealership that his wife owns as part of a "Customer Appreciation Day." Each recipient of the money was given campaign literature. [2]

In both elections, Williamson ran as a Democrat although was opposed by the state Democratic party for a variety of issues, including his campaign donations both he and his wife made to George W. Bush. They contributed the maximum amount. [3]

[edit] Administration

His administration has delivered a balance budget for fiscal year 2005, 2006 and has delivered a balanced budget for fiscal year 2007. The City of Flint received a national budget award for 2006.^{[citations needed]}

At present, the city is in a $9 Million deficit, much of it due to the various lawsuits against Don Williamson himself. In February, 2008, Williamson sued Flint city clerk Inez Clark for not convening a panel to investigate "her profane and threatening" language with an employee. [4]During the Flint mayoral election He also points to hundreds of miles of paved roads as one of his proudest achievements as mayor.[5] Time magazine named Flint the "most dangerous city in America" in a 2007 issue.[6] The 14th Annual CQ press publication of "Most Dangerous Cities in America" ranked Flint third.[7]

[edit] Criminal Past

Williamson was convicted for several business scams in 1962 and served 3 years in prison before being paroled. These involved buying cars with bad checks and purchasing items without actually paying for them. [8]