Snyder Administration Dismissed Complaints From Flint

Emails released by Gov. Rick Snyder’s office on Wednesday show what critics have long been saying: state officials only declared a public health state of emergency in Flint after months and months of complaints from residents and local lawmakers.

The emails, released at the governor’s request after his State of the State address last night, reveal an administration that was reluctant to acknowledge data showing high lead in the blood of adults and children, largely unconcerned about the safety of the city’s residents—the majority of whom are poverty-stricken and black—and eager to lay blame for the burgeoning crisis elsewhere, with local officials.