The State of Michigan is in transition -- and not in a good way. In fact, some may say that we have issues. Lead was found in Flint's water supply, state officials within the state's Veteran's Administration were recently caught mishandling complaints of abuse, according to The Detroit Free Press, Detroit Public School teachers are still not showing up for work while their workplace, the schools, continue to deteriorate.
After the elections in Nevada and on Super Tuesday, the nation's attention will once again shift to Michigan. In fact, the Republican candidates and Democratic candidates will each host their debates in Detroit and Flint, respectively, during the first week of March. There is no doubt that the situation in Flint, Detroit and Kalamazoo will become debate topics as they have already become political issues.
So who will save Michigan? It certainly won't be anyone who choses to take advantage of a bad situation for political gain. Our elected officials need to realize when something is beyond their control or when an issue becomes so political and yet so important that it must be resolved.
The State of Michigan needs a system to help solve complex multi-party disputes related to public policy, using trusted third party neutrals to break through the political clutter and help the various stakeholders find resolution through chaos.
As candidates continue to visit Michigan over the next few weeks and as the flurry of campaign commercials flood our airways, it is important for everyone to stay focused on resolving the challenges our state faces and not get sidetracked by politics, rhetoric or misinformation.
To help keep that focus and end the politics, the state should turn to trained facilitators to create a process to deal with the various issues involved in Flint, in Detroit and in Kalamazoo.
It's time to take the politics out of the system and create a process to deal with the challenges Michigan faces. It is time we ask the politicians to lead by having them step aside, and allow neutrals to step in to guide the stakeholders seeking resolution.
