Karen Weaver's Fight for Clean Water November 2017 | Page 10

READY TO SERVE
Bellant is a fighter. That’s why Russ Bellant was an affiant in the groundbreaking
450 page Title VI complaint against Governor Snyder, filed by the Detroit
School Board which detailed dozens of violations of the Civil Rights Act. Most
of the complainants were anonymous, in order to avoid retaliation by Darnell
Earley and the Governor. However, Russ Bellant and Professor Charles Bell’s
affidavits were made public with a timeline, and observations that the EAA and
other State forced educational policies seemed intended to create a pipeline to
prison for vulnerable at risk children, and create a decline in the value of Detroit
homes. Bellant was not afraid, “I want people to know…,” he wrote about
Snyder’s violations.
Russ is a U.S. Army veteran and a life-long Democrat. He is also the former
Chief of Staff for State Representative Wendell Byrd, Treasurer of the 9th Police
Precinct Community Relations Council, President of Helco Block Club, a
Member of the Detroit Library Commission.
From 1988-1993 he worked as a water operator at the Detroit Water and Sewage
Department which gave him a perspective other candidates don’t have. Rain and
snowmelt actually provide a benefit because it helps flush the sewers. However,
the drainage fee can amount to ¼ of the bill. The cost to get rid of rain and
snowmelt can be higher than the price of delivering fresh water.
Under Snyder, tens of thousands of Detroit homes have had their water shut off,
with no warning, creating a public health crisis. Henry Ford Global Health
Initiative found a significant rise of water-related illness in admitted patients,
who live on a block with water shutoffs. Living on a block that has experienced
water shutoffs increases the chance of contracting a water-associated illness, and
often those illnesses are contagious. While safe, affordable water is one of the
biggest challenges, it’s not the only one.
Tax foreclosures are a big problem. The Land Bank owns 79,000 properties and
another 38,000 homes could suffer foreclosure in the next year. That’s one in ten
homes.
CONT’D