Flint Election Results – More Police, No Jail

The election results are in for Flint and Genesee County, and the reactions have been very mixed.  The two main issues on the ballot for Flint residents were very closely related.  Voters opted to approve the Flint Police Millage, but denied the Flint Jail Millage.  This has some people scratching their heads, but I personally see one very positive sign from the results.

With the final ballots being counted late last night, the results looked like this.

People in the area are encouraged and frustrated at the same time by the results.  The Jail is needed in the area and would have created new jobs for Flint residents.  The bright side is that no new police men and women will be let go thanks to the new millage.

There is another silver lining moment found in the results.  The Genesee County Library millage was passed.

On a very personal note, I was ecstatic to see this.  It's a small, but very obvious ray of hope for Genesee County.  Think about it like this; the people of Genesee county voted to save a library instead of a prison.  All over the country we see schools closing while prisons open.  This is a trend that we know all to well here in Flint.  It's very encouraging to see the decision we made yesterday.  The Genesee District Library will continue to serve Flint residents much better than the jail ever would, and who knows, maybe it will even help keep Flint's youth from ever having to see the jail.

What do you think?

Grab complete election results from ABC12 here.