Filthy Hans posted:

Because she didn't create the water problem. After Gov. Snyder appointed an emergency manager to Flint in 2011, the Flint mayor had pretty much all powers taken away, so mayors since then had no actual power and just ineffectually lobbied for their constituents. The issues with the Flint water supply became gradually more apparent in 2015. In late January 2016 the Mayor -- who was recently elected based on a platform of fixing Flint's water -- was given back some but not all mayoral powers by Rick Snyder.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKCN0V024X

As far as the garbage goes she's partly culpable. She wanted to go with a new garbage service that was $2mil/year cheaper. The city council voted 8-1 against her. She vetoed. They overrode her veto. Then the council took her to court in order to force the issue of who had the final say in the matter. The judge was royally pissed with both the council and the mayor. Here's where she really went wrong: Republic Services, the old garbage crew, offered to continue service until a decision was reached, and the Mayor declined the offer. That's why there's no pickup at all right now. The mayor claims the issue will hopefully be solved by midweek but there's no reason to trust her confidence, or even that the final decision will be hers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...f-trash-pickup/