City of Flint announces two Third Ward Ambassadors, vetting a third

FLINT, Mich. — The City of Flint has announced two of the three Third Ward Ambassadors appointed to temporarily fill the vacancy created by the passing of Councilman Quincy Murphy. The announcement was made at a Tuesday, Jan. 14 press conference. 

Linda Boose and LaShawn Johnson, both lifelong Flint residents, were selected as ambassadors through a vetting process led by Chief of Staff Ed Taylor.

Officials stated they wanted to make sure the candidates were “in good standing with the City of Flint.” The third and final ambassador will be selected at a later, unspecified date. 

“You have a void in the Third Ward,” said Taylor. “You have concerns that need to be addressed…and so [residents] can contact these individuals right here…and we’ll get it to the proper people in the administration.”

Officials used blight, speed humps, tree issues, or potholes as examples of concerns residents may contact the ambassadors to have the city address.  

“I live on the east northeast side of Flint, and we have always been underrepresented. We have to scramble to get answers about different concerns in the area. So I’m very excited, and I’m honored to serve in the Third Ward as an ambassador,” Boose said. 

Boose will not be running for a more permanent position as Third Council representative. Johnson, however, will be vying for the Third Ward seat having collected signatures to become a candidate — signatures she says will be submitted by the end of the day. In November, Boose was re-elected to a six-year term on the Flint Board of Education.

“I have been a resident of the Third Ward my whole entire life. I am a bus driver, I work for Madison Academy and I also work for the federal government, but I’m here to serve the Third Ward…We’re going to do the best that we can to help our residents,” Johnson said. 

There is no direct line set up to contact the Third Ward ambassadors, but residents looking to reach them can call the Mayor’s office at 810-766-7346 until a better system is put in place.