Five years after the start of the Flint water crisis, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer participated in a day of service at Flint’s Hasselbring Park, raking leaves and greeting volunteers for around 30 minutes.

“You can’t remedy a broken trust like this with words. You have to show up and you have to live your values. That’s what we’re doing every single day,” Whitmer told reporters at the event. “It’s going to take time. I did not create the problem in Flint, I fought a lot of the things that contributed to it like the emergency management act, but I know this: I and my administration, and the lieutenant governor, are absolutely focused on earning back the trust of the people in this great city.”

Whitmer was joined at the event by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and Congressman Dan Kildee (D-Flint Twp.).

Other national and local political figures commemorated the anniversary on Twitter, including multiple presidential candidates:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Democratic presidential candidate

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Democratic presidential candidate

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Democratic presidential candidate

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Democratic presidential candidate

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Democratic presidential candidate

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Democratic presidential candidate

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Democratic presidential candidate

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Democratic presidential candidate

Miramar, Fla. Mayor Wayne Messam, Democratic presidential candidate

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint Twp.)

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly)

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit)

Updated April 25, 2019 at 6:48 pm with comment from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Updated April 25, 2019 at 7:42 pm with comment from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.

Updated April 25, 2019 at 11:07 pm with comment from Miramar, Fla. Mayor Wayne Messam.

Andrew Roth is a reporter and photographer covering politics and policy in Michigan, as well technology, culture and their convergence. Andrew is a journalism student at Michigan State University and first...