Ashley Nickels

Ashley E. Nickels, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Kent State University

Protesters during Flint Michigan's Water Crisis. Governor Rick Snyder hurredly appointed an unelected official to oversee the lessening of of the city's budget deficit ($25 millioin USD). This ultimately left residents feeling robbed of their democratic rights as American citizens. Photo courtesy of Ashley Nickels.

Protesters during Flint Michigan's Water Crisis. Governor Rick Snyder hurriedly appointed an unelected official to oversee the lessening of of the city's budget deficit ($25 million USD). This ultimately left residents feeling robbed of their democratic rights as American citizens. Photo courtesy of Ashley Nickels.

"Power, Participation, and Protest: Policy Paradox of Municipal Takeover"

Don't miss a talk with Ashley E. Nickels, professor of political science at Kent State University, on the causes and effects of the 2011 municipal takeover in Flint, Michigan, in response to the city's historic water crisis.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020
6 pm - 7:30 pm
Hayes Hall 403, UB South Campus

When the 2011 municipal takeover in Flint, Michigan, placed the city under state control, some supported the intervention while others saw it as an affront to democracy. Still, others were ambivalent about what was supposed to be a temporary disruption. But how did Flint's municipal takeovers, which suspended local representational government, alter the local political system? Dr. Nickels addresses the ways residents, groups, and organizations were able to participate politically - or not - during the city's municipal takeovers in both 2002 and again in 2011.

AIA and AICP continuing education credits pending

Biography

Ashley E. Nickels

Ashley E. Nickels is assistant professor of Political Science at Kent State University. Dr. Nickels' work focuses broadly on urban politics, public policy, and grassroots advocacy, through a critical public service lens. She is the author of multiple books, including Power, Participation, and Protest in Flint, Michigan: Unpacking the Policy Paradox of Municipal Takeover (Temple University Press, 2019), and Unmasking Administrative Evil, Fifth Edition (with Drs. Balfour and Adams) (Routledge, 2019). Dr. Nickels received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University, Camden, in public affairs, with a specialization in community development.

Related images

Protesters during Flint Michigan's Water Crisis. Governor Rick Snyder hurredly appointed an unelected official to oversee the lessening of of the city's budget deficit ($25 millioin USD). This ultimately left residents feeling robbed of their democratic rights as American citizens. Photo courtesy of Ashley Nickels.

Continuation of protesters during the Flint Water Crisis. Image captured in the heat of summer, July 14, 2014. Photo courtesy of Ashley Nickels.

Flint, Michigan protester. Residents' water was turned off after they had been piped water from the contaminated Flint River. The river's water had for decades been used as a disposal site of local industries. Photo courtesy of Ashley Nickels.