The two remaining Democratic presidential candidates will spar in four more debates during primary season, including one in Flint, Mich., a city plagued by unhealthy water in a scandal that Democrats are blaming on Republican leaders.
The Democratic National Committee confirmed a debate Thursday night in New Hampshire, a March 3 debate in Flint, an April debate in Pennsylvania and a May debate in California. That means the candidates will debate six more times before the Democratic convention.
Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the remaining details have yet to be finalized with the campaigns.
“Our debates have set viewership records because of our candidates’ ideas, energy and the strength of their vision to build on the progress we’ve made over the last seven years,” she said. “We look forward to seeing them continuing to share Democrats’ vision for the country.”
The decision to debate in Flint comes at the behest of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has put the lead water crisis in the eastern Michigan town into a prominent part of her campaign. Clinton mentioned the crisis in her closing statement at a debate in January, and the crisis, which had been simmering in recent weeks, exploded into the national news.
There had been some debate about whether Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would participate in the new debates after he issued a statement questioning why Clinton wouldn’t debate in Brooklyn, N.Y.
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held the first congressional hearing about the lead water crisis and Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, announced his intention to continue the investigation into the future.
In April, 2014, Flint switched its water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which draws water from Lake Huron, to a local agency that also would take water from the lake.
However, the infrastructure needed to get water from Lake Huron to Flint under the new agency was not yet built, so an emergency manager appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder decided to take water from the Flint River as a temporary measure.
But the water from the Flint River is so polluted and acidic that the water ate away at the lead pipes bringing water to the city’s homes.
The state did not require Flint to put any corrosion-control chemicals into the water. Those chemicals could have prevented the leaching of lead into the drinking water. The water is now being treated with those chemicals, but the corrosion controls need to once again build back up on the city’s pipes.
The Justice Department is investigating, as is the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
