Vera Rison has a long political history in Genesee County, serving as county commissioner and state representative.
She hopes her political past will carry some clout in Lansing.
Rison wrote a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm asking the governor to call in backup for the city. "I want somebody to get on the telephone, get on the horn and call a meeting. Sit down with authorities in the town and talk about getting us some help from the National Guard in this town."
Rison is on a mission. She's angry with the homicide rate in Flint. As of today, there have been 50 killings in the city, 11 shy of the all-time high of 61 in 1986.
When Rison heard those numbers, she drafted the letter to the governor, asking for the National Guard to help Flint police.
She sent a copy of that letter to city leaders.
Rison admits she does not know exactly if the National Guard can be called in or not, but she's giving it a shot.
She has yet to hear back from the governor or any city leader.
"Fifty people have died in the city of Flint. With 100,000 people, we need to stop it. We know people in the homes afraid. They do not know when a bullet is going to come through the wall."
If Rison's request is turned down, she plans to take her case to Washington.
