Hon. Jon Russell with American City County Exchange (ACCE) recently addressed the need for fair and open competition as Flint replaces its aging metallic pipes: "Is the local, state and federal government going to just replace the iron pipes with new iron pipes? Or are they going to open up the bidding process to fair and competitive bidding to include a variety of piping materials, which will allow the best quality and best-priced piping material to replace the old? The ductile iron pipe industry is known for its heavy lobbying and campaign contributions to elected officials and courting of public works directors and utility engineers, which serves to skew the bidding process in their favor in many municipalities in the United States. Given the current crisis in Flint, it is incumbent on every elected official to make sure all industries are considered in the rebuilding of Flint’s water system, and not just the politically connected."