(NewsNation) — One of the Republican National Convention’s speakers Wednesday night will be the mayor of East Palestine, the Ohio village that faced a disastrous chemical spill after a train derailment last February.
Former President Donald Trump, now the Republican nominee for the 2024 election, was the first politician to visit the town, touring the wreckage with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway. He came just three weeks after a disastrous controlled burn and explosion stemming from the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train on Feb. 3, 2023. Federal officials later deemed the burn unnecessary.
Conaway, in his RNC remarks beginning at 7 p.m. ET, is expected to thank Trump for making the trip.
Residents, frustrated after experiencing illnesses and rashes after the derailment, aren’t as happy to see the mayor in the limelight. Some say he does not have the community’s interests at heart.
One, Jami Wallace, said Conaway has made it so only “part of our community” has been represented throughout East Palestine’s recovery.
“He pushes this false narrative of ‘everything is fine.’ He doesn’t talk about human health issues,” Wallace told NewsNation. “In my opinion, it’s because Norfolk Southern is openly buying out our village leaders.”
Only members of village administration and “cherry-picked business owners” were invited to a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for a local park, Wallace said. Norfolk Southern’s CEO, Alan Shaw, pledged $25 million to remodel the park in the aftermath of the train development. His presence in the area last Saturday sparked a protest by residents, NewsNation local affiliate WKBN reported.
“It’s like they’re trying to block our voice from what’s really going on here,” Wallace said.
Another resident, Linda Murphy, described herself as “borderline nauseated” by Conaway’s RNC appearance.
“How can he speak at the RNC in front of all these political figures when, during the past year and five months, he hasn’t been willing to meet with individual residents or concerned groups who have gone through the most traumatic event that they have gone through in many of their lives?” Murphy asked. “They’re fearful and met with uncertainty, and he didn’t want to step up and speak with them.”