by P.D. Lesko

Despite her continued opposition to the city’s Greenbelt millage, money that city officials have used to purchase thousands of acres of land (tip o’ the keyboard to Rita Mitchell), including farmland, in the area surrounding Ann Arbor, The Sierra Club, Huron Valley Group, and Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter today announced its endorsement of  2nd Ward independent candidate Jane Lumm (right) in the November 2011 general election for Ann Arbor City Council.

According to the group’s press release, the local chapter of the Michigan Sierra Club had this to say about the its endorsement of Lumm: “We have been incredibly impressed with her cooperative spirit, knowledge and willingness to work with our members on environmental issues, including current concerns with parks.  We believe she shares our mission to preserve and protect Ann Arbor’s parks for future generations to enjoy. It is in this spirit, in particular on critical issues of parklands protection and parks funding, and transparency of the process, we feel Jane’s voice on council will make a critical difference in the times ahead for the city.”

In past, local government reporters, as well as political insiders have complained loudly that the Huron Valley Group’s endorsement is a repudiation of John Hieftje by members of the local chapter—a political vendetta. However, the criticism is wholly unfounded. The ultimate decision for any Sierra Club endorsement of a candidate in a local election rests with statewide officials and not with those in charge of local chapters. Thus, Lumm’s endorsement has the seal of approval of Sierra Club officials who oversee club endorsements in a variety of elections throughout Michigan, including endorsements of local, state and national political candidates. Candidates are asked to fill out questionnaires which contain a variety of questions about candidates’ views on local and statewide environmental issues. A candidate who does not answer the questions, however, will not be in the running for an endorsement.

Unlike The Sierra Club, Huron Valley Group, and Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter, other local environmental groups, as well as local environmental activists, such as Laura Rubin, head of the Huron River Watershed Council, and Michael Garfield, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Ecology Center, routinely endorse in local races without eliciting information from all of the candidates in the race concerning their views on environmental issues. The Michigan League of Conservation Voters, headed by Executive Director Lisa Wozniak, similarly, is used by local politicos including Hieftje. The groups will give political endorsements without the rigorous examination and questioning of all candidates in the race as practiced by the Sierra Club. Wozniak’s group not only endorsed Hieftje in his 2010 bid for re-election, a month prior to the July 2010 announcement of the group’s endorsement, Wozniak donated to Hieftje’s campaign, according to campaign finance forms filed with the County Clerk’s office.

It’s no secret, however, that the leadership of The Sierra Club, Huron Valley Group, and Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter is at odds with Hieftje over his attacks on local parks, including an accounting scheme used during his administration that has diverted millions of dollars from the Parks Maintenance & Repairs Millage, his targeting of over a dozen local parks for leasing and development, including Gallup Park, and most recently the Hieftje administration’s desire to lease Fuller Road parkland abutting the Huron River for a parking garage to be used by University of Michigan. Projects Rapundalo has voted to support or currently supports.

It’s clear from the wording of the press release that The Sierra Club, Huron Valley Group, and Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter are delighted that statewide Sierra Club officials gave Lumm the nod over incumbent Stephen Rapundalo. Lumm is not in favor of the Fuller Road parkland deal. On her campaign web site Lumm writes:

I do not support the proposal as presently proposed.  The $120 million long term vision of a multi-modal station could very well be in Ann Arbor’s best interests, but all that is on the table now is simply a parking structure – a parking structure with a significant city funding commitment (projected at $10 million) without the funding source clearly defined, a business plan, or answers to pretty fundamental questions.

I also am very concerned that the Fuller Station proposal violates the spirit and intent of the city charter amendment overwhelmingly passed by Ann Arbor voters in 2008 – an amendment that allows voters to decide before selling/re-purposing parkland.  The specific charter amendment language is, “The City shall not sell without the approval, by a majority vote of the electors of the City voting on the question at a regular or special election, any City park, or land in the City acquired for park, cemetery, or any part thereof.”

Her opponent is wholly in favor of the Fuller Road parking garage project, and has voted in favor of using general fund money, street, water and sewer millage money on various phases of the project and in preparation for the parking garage—despite the fact that Council has not yet taken an up or down vote on whether the city will enter into a 75-year lease with the University of Michigan.

The Sierra Club’s local chapter ended the announcement with a promise: Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club will lend its volunteer strength to Ms. Lumm’s campaign. “We pledge to do all we can to help ensure Jane Lumm is elected to council.”

Whether the group’s endorsement will be enough to help Lumm dislodge a member of Council who has been in office for six years, remains to be seen.