Interview: Ward 2 Challenger Kirk Westphal On Prosperity, Downtown Ann Arbor & The DDA

What in your education and experience make you the best qualified candidate for this position?

My degrees in economics and urban planning serve me well in understanding both: 1) the current fiscal demands, and 2) the future promise of Ann Arbor. As a researcher of municipal best practices, I am confident that we can achieve an even higher degree of efficiency in some services through collaboration with other jurisdictions. But what is currently missing from council is a vision for how to maintain our increasingly expensive services 5, 10, and 20 years from now. With my urban expertise, I am uniquely qualified to evaluate the experiences of cities who have faced similar challenges and opportunities as Ann Arbor. Let’s learn from them.

What are your specific goals for the office and how will you work to accomplish them?

1) Long-term prosperity: A secure future must come from both economic development and higher property values. Investments and jobs coming to Ann Arbor translate to excellent services to residents.

2) Proactive neighborhood engagement: The city often contacts neighborhoods just when there is “bad news.” We have an opportunity to instead create an ongoing dialogue where residents feel empowered to ask for neighborhood enhancements as well as to troubleshoot problems early on.

3) Budgeting for results: It’s easy for politicians to make campaign promises we can’t pay for. Have they delivered? I’ll take a disciplined, data-driven approach.

What actions would you take to ensure the character and vitality of downtown Ann Arbor?

Ann Arbor’s downtown excels—I would not have moved here without it. In fact, I created an award-winning documentary about it (“Insights into a Lively Downtown” on YouTube) and later led a team of residents to win us the “America’s Greatest Main Streets” award (Travel & Leisure).

Ann Arborites before us had the forethought to create historic districts, without which downtown would not be what it is today. But to protect what we have, the rest of downtown must continue to evolve, welcoming empty nesters, young professionals, and enhanced transit opportunities. Ask your favorite local business about the benefit of more residents living nearby.

Are you satisfied with the relationship between the Downtown Development Authority and the City of Ann Arbor? What changes would you like to see?

What used to be a productive relationship between the DDA and city council has succumbed to an increasingly toxic environment on council. My view is that there has been an unnecessary politicization of what should be deliberate, fact-based, problem-solving processes.

At the time of this writing, a more productive process appears to be evolving. Unfortunately, a great deal of community, staff and volunteer time has been wasted in the meantime. The city employs highly-qualified experts who are trained to provide objective guidance on these matters; they should have been consulted from the outset. Council’s role is to focus on policy.

Which areas of the the city budget would You fight to retain or increase? Which areas would you be willing to cut?

I believe city council passed a responsible budget this year that focused on core services. There are no longer “extras” such as funding for arts or culture. I believe we can be more efficient, but we can no longer ignore the fact that we have a structural “earning” problem, not a “spending” problem. Costs of services are increasing 50% faster than revenue. We need to prioritize economic development now; if not, simple math dictates that we will all face further cuts in service. My opponent’s voting record shows an irresponsible desire for more spending but no economic development. I will fight to keep us the safe, desirable community we are.

This interview was originally posted to the LWV’s Voter411.org site.