UPDATED: Partners For Transit Ballot Question Group Raises $39,427.20 to Date—Gets Extensive Support From Big Names in Michigan GOP Donor Circles

Updated: On April 28, AAATA Board member Dr. Laurence Krieg, who represents Ypsilanti, made a late donation of $3,000 to the Partners For Transit Ballot Committee. The AAATA Board member has donated a total of $3,500. This donation means Dr. Krieg has given the fourth largest total donation to the group. It brings the donation tally up to $42,427.20.

PARTNERS FOR TRANSIT is a ballot question committee formed to support the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s (AAATA) request for a $22 million, five-year millage enhancement. For Ann Arbor voters, the request represents a 34 percent increase in the transit tax they already pay. For most Ann Arbor homeowners, the request would represent a property tax increase of between $100 and $300 dollars annually. This drive to raise taxes is being supported by a handful of individuals—many of the same individual who supported the failed drive to convince taxpayers to float at $65 million bond to rebuild the Downtown library. The AAATA millage proposal has been portrayed as a “grassroots” effort. Campaign finance forms turned in on Friday April 25 paint a picture of a small group of politically-connected power brokers. In this newspaper’s March 11 issue, it was reported that Partners For Transit treasurer Carmencita Princen had no idea whether her own ballot committee had any funds to pay for paid staff who were already working on the campaign or websites which were already up and running. Likewise, Carolyn Grawi—the other individual listed on Partner’s For Transit committee incorporation forms filed with the County Clerk’s office confirmed she had no idea who was paying Martha Valadez. Ms. Valadez had identified herself as a “transit campaign organizer” for the Partners For Transit group. Ms. Grawi eventually sent The Ann Arbor Independent an email in which she wrote that any questions about the Partners For Transit finances should be directed to Michael Garfield, head of the Ecology Center. Neither of the women who formed the Partners For Transit ballot question committee donated to their own ballot question committee. In fact, $30,000 of the $39,470 reported was donated by a handful of sources, several of whom are reliable donors to Michigan GOP candidates. While mayoral candidates Sally Hart Petersen, Stephen Kunselman, Sabra Briere and Christopher Taylor all came out in favor of the new tax, none of them donated to the campaign. Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber, who has spoken out in favor of the millage in his own city as well as in Ann Arbor, donated $10 to the millage campaign. Two current Ann Arbor City Council member donated, Margie Teall—she gave $50 and Chuck Warpehoski gave $120. The “grassroots” campaign, while benefitting from dedicated staff, also spent $2,500 on the services of a Lansing political strategist, Main Street Strategies. That company’s website has been taken offline. That a millage campaign which purports to be grassroots  raised the bulk of it money from a small number of individuals doesn’t surprise Ted Annis. Annis, a former AAATA Board member and treasurer, is a transit supporter and a member of  the Better Transit Now group Annis pointed out that, “while $39,470 is a tidy sum of money, it pales in comparison to what AAATA has spent on outside and permanent PR and marketing staff.” The Ann Arbor Independent reported in December 2013 that the number of public relations and marketing staff employed by AAATA has more than doubled over the past 24 months. PR and marketing expenses during the same period has been calculated as perhaps as high as $1.7 million dollars. The fact that many of the same individuals supported the failed $65 million library bond proposal comes as no surprise to political insiders. One, who asked not to be named, said, “It’s the same small group of political insiders trying to control the game. The Percent for Art millage proposal failed. The library bond proposal failed. They just don’t get it, do they? Fix the roads.” Voters will decide on May 6.