“I could get in trouble for saying this, but our biggest challenge is Ann Arbor Public Schools. Its a very strong and excellent district, but the AAPS has been actively taking students away from us. They have been opening up school-of-choice slots. That’s draining money from (our) students, and that’s real!”

by Ryan Hunter

WHERE IN THE World is Amanda Edmonds? For the last several weeks your friendly A2 Indy Ypsi correspondent has been asking that same question. The newly-elected Mayor of Ypsilanti has been busy. She’s splitting her time between Growing Hope (a non-profit she founded) and her office at City Hall. Edmonds is working upwards of 60 hours per week, no small task for this first-term Mayor.

“It’s part of what comes with the job!” The Mayor said with a laugh, as she worked to put the finishing touches on City Hall. The venue will play host to Ypsilanti’s inaugural “First Fraiday’s” Open House event.

With tousled-hair and a radiant smile, Edmonds, 37, says she is ready to roll up her sleeves, dig in to meet deadlines and get the political heavy lifting done. She says this is exactly the kind leadership needed to restore Ypsilanti to its former glory.

Once considered a mini-Mecca of industry, Ypsilanti residents then lived the idyllic middle-class lifestyle seen on re-run television. Now, with many American autos being built north and south of the boarders, Ypsi is left with unrealized potential and over-shadowed by days gone by. Today’s Ypsilanti is a million miles removed from the social and economic opportunities Ypsilanti once provided its residents.

The city now struggles against what Mayor Edmonds says are the twin perceptions of a city rife crime and grime—misperceptions fueled by institutional racism (Mayor Edmonds), and MLive’s predilection for click bait journalism (Lois Richardson, Ypsilanti Mayor Pro Tempore).

Casually-dressed and relaxed, Edmonds sat down with The Ann Arbor Independent for a candid and open discussion about Ypsilanti, its perception issues, education and the challenge of restoring the luster to this small Michigan town.

The A2 Indy: What’s your typical workday look like?

Mayor Edmonds: Well, there’s no real “typical” workday as a Mayor. I am a part-time Mayor, per the city Charter. So I have a day job, as most people know, running a non-profit, Growing Hope. I work 40, 50, sometimes 60 hours a week! I’m here in City Hall Friday afternoons, along with Council meetings a few times a month, and there are lots of events. I’m usually up early in the morning making phone calls, or sending emails. So there really aren’t any two days that are identical. So it’s sort of here, and there, and always.

The A2 Indy: Who lives here in Ypsi? Who’s the average resident?

Mayor Edmonds: ….We are really diverse in many ways— by race, by class and by age. There is a constant influx of students; we’re also home to young professionals, and seniors. There are lots of different people here. So there isn’t really a typical “Ypsilantian.”

The A2 Indy: Ypsilanti has been described as the “Brooklyn” to Ann Arbor’s “Manhattan.”  Is this a fair comparison?

Mayor Edmonds: I’ve heard this many times, and really it’s people politely saying Ann Arbor has more affluence than Ypsilanti. So while certain aspects of this may be true, there isn’t an exact comparison. I’ve always thought more along the lines of the relationship shared between Berkeley and Oakland (California). Back to the point, what that comparison is really touching on is that Manhattan is known for its wealth, and Brooklyn is sort of known for affordable living and its diversity. I think the comparison between Berkeley being the college town, and Oakland having more aspects of struggle, and more diversity is more apt in our case.

The A2 Indy: Ypsi Mayor Pro-Tem Lois Richardson claims Ypsilanti’s crime rate is lower than Ann Arbor’s. Crime happens all over Washtenaw County, yet Ypsilanti is repeatedly singled-out by the media for having a “crime problem.” Is Ypsilanti’s perception issue racially-based?

Mayor Edmonds: (Long pause) Yes, yes it is. It is for Ypsilanti, it is for Detroit, and it is for parts all over country. Unfortunately, race impacts how people see a place. I’m not trying to go all deep into this, because you can write a dissertation about why this is the case. However, in order to fix this issue we need to recognize that is an issue. People are just more comfortable in places that look more like they do. I think that’s human nature. When you meet someone who isn’t like you, in some ways that takes you out of your comfort-zone. This isn’t just about being a “comfort-zone” thing though; this is about institutional racism, and societal issues with race in general.

This isn’t the whole story though. Ypsilanti has plenty of good stories that come out here that aren’t reported by the press. Our media is structured from Ann Arbor’s perspective….But then you could talk about under-reporting, or over-reporting.

The A2 Indy: How does Ypsilanti shake this reputation?

Mayor Edmonds: Well, I’ve been meeting with students from EMU about how to end Islamaphobia. I think it’s great that they’re thinking about how to tackle these kinds of social issues. Just an idea I’ve been kicking around in my head is doing a “Humans of New York” kind of thing, but for Ypsi. That kind of thing has just a photo and story of a person in New York, and it really humanizes people.

I’m thinking why not have our people in Ypsilanti do something like that? They could just have a short script and someone from the community could interview someone else from the community that’s different from them in some way, or in many many ways! In so that the experience in people doing that could humanize our community, as well as getting there stories out on social media. This is the kind of way to proactively close the gaps, in terms of perception.

The A2 Indy: Since the demise of the Ypsilanti-based auto industry, the city has struggled to find the next industry. You campaigned saying Ypsilanti was not only capable of surviving, but thriving. What kinds business do you want to attract into Ypsilanti?

Mayor Edmonds: I’m taking guidance from our master plan, which the community had lots of input in creating. In this, people identified three kinds of sectors that are targeted for growth opportunity: art-to-makers-to-manufacturers. I’ve been talking to leaders in these sectors, and at Eastern Michigan University to see what’s needed and how to create synergy.

The second area identified was green, sustainable businesses. Since I have a background and connections in this sector, I’m trying to think about how to market our city. We already have a community that supports this industry; whether through Solar Ypsi, or the other efforts around town. Now, we just have to actively market! The third area identified was local food as a growth sector. Again, professionally, this is my background.  So we need to continue to look into these sectors. The focus is independent, small business, so I’m looking into how to build up those sectors and how to support a collection of those businesses.  Perhaps this means co-location, or taking over our old auto plant. That kind of idea is something the city can help facilitate.

The A2 Indy: What will be your top three challenges in the near future?

Mayor Edmonds: Some of the challenges in front of us are also opportunities at the same time. Water Street, in particular, is vital to the city’s solvency and development is key. It’s really exciting because we’ve got interest and we’re ready to move forward.

One of our biggest challenges is definitely our schools. In the last year, I’ve learned how the schools are a barrier to attracting and retaining residents and other investments. We’re not going transform until we get that handled.

The merger that took place (between Willow Run and Ypsilanti High School) has been a slow process, but a lot of good is coming from that and we need to get the word out about that. We’re not perfect, and we’ve got lots of struggles, but we need good PR in getting the word spread about the positives. I mean our schools also present an opportunity. We can put our students in high school and college at the same time by co-enrollment. They can attend WCC or EMU at the same time, and that’s amazing. Truly, that’s amazing! It’s an amazing opportunity for students who are ready.

I could get in trouble for saying this, but our biggest challenge is Ann Arbor Public Schools. It is a very strong and excellent district, but AAPS has been actively taking students away from us. AAPS has been opening up school-of-choice slots. That’s draining money from (our) district and that’s real! We need to have county-wide discussions about accounting and education, or else we’re not going to be able to have county-wide movements towards equity overall.

It’s a conversation that all our elected officials, and township leaders need to be involved in. Our young people are our future, and their future depends on how to keep everywhere in Washtenaw county as a great place to live and go to school at every level.

The A2 Indy: Obviously, change doesn’t happen overnight. How will Ypsilanti citizens see the changes you’ll bring while in office?

Mayor Edmonds:  I hope Ypsilanti residents will see how they can get involved. Just at our event tonight, a resident asked how they could get involved in a community clean up. See? That’s the low-hanging fruit everyone can reach for. We want that to be info everyone knows about: how to clean up, adopt-a-park, or do something. I think at the end of my four years, we’ll have a community with a stronger sense of connection.

We want a community of independent businesses, and to have a large portion of Water Street built-out. Also, we want to realize the opportunity that is our parks and river. Those are great selling points! Overall, I hope we have a complete turn-around in the imaging and branding—both formally and informally—about our community. We want people to understand Ypsilanti is an amazing place to be, and live, and hang out and go to school. We want people to know this city is a good place to invest! We want to change the narrative of our community and our broader region.

Mayor Edmonds is an optimist.  Throughout the interview, she remained friendly. While her plate is certainly full with “stubborn opportunity,” she’s ready to take it on. Edmonds embraces the beauty of Ypsilanti’s community, and also realizes the very real challenges her community faces. So while some critics have found easy fodder in criticisms of Ypsilanti, Edmonds seeks solutions.

The Ypsilanti of yore is gone, along with bell-bottoms and disco, but the city’s future is exciting. Those leaving the light on in the hopes that the auto-industry will return, should dim their expectations and head to bed. For Mayor Edmonds, it will be morning again in Ypsilanti. However, for Ypsilanti to thrive will not only mean re-imagining Washtenaw Ave, but also Cross St., Michigan Ave., Ecorse Rd., and everything in-between.

According to Mayor Edmonds, Ypsilanti of the future will remain as diverse as ever, but with a far more personal, much greener economic outlook.  Only time will tell if she’s on the right path to revitalize Ypsilanti, but there are a lot of people hoping she succeeds, because everyone loves a happy ending.