In A2 Insight Interview, Council Candidate Jaime Magiera Tries to Bamboozle Ward 4 Voters

by Patricia Lesko

According to the Washington Post, politicians lie to exploit political ignorance. Scientists and their research say that politicians lie the most. According to a Sept. 2016 piece in The Atlantic Monthly, politicians lie because journalists fail to declare “a boycott on bullshit.” The Federalist published an article in Jan. 2017 in which it was argued that all politicians need to be held accountable when they lie.

“We should stop with the euphemisms and start calling lies what they are,” writes Federalist author David Harsanyi.

If political veracity matters deeply on the national political stage, these national publications suggest political veracity should matter just as much in small-town America, where school board and city council candidates step up to run for local elected office.

Enter Ward 4 City Council candidate Jaime Magiera.

Two days after a campaign kick off party hosted by current and former local elected officials all of whom both The Ann Arbor News and the Ann Arbor Observer have dubbed “allies” of Mayor Chris Taylor, Ward 4 candidate Jaime Magiera posted a video of an interview with A2 Insight’s James Trost. In that interview (posted to his campaign website), Magiera says, “I think that City Council has been painted as black and white—these two factions going against each other. My opponent always portrays himself as the counter to this other faction. I would rather not view this as factions at all. I don’t fall into any of these camps that have been defined in the political scene.”

On June 14, six of City Council’s 11 members were named hosts of the campaign kickoff event for Magiera, who is challenging two-term incumbent Jack Eaton (D). Those Council members were Jason Frenzel (D-Ward 1), Kirk Westphal (D-Ward 2), Julie Grand (D-Ward 3), Graydon Krapohl (D-Ward 4), Chuck Warpehoski (D-Ward 5) and Chip Smith (D-Ward 5). Magiera’s kick off party host committee also included Margie Teall, a former Ward 4 Council member whom Eaton ran against in 2012. Teall won that election by 18 votes. Ann Arbor Planning Commission member Scott Trudeau, Gene Alloway, owner of Motte & Bailey booksellers and former Downtown Development Authority Board member Joan Lowenstein rounded out Magiera’s host committee.

Taylor and Ward 3 Council member Zachary Ackerman (D) were not listed among the hosts for Magiera’s City Council campaign kick off party.

Below is Magiera in his June 2017 A2 Insight interview claiming not to belong to any political camp:

Magiera’s 2017 claim that, “I don’t fall into any of these camps that have been defined in the political scene” called into question coverage of his 2015 campaign for Council that reported Magiera was, indeed, affiliated, accepted campaign donations and touted endorsements from sitting Council members who are allied with Chris Taylor. On July 17, 2015, The Ann Arbor News published, “Jaime Magiera endorsed by mayor and allies in 4th Ward council race.” In that piece, Ryan Stanton writes, “Jaime Magiera now has Mayor Christopher Taylor and his political allies officially supporting his campaign for Ann Arbor City Council.” Kirk Westphal, Julie Grand, Graydon Krapohl and Chuck Warpehoski, along with Chris Taylor, officially endorsed Magiera in 2015.

In none of the comments he posted in response to the July 17, 2015 article, did Magiera raise questions about the reporter’s assertions that the Ward 4 candidate was allied with Taylor and his Council supporters.

In an August 2015 piece published in the Ann Arbor Observer titled, “Who’ll Control Council,” James Leonard wrote, “Like fellow challengers Ackerman and Smith, [Magiera] says he ‘would’ve voted for [413 E. Huron] because it fit into everything that we had laid out for development. Voting against it is very dangerous, to risk taxpayer money.’ That echoes the view of Taylor, Hieftje, and councilmembers Julie Grand, Graydon Krapohl, Chuck Warpehoski, and Kirk Westphal–all of whom have endorsed Magiera.”

His recent claim not to fall into any political “camp” is not the first time Magiera has attempted to shape his campaign narrative by exploiting the ignorance of voters. On his campaign website, Magiera lists himself as a member of the People’s Food Co-op Board. In 2016, Magiera ran for the PFC Board but did not get enough votes to qualify for a spot. It was only after Jenny Blair stepped down for personal reasons, “the next top vote getter [runner-up] Jaime Magiera received the position,” according to minutes from the April 2016 PFC Annual Meeting. The PFC’s 60-person workforce, unhappy with the Board’s leadership, as well as with the PFC’s management, formed a union in 2017.

Magiera did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Campaign finance forms show that the majority of Magiera’s money raised for his 2015 race came from donors outside of Ward 4 and outside the City of Ann Arbor.

View the entire A2Insight interview with Magiera here.