by P.D. Lesko

Democrat Anne Bannister has lived in Ann Arbor since 1974, when she moved to the city with her family. Presently, she lives in Ward 1 in a home on Main Street and works in the financial services industry. In 2009, she joined a D.C.-based nonprofit promoting personal financial literacy and still works for that company. Bannister graduated from Huron High School in 1982 and four years later from the University of Michigan. She has been involved in politics locally in a variety of capacities. For example, she took on leadership roles in Ann Arbor Democratic Party, as well as in Michigan State Rep. Yousef Rabhi’s Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners campaign. Between 2017 and 2020 Anne served on Ann Arbor’s City Council as one of two representatives serving Ward 1.

Anne Bannister’s legislative record is available to the public via the City’s Legistar website. In her three years on City Council, according to public records, Anne Bannister sponsored or co-sponsored 96 resolutions, the majority of which passed unanimously. To put her record into perspective, in his four years on Council, Ward 5 Council member Ali Ramlawi has sponsored or co-sponsored 100 resolutions. Ward 2 Council member Linh Song in her almost two years on City Council has sponsored or co-sponsored 22 resolutions.

Bannister’s Resolution vetoed by Mayor Taylor:

(2020) Resolution to Order Election, Approve Charter Amendment of the Ann Arbor City Charter Sections to Establish Non-Partisan Nomination and Election for the Offices of Mayor and Council and Determine Ballot Language for this Amendment (7 Votes Required)

Six of Bannister’s 96 resolutions failed to garner a majority of votes. Here are two examples:

(2020) An Ordinance to Create the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission (Taylor opposed)

Background: A Taskforce appointed by the Mayor submitted a proposed ordinance to Council for approval. The Ann Arbor Police Officers Association opposed the Taskforce’s proposed ordinance. The Mayor rewrote the ordinance in favor of the Ann Arbor Police Officer’s Association. The Taskforce members publicly opposed the Mayor’s changes. (Bannister voted to create the Oversight Commission.)

(2018) Resolution to Order Election, Approve Charter Amendment of the Ann Arbor City Charter Sections to Establish Non-Partisan Nomination and Election for the Offices of Mayor and Council and Determine Ballot Language for this Amendment (7 Votes Required) (Taylor opposed)

A Sampling of Bannister’s 96 resolutions that passed:

• (2018) Resolution to Fund Pilot of Net Zero Energy Affordable Housing Initiative, Electric Vehicle Chargers, Resilience Hubs, and Municipal Clean and Renewable Strategy Initiative (8 Votes Required) (Taylor joined as a co-sponsor)
• (2019) Resolution Supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Active Involvement with the Gelman Site and Encouraging its Listing of the same as a “Superfund” Site (Taylor opposed)
• (2019) Resolution Directing the City Administrator to Evaluate Use of 1510 E. Stadium Boulevard for Redevelopment as an Ann Arbor Housing Commission Affordable Housing Location (Taylor voted yes)
• (2020) Resolution to Approve a Waiver of Late Penalty Charges for 2020 Tax Payments in Response to the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic (Taylor voted yes)
• (2020) Resolution Directing the City Administrator to Develop a Plan to Review and Increase the Utilization of the Poverty Exemption Program (Taylor joined as a co-sponsor)
• (2020) Resolution in Support of More Substantive Civilian Review of Policing Practices and Incidents (Taylor joined as a co-sponsor)
• (2020) Resolution to Direct the City Attorney to File a Written Public Opinion on Dissolution of the DDA (Taylor opposed)
• (2020) Resolution to Support Washtenaw County and Shelter Association of Washtenaw County (SAWC) as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Appropriate $250,000 for Current and Future COVID-19 Shelter Response (8 Votes Required) (Taylor joined as a co-sponsor)
• (2020) Resolution to Approve the Acquisition and Renovation of Lurie Terrace by the Ann Arbor Affordable Housing Corporation, an Affiliated Non-Profit Entity of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, Approve 5 FTE’s and appropriate funds ($260,000) (8 Votes Required)

Lawsuit Against Ann Arbor

Background: In June 2018, Mayor Taylor, along with the Ann Arbor City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry, signed an agreement to sell the Library Lot (public-owned land) for $10 million to development company Core Spaces without a vote of the public or City Council. Ward 1 Council members Anne Bannister and Sumi Kailasapathy sued to stop the deal, which violated the City Charter that requires contracts to be approved by City Council. According to reporting by MLive.com, the City Attorney settled the suit triggered by Taylor’s actions in favor of the Council members in January 2019. The case was not “dropped.” Legal fees resulting were incurred because of the illegal actions of the Mayor, as per the settlement.

Campaign Finances by the Numbers

Candidate campaign finance disclosures are available to the public on the County Clerk’s website.

Bannister: $37,674 raised and declared in pre-election statements, July 22, 2022.

Top Contributors:

• Anne Bannister (Self-Funding): $15,020
• John Floyd (Retired): $2100
• Glen Ziegler (Retired): $1200
• Donald Danyko (Retired): $1050
• Scott Newell (Self-Employed): $1000
• Peter Heydon (Retired): $1000
• Mark Haddox (Engineer): $1000
• Dennis Dahlmann (Real Estate): $500
• Elaine Neelands (Retired): $500
• Gwen Nystuen (Retired): $500
• Amy Seetoo (Retired): $500
• Gayle Bloomingdale (Not Employed): $500 [out-of-town]
• Peter Eckstein (Retired): $475
• William Hathaway (Property Manager): $450
• Edward Steinman (Retired): $450
• Kay Holsinger (Retired): $400
• Robert Dascola (Retired): $400
• Kathleen Stroud (Retired): $300

Taylor: $84,348 raised and declared in pre-election statements, July 22, 2022.

Top Contributors:

• Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters: $5,000 [out-of-town]
• Adam Goodman (CISCO Systems/DUO Security): $2100
• Jonathan Oberheide (Co-Founder DUO Security): $2000
• Ashley Oberheide (Unemployed): $2000
• Jeff Hauptman (Real Estate, Oxford): $2000
• Melissa Gumenick (Real Estate, Oxford): $2000
• Heidi Mitchell Poscher (Owner of 23 Luxury Short-Term Rentals in Ann Arbor) $2000
• Donald Hicks (Investor): $2000
• Anais Hicks (Unemployed): $2000
• Linh Song (Ward 2 Council member, husband co-owned DUO Security. Now works for CISCO Systems): $2000
• Mark Hutton (Real Estate Investor): $2000
• Mike Mossalam (Apple TV Executive): $2000 [out-of-town]
• Barbara McQuade (U-M Law School Lecturer, SafeHouse Center Board member): $1000
• Ellen Taylor: $1000
• Jerome Weingarten: $1000 (Physician, Trinity Health)
• Mark Bruzzano: $750 (DTE Executive)
• Janis Bobrin (former Drain Commissioner): $700
• Brandon Dimcheff (Openly): $700
• Peter Allen (Real Estate): $650
• Paul Schutt (Issue Media Group): $500 [out-of-town]
• Eric Mahler: $500 (Mayoral Appointee)
• Susan Hutton: $500 [out-of-state]
• Leah Gunn (Former DDA Board member and County Commissioner): $500
• Daniel Dennison (Culture & Leadership Change): $500
• Eleonor Abrons (U-M Faculty): $500
• Carsten Hohnke (Finance, Former Ward 5 Council Member): $500
• Kyle Lady (CISCO Systems/DUO Security): $500
• John Carlson (Real Estate): $500
• Beth Wilensky (U-M Law Professor): $500
• Timothy McKay (U-M Professor): $500
• Arthur Nussbaum (Real Estate): $500
• Jessica Alexander (EMU Faculty Member): $450 [out-of-town]