The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board is pleased to announce that it has added two new members. Ms. Natalie Wright, an Ann Arbor resident, is currently a second-year student at Washtenaw Community College and the editor of the college’s award-winning student newspaper, The Washtenaw Voice.

The Editorial Board is also pleased to announce the appointment Tamara Garwood, Esq. Ms. Garwood, a long-time Ann Arbor resident, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Detroit College of Law. She has been an attorney for 14 years. Her current law practice is devoted to family law and probate matters with Baker, Stringer & Garwood, LLP in Ann Arbor, where she has been a partner for six years.

Ms. Garwood worked in the Wayne County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney in the Child and Family Abuse Bureau early in her legal career. Ms. Garwood is a trained mediator who has volunteered for the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw County.

Natalie Wright and Tamara Garwood will help shape this newspaper’s unsigned editorials. The Board members, volunteers who share their views and expertise, do not contribute to the creation of the newspaper’s other content.

The Editorial Board meets monthly to discuss issues which they believe are of particular importance to the community at large.

The Editorial Board does not endorse in local, county, state or national political races or when there are ballot questions put before voters. This newspaper’s mission is to educate voters.

The Editorial Board wishes to congratulate Kai Petainen and his wife Naomi on the birth of their son, Eric Leo Kai Petainen. Eric is their first child.

Kai, a U-M lecturer and writer for Forbes.com, is stepping down from the Editorial Board. We thank him for his months of service and dedication in engaging the community on issues as varied as economic development and the health of the Huron River.

The Board also wishes to thank local bookseller Megan Blackshear for her service. Her insights and perspectives on issues relating to small business in Ann Arbor were invaluable.

Comments and suggestions about the unsigned editorials shaped by Editorial Board members may be sent to Board@A2Indy.com.

Readers may submit letters to the editor in response to all of the newspaper’s editorial content by sending them to opinion@A2Indy.com.

Upcoming General Election Judicial Debates

In October, The Ann Arbor Independent’s Publisher and Editorial Board will sponsor a judicial debate between the circuit and probate candidates who captured the most votes in the August 5 primary election. The paper plans to invite readers to attend the debates and an informal reception held afterwards.

The debates represent what we believe is the primary mission of this independent newspaper—to present a variety of viewpoints and opinions.