UM Prof Announces Run for Ann Arbor City Council
Dr. Lisa Disch is a professor of political science. Disch specializes in “contemporary continental political thought, paying particular attention to feminist theory, political ecology, and theories of democracy in both the US and France,” according to her official bio.
Disch, whose announcement states that she is a “community activist,” says she is running to bring her vision to Ann Arbor City Council. Ann Arbor City Clerk voting records show that among multiple missed votes, Dr. Disch neglected to vote in the August primary or November 2018 general elections. Disch, an educator, has missed voting in almost every AAPS ballot question vote since 2008, when she moved to Ann Arbor from Minnesota.
Disch’s official bio., campaign website and Facebook page, describe her as a “community activist.” Dr. Disch’s community activism involves participating in a small, closed, group of neighbors on her street: Democracy! – Hilldale Neighborhood. Meetings are not publicized to her Ward 1 neighbors, and meetings of Dr. Disch’s group are not open to the public. Her single year of community activism, then, has consistently excluded the Ward 1 community from which she hopes to draw money, volunteers and support.
Dr. Disch, whose research focuses on feminist theory, ironically announced her run and outlined her vision on DamnArbor, a local blog overseen by UM graduate student Ben Connor Barrie. While Dr. Disch announced her run on DamnArbor, the last time that blog published a piece bylined to a woman, Barack Obama was president. In 2018, DamnArbor posted a piece written by a man about the Ypsilanti Ladies Lending Library.
Dr. Disch told Damn Arbor she’s running because she is concerned that:
“…Ann Arbor is at a turning point. Over this past year, I watched Council vote against projects on affordable housing for seniors, on making our most trafficked streets safer for bicyclists that had been carefully vetted by the appropriate commissions and approved by city staff. I feel as though I am seeing a politicization of common sense in local politics that mimics some of what I am confident most Ann Arborites dislike most about national politics.
“As an economic engine for Southeast Michigan, Ann Arbor cannot afford to lag far behind Washtenaw County in population growth. But we do! And this means that we face more commuters, more traffic, unsustainable carbon emissions, and the possibility of irreversible economic stratification.
“Currently, our skyrocketing housing market prices out many people who ought to be able to live here if they choose to: people who teach in our K-12 schools, our firefighters, police officers, and the young people whose creativity and entrepreneurship keep Ann Arbor interesting. The upcoming Master Planning process gives us an opportunity to change course but we are going to need a change of leadership to make that happen. I want to be part of that change.”
Dr. Disch has not filed her nominating petitions to seek office. Those are due in April 2020. She, however, does have a campaign website: https://www.votedisch.com/
Disch’s campaign finance statements show that she loaned herself $515 to fund her campaign. Her annual salary at the University of Michigan is $193,776. Of the amount she loaned herself, she paid a $450 “consulting fee” to former Ward 1 losing candidate Eric Sturgis. Sturgis last consulted for Ward 1 candidate Ron Ginyard in Ginyard’s failed 2018 Democratic primary bid.
While Dr. Disch points out the “politicization” of local politics, her most recent campaign finance statement reveals she is part of a slate of candidates running who are supported by Mayor Christopher Taylor, financed by long-time local political insiders, and backed by Taylor political appointees.