Browsing Category
City Council
Dems Turn Out To Support “Paesano” Independent Jane Lumm At Campaign Kick-Off
WARD 2 CITY Council challenger Kirk Westphal sent out a fundraising letter that includes several interesting claims, one of which is he is the "only Democrat" running in the Ward 2 November general election. Well, yes. For those who were…
Ward 1 Incumbent’s Campaign Literature Criticized As Full of “Half-Truths”
THE DICTIONARY DEFINES propaganda as the deliberate spreading of information, ideas, or rumors in an effort to either help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, or nation. Most commonly propaganda is used in the political arena.…
Council Members Rebuke Mayor Over Proposed Appointee’s Perceived Conflicts of Interest
On August 20th, John Hieftje announced his intention to appoint Albert McWilliams to replace Newcombe Clark on the Board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. McWilliams, who works for Quack Media, is in his 30s and a self-styled…
Playing Politics With Ann Arbor’s Drinking Water and Massive 1,4 Dioxane Clean-Up?
GROUNDWATER BENEATH a swath of the city of Ann Arbor is currently contaminated by the suspected carcinogen 1,4 dioxane. The City of Ann Arbor website has a FAQ page dedicated to answering questions about the contamination. Likewise, the…
Challenger Alleges Ward 1 Incumbent’s Fundraising Letter Includes Misleading Claims
Ward 1 City Council incumbent Sabra Briere has started her re-election campaign. Challenger Jeff Hayner, an Independent, is taking issue with allegations made about him in Briere's fundraising. Among those claims, Briere tells prospective…
Ward 1 Sabra Briere Gets A Challenger for City Council Seat
At the 4th of July parade as the Backwards Clown Brigade chuckled along the parade route, a man seated on the curb turned to his wife and said, loudly enough for others to hear, "The Backwards Clown Brigade. Ann Arbor City Council." People…
Playing the “Progressive Values” Card While Pushing ALEC-Inspired Scams & Parkland Development Schemes
by P.D. Lesko
Ward 2 Democratic City Council candidate Kirk Westphal moved to Ann Arbor in 2004 and in 2006 was appointed by John Hieftje to the city's Planning Commission. It was, perhaps, another example of what one local politico…
The Politics of Pandering: Holding Meetings About Public Safety in Private
by P.D. Lesko
When Republican Marcia Higgins was elected to Ann Arbor City Council in 1999, there were over 240 police officers patrolling the town. Ann Arbor had just about as many police officers as the city of Dearborn has today.…
Leaf Collection Resolution Goes Up In Smoke But Debate Provides, Literally, Hours of Entertainment
Ann Arbor City Council is, once again, on fire. When Ward 3 Council member Steve Kunselman proposed a change in the fee schedule related to permits for bonfires and controlled burns of prairie grass areas, Council marm Sabra Briere ahemed…
Five Council Members Launch An Unprecedented Effort To Curb Cronyism
by P.D. Lesko
"We keep seeing the same names."
"It's like there is some 'professional class' of board appointees."
"We need to draw from a larger group of citizens."
"I want to open the door for a closer examination of the appointment…