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Ann Arbor Government
Ward 2 Council Member Petersen Announces She’ll Run For Mayor: Move Mirrors Hieftje’s Path To The Gavel
ANN ARBOR CITY Council member Sally Hart Petersen announced in a press release sent to the media on January 14 that she plans to run for mayor. Petersen, elected to represent Ward 2 in 2012, unseated former state legislator Tony Derezinski…
Member Of Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority Board Of Directors Insults Residents And Criticizes Council Members In Public Rant
Please note: Kathy Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent's Editorial Board.
JOAN LOWENSTEIN, A long-time member of the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors launched a website titled A2BetterCity.com. On her…
AAATA CEO’s Salary Cut While Pay For Other Managers Increased Between 9-11 Percent Over The Past 24 Months
In 2011 AATA employed 8 managers who earned above 90K. In 2014, 9 top-level managers earn six-figure salaries.
IN SEPTEMBER 2011, former Ann Arbor News government reporter Tom Gantert reported in the Michigan Capitol Confidential that,…
News Reports Contradict City Administrator’s Claim That: “Snow emergency has been called once in the past 25 years.”
ANN ARBOR’S CITY Administrator Steve Powers, in explaining why a snow emergency had not been called in order to facilitate faster more efficient clearing of the 11 inches of snow that fell between January 4-5 claimed “a snow emergency has…
EDITORIAL: Neighborhoods Versus Downtown
OVER THE PAST decade, the city’s Mayor and Council members whom he has endorsed, and with whom he has allied himself, have neglected to tend to the basic infrastructure needs of Ann Arbor’s various neighborhoods. Roads and sidewalks have…
While Citizens Bemoan Roads & Taxes, Spending On Meals Out And Four Star Lodging For City Staff Rises 30 Percent
Please note: This piece was corrected to reflect the fact that Ward 2 Council member Sally Hart Petersen was not seated on Ann Arbor City Council until November 2012.
THE ANN ARBOR INDEPENDENT recently reported that 76 percent of city…
Keeping Tabs—Local To Watch In 2014: Ward 4 Council Member Jack Eaton
Friends say: He’s measured. Collegial. A leader. Detractors say: He’s a DINO. Anti-everything. Bad for Ann Arbor.
Jack Eaton speaks slowly, so slowly that sometimes you wonder how he doesn’t nod off in the middle of a sentence.…
Keeping Tabs—Local To Watch In 2014: Ward 2 Council Member Sally Hart Petersen
Over the past 190 years, only two women have served as mayor of Ann Arbor. Can Sally P. be #3?
Sally Hart Petersen ran a clever campaign to defeat two-term incumbent Tony Derezinski, a former state legislator. Mostly though, Sally…
EDITORIAL: More Money For Traffic Enforcement
AT THE DECEMBER 16th Ann Arbor City Council meeting, Council members Eaton, Lumm and Kunselman introduced a resolution to allocate $125,000 to Police Chief John Seto’s department. The money will fund enhanced traffic enforcement in order to…
76 Percent Of Citizen Survey Open-Ended Response Answers Focused On Roads & Taxes
IT’S USUALLY DEATH and taxes that define the inevitable. However, in the city’s 2013 National Citizen Survey, comments about roads and taxes dominated the open-ended question responses. Respondents were asked to record their opinions about…