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Ann Arbor Government
“Let Them Eat Art!” Why Refusing To Kill The Percent for Art Program Could Mean the Ouster of More Local Pols
We begin with a fairytale: Once Upon A Time there were five Ann Arbor City Council members named Sandi Smith, Carsten Hohnke, Leigh Greden, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. They all unquestioningly supported Ann Arbor's Percent for…
Library Tax Proposal Goes Down In Flames—And the Political Firmament Trembles
by P.D. Lesko
On November 6, 2012 the firmament trembled in Ann Arbor—the political landscape opened up and swallowed local politicos and their monied donors whole, casting the owner of Main Street Ventures, members of the Downtown…
Almost ALL Washtenaw County Townships/Cities Opt OUT of $500M Dollar Regional Transit Plan
by P.D. Lesko
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje doesn't have a good track record of getting other politicos to jump on board his transit schemes. The WALLY commuter train was supposed to run between Washtenaw and Livingston counties and be…
MI 52nd District Race Boils Down to Bamboozling Naive Dems & Independents. Again.
by P.D. Lesko
52nd District Representative Mark Ouimet and Governor Rick Snyder both let mainstream media assumptions that they were moderate Republicans go uncorrected. The last laugh, in retrospect, has been on all of the Ann Arbor and…
Interview: 22nd Circuit Court Challenger Michael Woodyard Pledges To Dispense Justice “Fairly.”
MICHAEL WOODYARD IS either Gandalf or Saruman, it just depends on whom you ask. He is challenging Judge Timothy Connors for his seat on the 22nd Circuit Court, a seat Connors has either warmed, or filled admirably, depending on whom you…
Ann Arbor Mayor and Council Member Live in Highest Crime Neighborhoods
by P.D. Lesko
It pays, literally, to live in at least one of the high rent neighborhoods in Ann Arbor. Specifically, outgoing Ward 2 Council member Tony Derezinski's neighborhood. Between January and September 2012, within a 1 mile radium…
“Dark Side” Beckons & Local Pol Answers The Call
Ward 1 City Council member Sabra Briere recently voted to kill a resolution intended to protect parkland from de facto sale through leasing—a strategy being used by John Hieftje and his Council pals to try to "repurpose" a several acre…
A2Politico Celebrates Citizen Activism With A New Annual Award
by P.D. Lesko
When I taught college, one writing assignment I most enjoyed was having my students compose letters to their elected officials. One woman chose to write a letter to the President. A couple of weeks later, she found her…
Members of Feisty Ward 2 Crowd Pressure Tony D. To “Answer The Question!”
by P.D. Lesko
The meeting room at the Traverwood Library is modern, with plenty of light and clean lines. The room was full, with about 70 people in attendance to hear the candidates answer questions for 90 minutes. It was there that Ward…
As Fast As Birkenstocks Can Carry Him Candidate Backpedals Away From Mayor’s Support
by P.D. Lesko
Ward 5 City Council candidate Chuck Warpehoski is being endorsed by many members of the local Dem Klan, including John Hieftje, whose 2010 Facebook page described him as "Ann Arbor's popular mayor." The Warpehoski race is a…