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Council Member With The Worst Record of Attendance Is Elected Mayor Pro Tempore
AT THE NOVEMBER 18th City Council meeting, five Council members and Mayor John Hieftje voted to elect Ward 4 Council member Margie Teall Mayor Pro Tempore. Teall, who has served on City Council since 2002, has the worst meeting attendance…
EDITORIAL: When Democrats Vote Like The Republicans They Unseated
ANN ARBOR OFFICIALS who serve in Lansing recently voted on reform bills that require those who apply for welfare and unemployment benefits to be tested for illegal drug use. Those who test positive for illegal drug use would be denied their…
OP-ED: The Political Agenda of the Michigan GOP Has Created Economic Apartheid, Not Jobs
by Rob C. Smith
IN DECEMBER 2012 Governor Rick Snyder was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying that “Michigan is well-positioned for a comeback.” A few days later, for the third year, Forbes Magazine ranked Michigan 47th in Forbes’…
Ward 4 Council Member Claim “Residents Don’t Shop Downtown” Draws Sharp Criticism
AT THE NOVEMBER 7th City Council meeting, Ward 4 City Council member Margie Teall made an observation: She said that Ann Arbor locals shop at big box stores and that downtown is supported by “tourists.” It should be noted that Teall did not…
High Overhead & Debt Load Push DDA Parking Space Revenues Well Below National Average
MAYOR JOHN HIEFTJE’S propensity to populate the city’s boards and commissions with what City Council members allege are his political cronies has long irked political insiders.
This, among other reasons, is why there is a quiet movement…
Insider Baseball: If Rep. John Dingell, Jr. Retires, Who’s Next?
by Joseph DiSano
THE BIGGEST PARLOR game played among political observers is “Will John Dingell retire?” And this year is no different — except there actually may be some merit to the speculation.
It will be a sad day when the…
Halbig v. Sebelius Could Be the Undoing of Obamacare
AT THE END of October, a federal judge denied a request from the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit aiming to block health care subsidies in states not running their own healthcare exchange sites. Put another way, if the plaintiffs in…
Ann Arbor Area State Legislators Get Resolutions Passed (But Few Bills)
Editor’s Note: Representative Jeff Irwin contributes to the newspaper’s “House Calls” column.
52nd District State Representative Gretchen Driskell is planning to run for re-election in 2014. Over the past year, Representative Driskell…
Crosswalk Ordinance Groups Take To Change.org To Try To Exert Influence
Editor’s Note: Kathy Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board.
THE WASHTENAW BIKING and Walking Coalition, a small local alternative transportation advocacy group, recently launched an online petition drive to…
OP-ED: Will Michigan’s White, Independent Voters Fall For Gov. Rick Snyder’s Song & Dance Again in 2014?
by Rob Smith
CHAD SELEWSKI IS a good writer. He opines on politics for the Macomb Daily. The Macomb Daily is one of the few newspapers published in southeastern lower Michigan not decimated by the slash and burn newsroom strategy being…