Browsing Category
Gov
Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) Calls Resolution to Rein in DDA Board “Irrational.” Records Reveal All CAC Board Appointments Expired in 2012.
THE DOWNTOWN AREA Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) is supposed to be a group of no more than 15 mayoral appointees who, by Council resolution, live within the downtown area and "advise the DDA and City Council with regard to implementation…
Emails Reveal DDA Threatens to Cut Money That Funds Job of Council Member’s Wife
by P.D. Lesko
There are five solid votes on City Council to bring to heel the members of the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors. Those are the votes of Sumi Kailsapathy, Jane Lumm, Sally Hart-Petersen, Stephen Kunselman…
Fighting Entrenched Cronyism One Vote At A Time
by P.D. Lesko
At the moment, Ann Arbor City Council members are trying to assert their Charter-mandated authority over the Board of the Downtown Development Authority like a parent trying to discipline a hopelessly out-of-control toddler…
Will Unpopular Highrises Help Jack Eaton Unseat City Council’s Zoning Czarina Marcia Higgins?
by P.D. Lesko
Today, Jack Eaton announced his candidacy first via email to a loosely-organized group of neighborhood activists, city and county politicians. He wrote, "I wanted all of you to hear it from me, because so many of you have…
AATA Board Members “Retiring” In Face of County-Wide Transit Debacle
Long-time Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board members Jesse Bernstein and David Nacht will be "retiring." The public story is that the two have served their terms and are happily busing off into the sunset. Political insiders, however,…
Auditors Catch Ann Arbor City Attorney Double-Dipping & New Council Members Press For Full Details
by P.D. Lesko
Usually, employees get fired for filching money or abusing an employer-issued credit card. Except in Ann Arbor. Auditors past and present, in fact, have sent the city's Audit Committee letters of warning about sloppy…
City Administrator Memo To Council: “At this time, I am not proceeding with reducing the number of fire stations”
John Hieftje and his political pals have a reputation of ignoring public opinion. Perhaps the most egregious example was a 2008 Council meeting at which petitions with 6,000 signatures were presented to Council to urge them to put the…
Ann Arbor Cronyism & “Double-Dipping” Scams Go Prime Time in Detroit Water Department Scandal
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Sue McCormick said Friday she "remains confident" in former Ann Arbor Police Chief Barnett Jones. Her department also sent out a press release January 11th affirming confidence in Jones and…
The Political Agenda of the Michigan GOP Has Created Economic Apartheid, Not Jobs
by Rob Smith
On December 12, 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’…
Ann Arbor Dems Who Supported Governor Rick Snyder Get Some Recognition
A2P Notes: This piece originally ran in April 2011. In the interim, much has changed, politically, in our state. The Michigan GOP and Governor Rick Snyder have waged a relentless war on unions, teachers, reproductive rights, gays, voting…