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Council Members in Open Revolt: Challenge Mayor & Insist Transit Proposal Is Seriously Flawed
by P.D. Lesko
Third Ward Council member Stephen Kunselman has been a pain in John Hieftje's butter dish ever since Kunselman knocked off Leigh Greden in the 2009 stunner of a primary election. While Kunselman won by a 6 vote margin, Greden…
Michigan Rising: Aiming to Recall Snyder—While Disgruntled Former Volunteers Target Michigan Rising
by Chris Savage
Michigan Rising, the group formerly known as the Committee to Recall Rick Snyder (CRRS), was unsuccessful in its bid to recall Michigan's governor last year. The challenges the group faced, discussed in my previous piece,…
Head of AATA Admits in Email That “Many Folks” Prefer That Millage Money Fund Existing City-Wide Transit, Not Proposed County-Wide Plan
by P.D. Lesko
In September 2011, former Ann Arbor News reporter Tom Gantert did what he does best: published the truth. In point of fact, writing for Michigan Capitol Confidential, Gantert published information about the pay of staffers at…
Politico Who Understated City Debt By $215,000,000 In Open Letter To Newspaper Complains About “Misinformation”
by P.D. Lesko
Fifth Ward Council member Mike Anglin sent out an email on January 15, 2012 in which he urged Ann Arbor residents to vocally oppose John Hieftje's proposal that Ann Arbor enter into a regional transportation agreement under…
Via Email Blast Local Politicos Urge Public To Rise Up & Stop Mayor’s Anti-Democratic Scheming
by P.D. Lesko
In 2004, the Ann Arbor News Editorial Board published an endorsement of Hieftje's mayoral opponent that included this zinger, preserved for posterity by Google:
“Hieftje’s largest failure is not one of vision, but leadership.…
Whirlpool Corp—A Michigan Job Creation “Success Story”: Dodging Taxes & Profiting from Poverty
by Chris Savage
I have been following and writing about Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager law, since it was passed in March of 2011. The first impacts of the changes made by this law hit in Benton Harbor, Michigan. A tiny town on the…
Snyder Signs Bill Ending Same-Sex Benefits for Public Employees — Strips More Children of Health Care
by P.D. Lesko
Michigan Republicans sent House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 to Governor Rick Snyder and on Thursday December 22, 2011 he signed the bills into law. The bills prohibit public employers from including domestic partner…
Look Out Boys! The Über Spinster Lets Down Her Hair
by P.D. Lesko
I read it, and I laughed. Out loud. I read it again, and laughed even more. I kept reading. Sometimes, I get bored and quit in the middle. Other times, reading this stuff is like taking flax seed oil. It's good for me, so I…
Republicans in the Michigan Legislature Wildly Exaggerating Savings From Same-Sex Benefits Cuts
by P.D. Lesko
Michigan Republicans want to see House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 signed ito law by Governor Rick Snyder. The bills would prohibit public employers from including domestic partner benefits in their public employee…
A Local Political Machine Gets Sabotaged From Within — Again
by P.D. Lesko
How many direct hits from within can the Hieftje-Hive-Mind-Collective Cube withstand?
In summer 2009, the Cube took its first hit from within: Ann Arbor residents woke up to a front page piece in the Ann Arbor News that was…