The Ann Arbor Independent - A locally owned newspaper in Ann Arbor

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…

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…

by Rob Smith Michigan Rising was born The Committee to Recall Rick Snyder. It was exciting and dynamic—citizens who came together to try to rid Michigan of Republican Governor Rick Snyder. Volunteers across the state took on the incredible…

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…

Sue McCormick's (below) bouffant hair-do, a 60s throw-back, supposedly hides horns. At least this is what a fired forestry worker claimed when talking about his work for the City of Ann Arbor, and McCormick—who was his boss. McCormick, who…

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…

by Livia Gershon This summer, I was chatting with my parents, and I happened to mention that my husband and I pay pretty much no federal income taxes. My dad was shocked. What about withholdings from your paychecks, he asked. I said we get…

by B. Mann It’s morning.  I think of what day it is.  God, please let it not be the 15th.  I don’t have the money for the payroll taxes.  Oh wait... did I pay the truck? Shit!  I didn’t pay the truck.   I hope that check comes today.  It’s…

by P.D. Lesko Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum is a Democrat. He sat on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners from 1983–1988, and was a Washtenaw County Commissioner from 2000–02. In 2004, he was elected as the Washtenaw…

Politicos who miss campaign finance deadlines often make headlines. How politicos handle their own campaign finances is seen as a relevant gauge to determine how honest and responsible they'll be if put in charge of taxpayer money and…