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…
Michigan Rising: A Political Souffle That Has Fallen
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…
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…
Former Ann Arbor Public Services Administrator Starts Detroit Fire Then Throws Gasoline On It
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…
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…
Urban Exile: A Dispatch From the 47 Percent
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…
Urban Exile: A View From the Bottom
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…
Michigan County Clerk’s Campaign Finance Flubs Explained—Kinda
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…
Michigan County Clerk Fails to File His Own Campaign Finance Disclosure Form
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…
