Ann Arbor: A Tyranny of Competent But Mediocre Governance
Writer's Note: Eighteen months ago I posted an essay on NextDoor about how Ann Arbor is governed. The post was removed without due process and without substantive dispute.
by David Fresco
In November 2024, Ann Arbor voters returned…
Cognitive Dissonance and the Republican Party
by Bob Topper
For years I have tried to understand how and why so many of my family and friends, good and intelligent people, buy into the Trump-MAGA promise of quick and easy solutions to complex problems. I see why they believe…
Neighbors for More Neighbors A2 Wants Answers From Council Candidates, But Members of the Group Have Some Explaining to Do
by P.D. Lesko
Perhaps you've seen the yard signs: Neighbors for More Neighbors. The signs are made available by a "Team of Neighbors" who want to densify Ann Arbor through influencing public policy, including planning and zoning. That…
Ward One Council Candidate Uncovers Waste, Duplication of Efforts and Foot-dragging in Implementing Unarmed Police Response
Editor's Note: Ward One City Council candidate Rebecca Arends used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain public records to try to understand why, several years after City Council allocated more than $3.5 million to shape and implement…
The Hidden Cost of a Criminal Record
by Sydney Bleh
For millions of Americans, having a criminal record can feel like a life sentence. In Michigan, there are 32,411 people in prison as of December 2025. That is enough to fill about one third of the Big House in Ann Arbor.…
Ann Arbor For Public Power vs. Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition: A Misinformation War on Both Sides
Updated May 1, 2026 with a comment from Tegwyn John of A2P2.
by P.D. Lesko
Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) is a local group circulating petitions to gather 6,500 signatures to put the question to local voters of establishing a…
Washtenaw County State Reps and A Tale of Pork Spending: New Firetrucks and $988K for Barton Hills
by P.D. Lesko
In March 2025, State Reps. Jason Morgan, Jimmie Wilson and Carrie Rheingans submitted requests for pork spending to benefit Ann Arbor, Superior and Scio Twps. The Reps., along with local elected officials, want Michigan…
Victory Without Evidence: How Political Necessity Is Sustaining a Failing War
by Van Abbott
The war is not won. It is not even close.
President Trump says otherwise. That claim is not a mistake. It is a necessity. Acknowledging failure would expose the truth this administration cannot afford to…
Questions Surround MEDC Grants to Ann Arbor Non-Profits
by P.D. Lesko
A FOIA request by Michigan Capitol Confidential revealed that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, whose mission is to foster economic development in the state which creates jobs, doled out $248 million in grants…
A Board Like No Other: Donald Trump Has Turned the Presidency Into a Vanity Project
by Mel Gurtov
Donald Trump has turned the presidency into a vanity project, putting his name and image all over Washington (most recently, a banner of him atop the department of justice), campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize, pimping…
