On Using the LGBTQ Community & Desperation Politics: An Open Letter to Ward 3 Council Member Travis Radina
by Patricia Lesko
When I ran for office against John Hieftje in 2010, a man named Phil Volk, then a leading member of Ann Arbor's gay community, published an opinion piece in which he said I was an "embarrassment to the gay community."…
Anxious About Venturing Out After Vaccination? You’re Not Alone, and There’s Help
by Dr. Claudia Finkelstein
It’s the moment we thought we were all waiting for…or is it? We were cautiously optimistic about the end of the pandemic in view of increasing vaccine availability and decreasing case numbers…
Michigan COVID Surge: CDC Urges New Health Restrictions
by Susan Demas, Michigan Advance
As Michigan leads the nation in the number of cases and the highest rates of hospitalizations for COVID-19, the head of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending new health…
Corruption On Display: The Ann Arbor City Attorney, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor, and the Irwin/Eyer DV Case
by Patricia Lesko
The majority of domestic abusers are poorly-educated, white men. In the case of Mitchell Irwin, the abuser is a 1 Percenter Poster Boy, an educated, rich, 68-year-old white man, a former Michigan State Senator,…
Campaign Finance Violation Complaint Filed Against City Council Member
The Michigan Secretary of State's Bureau of Elections is investigating a campaign finance violation complaint filed against Mayor Christopher Taylor in March of this year. The complaint alleges that Taylor, a Democrat who has served on…
City Asks $929.84 to Release Body/Dash Cam Video of AAPD 911 Call to Home of Mitchell Irwin and Ann Arbor Council member Jen Eyer Irwin
by P.D. Lesko
The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a March 21, 2021 Freedom of Information Act request to the Ann Arbor Police Department for the body and dash cam footage from the January 13, 2021 911 call at the home of Ann Arbor…
Ann Arbor Council Member Allegedly Told Employees Complaining About Sexual Harassment to “Be Thankful for the Attention”
{Editor's note: Chris Savage has written for A2Politico.]
Updated: On March 24, Council member Jen Eyer (D-Ward 4) announced on Facebook and Twitter that she had resigned from Vanguard Public Affairs and was striking out "on her own."…
Mitchell Irwin Sentenced on Domestic Violence Charge
On March 23, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Ann Arbor 15th District Court Judge Miriam A. Perry sentenced former Michigan state senator Mitchell L. Irwin on a single charge of domestic violence, a misdemeanor. Irwin is the father of Michigan state…
Husband of Ann Arbor City Council Member to Be Sentenced on Domestic Violence Charge
by P.D. Lesko
Public records from Ann Arbor's 15th District Court show that on January 13, 2021 former Michigan State Senator Mitchell Irwin was arraigned before the Honorable Miriam A. Perry on a charge of domestic violence. Irwin is…
Local Ann Arbor Landlord and Others Who Are Politically-Connected Received Millions in PPP Loans
by P.D. Lesko
In Ann Arbor, 57 businesses received PPP (Paycheck Protection Plan) loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration in amounts between $1 million and $10 million. Only one of the companies, Skysync, Inc., is…