A2Politico

At the 4th of July parade as the Backwards Clown Brigade chuckled along the parade route, a man seated on the curb turned to his wife and said, loudly enough for others to hear, "The Backwards Clown Brigade. Ann Arbor City Council." People…

In a February 2013 piece about AnnArbor.com, the Columbia Journalism Review called the site's work content-for-clicks journalism. Perhaps the assessment was harsh because MLive leadership had refused the CJR reporter access to the…

by P.D. Lesko "We keep seeing the same names." "It's like there is some 'professional class' of board appointees." "We need to draw from a larger group of citizens." "I want to open the door for a closer examination of the appointment…

by P.D. Lesko John Hieftje is proposing to reappoint 10 people to the Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC) at City Council's May 13th meeting. By law the CAC Board is charged with advising the Board of the Downtown Development…

by P.D. Lesko There are five solid votes on City Council to bring to heel the members of the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors. Those are the votes of Sumi Kailsapathy, Jane Lumm, Sally Hart-Petersen, Stephen Kunselman…

Long-time Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board members Jesse Bernstein and David Nacht will be "retiring." The public story is that the two have served their terms and are happily busing off into the sunset. Political insiders, however,…

In Ann Arbor, despite repeated cuts to services, cuts to police and fire, and hikes in fees for parking, parking fines, water, sewer, solid waste and city programs, cell phone allowances for city staffers, many of whom have desk jobs,…

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Sue McCormick said Friday she "remains confident" in former Ann Arbor Police Chief Barnett Jones. Her department also sent  out a press release January 11th affirming confidence in Jones and…

by Rob Smith On December 12, 2012 Governor Rick Snyder was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying that "Michigan is well-positioned for a comeback." A few days later, for the third year, Forbes Magazine ranked Michigan 47th in Forbes’…

A2P Notes: This piece originally ran in April 2011. In the interim, much has changed, politically, in our state. The Michigan GOP and Governor Rick Snyder have waged a relentless war on unions, teachers, reproductive rights, gays, voting…