Ann Arbor City Council

MIDWESTERNERS HATE conflict more than we hate freezing rain, haughty vegans and screaming kids/ineffectual parents in the grocery store. We smile. We’re solicitous. We want to get along. We want other people to get along. The truth of the…

FROM A TRAIN STATION to sidewalks, the city’s 2015-2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is jam-packed with projects that city staff suggest will “provide for large, physical improvements that are permanent in nature that are needed for the…

AT THE NOVEMBER 18th City Council meeting, five Council members and Mayor John Hieftje voted to elect Ward 4 Council member Margie Teall Mayor Pro Tempore. Teall, who has served on City Council since 2002, has the worst meeting attendance…

Editor’s Note: Kai Petainen serves on the Editorial Board of The Ann Arbor Independent. THESE ARE THE facts: 1.  Between June 2009 and November 2013, the City of Ann Arbor gave Ann Arbor SPARK $5.1 million dollars from its General…

OVER THE PAST dozen years there has arisen what one City Council member recently referred to as a “professional class” of people who are appointed time and again to serve on Ann Arbor’s boards and commissions. These people are sometimes…

Editor’s Note: Katherine Griswold is the Chair of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. WARD 1 COUNCIL member Sumi Kailasapathy conducted an email exchange this Fall with city staff, including the city’s transportation project…

WARD 2 COUNCIL member Sally Hart Petersen has shown promise as a leader who is scrupulous in conducting the people’s business openly and honestly. While we don’t always agree with Petersen’s positions on the issues, one issue Council member…

Click on the link to download The Ann Arbor Independent 2013 Local Election Voter Guide in PDF format:  ON NOVEMBER 5TH, Ann Arbor voters in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 will go to the polls and choose from among candidates running for City…

by Jack Eaton MY NAME IS Jack Eaton. I am the Democratic Party candidate for City Council in the Fourth Ward. I am unchallenged on the November 5 ballot. Like many local Democrats, I support Ward 2 Council member Jane Lumm’s re-election.…

A2Indy: What are the two most pressing issues facing Ward 2 in your opinion? Many of the most pressing issues in the 2ndWard are city-wide issues – enhancing public safety, adequately funding core infrastructure needs, and carefully…