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Downtown Development Authority

Ward 2 Challenger’s Fundraising Letter Misleads Voters About Incumbent’s Record

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Oct 20, 2013 10

KIRK WESTPHAL'S FUNDRAISING letter, has raised a ruckus among Ward 2 residents who found claims made about incumbent Ward 2 Independent Jane Lumm misleading. The letter is on Westphal's campaign stationary and signed by Downtown Development…

Fighting Entrenched Cronyism One Vote At A Time

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Apr 23, 2013 6

by P.D. Lesko At the moment, Ann Arbor City Council members are trying to assert their Charter-mandated authority over the Board of the Downtown Development Authority like a parent trying to discipline a hopelessly out-of-control toddler…

Auditors Catch Ann Arbor City Attorney Double-Dipping & New Council Members Press For Full Details

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Jan 25, 2013 5

by P.D. Lesko Usually, employees get fired for filching money or abusing an employer-issued credit card. Except in Ann Arbor. Auditors past and present, in fact, have sent the city's Audit Committee letters of warning about sloppy…

Art

A2 Arts Alliance Exec. Director: “We Advised the Mayor NOT to Put An Art Tax on the Ballot”

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Dec 13, 2012 2

In July 2012 Deb Polich (pronounced Polick) was named the new executive director of the Ann Arbor Arts Alliance. In August, says Polich, "We—the Arts Alliance Board and myself—had a meeting with Mayor Hieftje and Council members Taylor…

A2Politico Celebrates Citizen Activism With A New Annual Award

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Aug 15, 2012 6

by P.D. Lesko When I taught college, one writing assignment I most enjoyed was having my students compose letters to their elected officials. One woman chose to write a letter to the President. A couple of weeks later, she found her…

Dems in This Liberal Bastion Label Strong Women Candidates Incredibly Vag-ifficult

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Jun 18, 2012 8

by P.D. Lesko In Ann Arbor it's often tough to decide who's more addled, the politicos or the voters. In August of 2010 Ann Arbor County Commish Barbara Levin Bergman actually spoke in favor of hiring of sexual predators into county jobs.…

The Hatchet Job: Why's Sabra Briere Trying to Make Jane Lumm Look Bad?

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Jun 4, 2012 9

by P.D. Lesko Ann Arbor's fire department is under-staffed, fire-related deaths have tripled, citizens routinely wait for an hour for police to show up to non-emergency calls, fees for water, sewer and solid waste have risen sharply.…

Local Politico to City’s Voters: You’re “Xenophobic,” “Old,” “Selfish” and “Stingy.”

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Dec 7, 2011 19

by P.D. Lesko DDA Board member and former Second Ward City Council member Joan Lowenstein (right) is having a really tough time of it, politically speaking. Should you care? Absolutely. It's a better show than "Real Housewives," but with…

Urban Exile: Homeless Blamed For Closure of Downtown Ann Arbor Boutique Named, Yes, Poshh

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Nov 10, 2011 5

by Erika McNamara Being homeless, once again, is the evil that lurks in every shadow ready to destroy all that is good and right. This is obviously true after homeless individuals were blamed, in a recent piece posted to AnnArbor.com, for…

In Ward 3 Debate, Kunselman Goes After DDA & Alleges Political “Cronyism” A Problem in Ann Arbor Government

The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team Oct 6, 2011 2

The Ann Arbor chapter of the League of Women Voters sponsors candidate debates each election cycle for City Council races. On October 5, 2011, the League gave Third Ward Democrat Stephen Kunselman the chance to strut his political stuff…

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