Friends say: He’s measured.  Collegial. A leader. Detractors say: He’s a DINO. Anti-everything. Bad for Ann Arbor.    Jack Eaton speaks slowly, so slowly that sometimes you wonder how he doesn’t nod off in the middle of a sentence.…

POLITICAL INSIDERS are playing a game called: “Pin the Campaign Button on the Ann Arbor Mayoral Candidate.” They suggest that the person next elected mayor will serve a long time, thanks to voter apathy and an incurious media (present…

WARD 2 COUNCIL  member Jane Lumm ran for re-election in 2013 on a a platform that included improving the transparency of city government. She was not only talking about the need for city government to do a better job of sharing information…

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…

Please Note: Kai Petainen is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. ANN ARBOR CITY Administrator Steve Powers (below) sits on the Executive Committee of Ann Arbor SPARK. SPARK is funded with public money from both state…

Please note: Kai Petainen sits on The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. SINCE 2009 ANN Arbor’s elected officials have given Ann Arbor SPARK over $5.1 million dollars in public money. In addition, a Washtenaw County tax has…

ANN ARBOR CITY Attorney Stephen K. Postema has represented the City Council as its legal eagle since 2003. He advises the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator and oversees the City Attorney’s Office, with a staff of 10 attorneys and a…

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.…

MAYOR HIEFTJE HAS repeatedly told the public that the cost of police and fire service is a strain on the city’s budget. In a 2012 interview he said this about the city’s safety services budget, “...All the water has been wrung out of the…

WARD 1 CITY Council challenger Jeff Hayner has landed the quiet support of several City Council Democrats. Ward 2 City Council incumbent Jane Lumm has the unabashed support of several City Council Democrats. So why are card-carrying members…