Browsing Tag
John Hieftje
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.…
May Is National Bike Month: City Spends $8M and Increases Number of Bike Commuters by 50 Cyclists. Total.
In 2000, there were 8 miles of bike lanes in Ann Arbor. Today, there are 37 miles of in-road lanes. John Hieftje's administration has added just a little over 3 miles of lanes per year, on average, over the almost 12 years he has been in…
“Green” Mayor’s Parkland-for-Train Station Scheme Underwritten In Part By Slush Fund
by P.D. Lesko
Let's start with a quiz:
1. Has Ann Arbor City Council voted to approve the construction of a train station in Fuller Park?
2. As the city Charter requires, have the citizens of Ann Arbor voted to give over the 10-acre…
Mother (Jones) Rolls Eyes While Michigan Enviros Laud Rep. Dingell’s “Green” Record
by P.D. Lesko
It's no surprise Republican Rob Steele couldn't unseat Representative John Dingell in 2010. However, Steele's run, which campaign emails intimated would be financed with the doctor's own "fortune," rattled Team Dingell.…
Local Dems Rally Behind Saline Mayor to Retake 52nd District Seat from Michigan GOP—Not.
by P.D. Lesko
Saline's mayor, Gretchen Driskell, formed an "exploratory committee" in February 2012 to see if she could have a snowball's chance in hell of winning back the 52nd District State House seat from Repblican Mark Ouimet. The…
Ann Arbor Mayor: “Closing 1/2 of City Fire Stations Will Result In Much Better Fire Coverage.”
At Monday's City Council meeting John Hieftje evidently wanted to make sure he understood exactly how deep in his own personal pile of horse manure he was standing. So, Hieftje pointedly asked the new Fire Chief, Chuck Hubbard (below), a…
Second Ward Council Member Tony Derezinski Trapped Under The Same Political Baggage That Crushed Rapundalo
by P.D. Lesko
Former Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo was not popular. He had earned a reputation among constituents and city staffers as being nasty. One police officer, when asked about Rapundalo prior to the November 2011…
How Much “Fire, Ready, Aim” Leadership Cost Taxpayers This Time
by P.D. Lesko
The University of Michigan picked up its marbles and is going home. Officials there are now looking to build the U.'s next parking garage anywhere but on a 10 acre parcel of riverside parkland on Fuller Road. While the U…
Six Candidates Now Poised to Run For Mayor & City Council
by P.D. Lesko
It's February, and in another 60 days or so those in the mood to run for mayor and City Council as Democrats or Republicans will have gone to the City Clerk's office and taken out petitions. Those running as Independents have…
Council Members in Open Revolt: Challenge Mayor & Insist Transit Proposal Is Seriously Flawed
by P.D. Lesko
Third Ward Council member Stephen Kunselman has been a pain in John Hieftje's butter dish ever since Kunselman knocked off Leigh Greden in the 2009 stunner of a primary election. While Kunselman won by a 6 vote margin, Greden…