Patricia Lesko

“John Hieftje has the strongest environmental record of any Mayor in the Midwest. He’s championed the city’s Greenbelt, the clean energy initiative, commuter rail, bicycling and our terrific parks system. These programs set Ann Arbor apart.…

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.…

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.…

by P.D. Lesko Between 2003 and 2010, while total enrollment in Ann Arbor’s middle and high schools fell, average class sizes increased significantly, and so have actual class sizes, resulting in classrooms stuffed with 10, 12 and sometimes…

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…

By P.D. Lesko Last year at this time my two sons, ages 10 and 13, were advanced in reading, mathematics and science, according to their work on the MEAP tests. This year, one son is advanced in social studies and that both are Level 2…

by P.D. Lesko Sometimes, endorsements can help a candidate get elected. Sometimes they can't. Sometimes, a political endorsement can actually cause voters to be less likely to vote for a candidate. That's exactly what's happening in…

by P.D. Lesko The (mostly) boys over at Daily Kos are sticking their wooden spoons into the political pot that is Michigan once again and trying to stir up trouble for a Republican. First, it was Governor Rick Snyder. Although many people…

by P.D. Lesko Judging from the number of bills Michigan GOP members pushed through the state Senate today, one could be led to believe that voter fraud in Michigan is a problem of epidemic proportions. However, nothing could be further…

by P.D. Lesko In Ann Arbor, it's the achievement gap that gets the starring role in the ongoing drama enacted on a regular basis by both members of the Board of Education, as well as the District's paid professionals. This is a drama that…