Comments on: Ann Arbor Council Ward 5: Chuck or Vivienne?

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:21:07 +0000

“Chuck’s wife works for the DDA (I would consider that part of the City government) and would seem to need to recuse himself for many votes on council.”

So what is the candidate’s stand on giant pictures plastered on the side of AATA buses?

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:35:33 +0000

Just to clarify (13), I answered a question in a comment thread on AnnArbor.com to say that I believed the council should confine itself to local matters for which it has responsibility. I did not refer to Mr. Warpehoski nor have I ever raised any issue regarding his possible stance on foreign policy.

By: Junior

Junior — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 16:59:08 +0000

One of my major concerns, as Vivienne pointed out, is what Chuck Warpehoski intends to do as a City Council member if elected as the Fifth Ward representative. Chuck’s foreign policy views have not been without controversy locally and I personally believe that he should keep those views to himself as a City Council member if he is elected.

Vivienne has already correctly and unequivocally asserted that foreign policy matters have no place in the official discourse of Ann Arbor City Council. Chuck has made no such pronouncement.

By: DrData

DrData — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:17:01 +0000

i’ve been on the boards of several national organizations with lots of fairly heavy lifting by the board of directors. There are all sorts of people on the boards, but one crucial type is the constitutional person.

That is the person that knows what the organization’s constitution says. Can’t we vote electronically? No. We have to amend the constitution. Pretty tedious, but we really have to follow the rules and it only holds us up for one election cycle done by ballots and envelopes with the resolution on the ballot.

Vivienne knows the rules of Ann Arbor city government as well as all the details of state, county, etc. regulations.

My mindset is not like Vivienne’s but any group of elected officials needs that sort of person who delves into the details. And, who will speak up and rein in the folks with lots good ideas but no governmental experience or to rein in the folks who are never challenged when they bring up bad ideas.

By: Just Ken

Just Ken — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:47:07 +0000

How could you not pick Armentrout here? She’s done it all over the years and has good track record. Warpehoski on the other hand seems to be a professional foreign policy agitator without any practical experience either professionally or politically. (Squabbling over parking spaces and other such minutia don’t count for much imho.) Given some time and focus Warpehoski might get better but for now he needs to get a real job rather than collecting a stipend from some dead do-gooder’s trust fund.

By: David Cahill

David Cahill — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:11:25 +0000

Dave, the reality is that the City, the DDA, and the AATA are all in bed together, no matter how they shift things around.

Susan, you are right that Vivienne would be better on development issues. The current City Council tends to collapse when a developer says “we’ll sue”. If Council thinks that defeating a development is in the public interest, the proper response to such a threat is “go ahead, we’ll see you in court”.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:12:41 +0000

Re: [8] "Chuck's wife works for the DDA (I would consider that part of the City government) and would seem to need to recuse himself for many votes on council." It's worth clarifying whatever connection the phrase "works for the DDA" has to Warpehoski's wife's employment arrangement. His wife, Nancy Shore, is director of the getDowntown program. This is a program that was initially funded in a four-way partnership between the city of Ann Arbor, the AATA, the DDA and the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce (now the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber). Initially, the Chamber acted as the employer. In 2009, the chamber essentially withdrew from the partnership, which meant that the getDowntown program needed to find alternate quarters – part of the contribution made by the chamber had been to provide office space. The getDowntown program then moved to offices at 518 E. Washington, with the financial support of the DDA. But it's the AATA that now acts as the employer of getDowntown staff. So currently, getDowntown is funded through a three-way partnership: city of Ann Arbor, AATA and the DDA – and Shore is an employee of the AATA. The new Blake Transit Center is planned to include office space for the getDowntown program. The go!pass program, administered by getDowntown, is funded through a nominal charge per go!pass ($10) to downtown employers who participate, and a grant from the DDA. The DDA grant for the go!pass program is funded from the city's public parking system revenues. The DDA has allocated $438,565 in FY 2012 and $475,571 in FY 2013 for the go!pass program.

By: Vince Caruso

Vince Caruso — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:50:46 +0000

I support Vivienne who actually has a record to look at, is very involved in the community, likes to be informed and will not have, what I consider, a conflict of interest. Vivienne is very independent and votes her mind, something long missing on our city government.

Chuck’s wife works for the DDA (I would consider that part of the City government) and would seem to need to recuse himself for many votes on council.

Not to happy with the DDA with all the extravagant spending with out tax dollars in the worst economic times since the 20′s.

By: Susan Contratto

Susan Contratto — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:41:22 +0000

I was delighted when I learned that Vivienne was running for City Council. I am a strong democrat and an independent when the time calls for it. I appreciate that Vivienne has experience in City and County government and therefore has the background to stand strong on critically important issues. For example, the recent decision by the city council to support the maple cove development in spite of the fact that health and safety issues were ignored since the less subjective zoning issues were covered is highly problematic. Most council members raised concerns. Only one voted against approval. I believe that health and safety issues are fundamental to development approval and, whether or not there are hints of litigation, council members should stand strong in making sure citizens are safe. I believe that Vivienne has the background to be able to do this and the history to be able to sway her colleagues to a more thoughtful to adopt a more nuanced perspective.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:26:32 +0000

From the campaign website: “Chuck is a proven progressive leader. From adopting his neighborhood park to organizing for clean energy and better transit, he has made Ann Arbor a greener place. We need that commitment to sustainability on City Council.” — Mike Garfield, environmental activist

Mr. Warpehoski–Your thoughts on no-bid contracts to political supporters?