Archive for November, 2011

One of the women who accused GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s – and who received a settlement from the National Restaurant Association as a result – has ties to Ann Arbor, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. Karen Kraushaar, who initially did not want to reveal her identity, spoke publicly after her name was leaked by the online news site The Daily. Under her maiden name Karen Grassmuck, she grew up in Ann Arbor, attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, and worked for the former Ann Arbor News in the 1980s. [Source]

Voters in Ann Arbor elections held on Nov. 8 confirmed the city’s general preference for incumbent candidates, both on the city council and on the school board. Out of a field of six, voters gave the two incumbents on the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of trustees – Andy Thomas and Simone Lightfoot – each a four-year term.

And the preference for Democrats, which the city of Ann Arbor has shown in recent years, was generally also confirmed in Tuesday’s city council results. Four of five Democratic incumbents were given another two-year term on the 11-member body. Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5) all easily kept their seats.

The lone Democratic incumbent who lost was Stephen Rapundalo. He was defeated on Tuesday by Jane Lumm, who served previously on the city council as a Republican, but who ran against Rapundalo as an independent. Rapundalo himself is a former Republican, but served three terms on the council as a Democrat.

Ann Arbor voters also said yes to all three proposals on Tuesday’s ballot. They approved a renewal of the 2.0 mill street repair tax, the addition of a .0125 mill sidewalk repair tax, and a change to the composition of the city’s retirement board of trustees.

Sylvan Township voters were in a less agreeable mood, voting to reject a 4.75 mill tax that would have been used to reimburse Washtenaw County for some bond payments on which Sylvan will likely default in 2012. The county will likely file a lawsuit to recover the money through a property assessment.

In The Chronicle’s travels to polling stations throughout election day, turnout was described by precinct workers as light to moderate. It ranged from a low of less than 1% in three predominantly university student precincts, to a high of 26.6% in Precinct 5 of Ward 2 – the ward with the most hotly contested race. Countywide, turnout was 11.24%, according to the county clerk’s office. However, several election workers noted that percentages are hard to gauge, given that many voters are still registered even if they’ve left the area – as is the case with many voters who register as college students.

Complete results are available on the Washtenaw County clerk’s election results website. [Full Story]

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is expected to make a stop at the Big Sky Diner in Ypsilanti on Thursday, Nov. 11 10 at 10 a.m., according to an email to members of the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus sent by its director, Dennis Moore. The email indicates that Cain will also conduct a taped interview at the diner for the Sean Hannity Show on Fox News. All eight GOP candidates will be in the Detroit area for a debate at Oakland University on Wednesday evening. Cain has been in the spotlight recently for allegations of sexual harassment when he served as CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s – allegations that he vigorously denies.

In an outcome with implications for Washtenaw County government, Sylvan Township voters rejected a proposal to levy a 4.75 mill, 20-year tax, by a vote of 475 to 328. Proceeds from the millage were intended to help with payments on $12.5 million in bonds issued by the county in 2001 to build a water and wastewater treatment plant that was intended for future development. The township expected that connection fees from developers would cover the bond payments – under a contract with the county, the township is obligated to reimburse the county for the bond payments. But the development never materialized and the township has been struggling to make payments.

Now Sylvan Township – located west of Ann Arbor, near Chelsea – is … [Full Story]

In the Ward 2 Ann Arbor city council race, contested between Democratic incumbent Stephen Rapundalo and independent challenger Jane Lumm, initial unofficial results from absentee voters across the ward show: Rapundalo had 268 votes (36.7%) to Lumm’s 461 (63.1%).

Absent voter totals were tallied separately from the nine precincts across Ward 2. Because absentee voters are tallied for the entire ward, initial counts may give a better prediction of the outcome than results from individual precincts.

For incremental updates on Ward 2 results, check the Washtenaw County clerk’s office election results website.

Update: With unofficial numbers reported from all precincts, Rapundalo had 1,359 votes (39.5%) to Lumm’s 2,079 (60.4%).

Ann Arbor city council races for  Wards 3, 4 and 5 were not expected to be closely contested. Early results from absentee voters across those wards bear that out for Wards 3 and 5.

Among Ward 3 absentee voters, Democratic incumbent Stephen Kunselman received 252 votes (70.6%) compared to Republican challenger David Parker’s 98 (27.5%).

Among Ward 5 absentee voters, Democratic incumbent Mike Anglin received 395 votes (77.5%) compared to Republican challenger Stuart Berry’s 115 (22.5%).

In Ward 4 things are a bit closer. Among Ward 4 absentee voters, Democratic incumbent Marcia Higgins received 288 votes (57.5%) compared to Republican challenger Eric Scheie’s 213 (42.5%).

Voters in the city of Ann Arbor were asked to approve a new 0.125 mill tax for sidewalk repair this year – Proposal 2. Initial results on the sidewalk millage among absentee voters suggest it’s likely to pass. Among absentee voters in the city of Ann Arbor, 1,382 voted Yes on the sidewalk millage (59.3%), while 949 voted No (40.7%).

Proposal 1 was for the renewal of a 2 mill street repair millage, which voters appear to be willing to embrace somewhat more strongly than the sidewalk millage. Among absentee voters in the city of Ann Arbor, 1,764 voted Yes on the street repair millage (75.4%), while 575 voted No (24.6%).

Absent voter totals were tallied separately from the precincts for individual … [Full Story]

Some early results from the Ann Arbor Public Schools board race are in. The race features six candidates vying for two open positions. Based on returns from absentee voters in the city of Ann Arbor, incumbents Simone Lightfoot and Andy Thomas are making a strong showing, along with Larry Murphy. Among city of Ann Arbor absentee voters, Albert Howard had 175 votes (5.2%); Ahmar Iqbal had 476 votes (14.30%); Patrick Leonard had 515 votes (15.4%); Simone Lightfoot had 799 votes (24%); Lawrence A. Murphy had 677 votes (20.3%); Andy Thomas had 691 votes (20.7%).

Absent voter totals were tallied separately from the precincts for individual wards. Because absentee voters are tallied for entire wards, initial counts of absent voters may give … [Full Story]

The Michigan Daily reports that the University of Michigan plans to close Baits I Residence Hall on UM’s north campus, which houses about 570 students. The dorm will be closed at the end of this academic year because of infrastructure issues, according to the report, and it’s unclear it if will be reopened. The article quotes Peter Logan, a UM housing spokesman: “If after assessing the situation we determine that having Baits I is extremely necessary, then I’m sure we’ll see what it would cost to make that happen. … We need to do more assessment of what it would require to not only bring it up to a level of infrastructure reliability, but then going beyond and making it a … [Full Story]

It’s Election Day. Voters in the Ann Arbor Public Schools district have a choice of six candidates to fill two open seats on the AAPS board of trustees. And Ann Arbor city residents in four of five wards will have a choice about their representation on the 11-member city council.

If you’re still researching the candidates for the school board or for the city council, check out Chronicle coverage of the candidate forums.

City of Ann Arbor voters will also be presented with three ballot proposals, two of them involving approval of taxes for street and sidewalk repair. Proposal 1 would renew an existing street repair property tax at a rate of 2 mills. [A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property's taxable value.] Assuming Proposal 1 is approved, Proposal 2 would levy an additional 0.125 mills – for sidewalk repair. If Proposal 2 is approved by voters, the city would not start a new 5-year inspection cycle. Under that inspection program, property owners are formally notified that sidewalks adjacent to their property need repair and then must undertake those repairs themselves.

Attitudes of city council challengers towards the sidewalk millage are negative. Some current city councilmembers have offered only reluctant support for the sidewalk millage or else have a complete lack of a position on the question. Mayor John Hieftje, who is not up for re-election this year, has clearly stated his lack of a position on the sidewalk millage.

Proposal 3 is less controversial, enjoying solid support among councilmembers and challengers. It would change the makeup of the retirement system’s board of trustees so that fewer beneficiaries of the system are included on the board.

Polls are open today from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. A good place to get partial unofficial results (that are as close to official as you can get) is the Washtenaw County clerk’s office election results website.

To find your polling place, type in an address on the My Property page of the city of Ann Arbor’s website, and click on the Voter tab.

The Chronicle has established somewhat of an Election Day tradition: We tour as many precinct locations as we can through the day and file mini-reports from the polls. So we’re off – check back throughout the day for updates, appended after the jump. Add your own observations from the polls in the comments. [Full Story]

Washtenaw County board of commissioners meeting (Nov. 2, 2011): At a meeting that lasted nearly five hours, commissioners gave initial approval to the county’s 2012-2013 general fund budget, following a discussion dominated by the topic of funding for state-mandated animal control.

With supporters of the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) demonstrating outside the county administration building and speaking during public commentary at the meeting, commissioners debated at length over how to handle its contract with the non-profit. The proposed budget calls for cutting HSHV’s contract from $500,000 this year to $250,000 in 2012 and 2013.

HSHV’s current two-year contract expires at the end of 2011, and leaders of the humane society have expressed reluctance to sign a new one with such a significant cut, saying that even at the current rate the county is not paying what the services are worth. [.pdf of HSHV analysis of legal and financial costs for mandated services]

For their part, some commissioners contended that they don’t yet know the actual cost of providing mandated services, and that HSHV hasn’t provided them with the kind of financial data they need to make an informed decision.

In the budget that received initial approval, the line item that originally earmarked $250,000 in annual payments to HSHV in 2012 and 2013 was renamed to “Mandated Animal Control,” a generic reference that reflects the possibility that the county might contract with another agency for animal control services – an option they discussed explicitly.

Board chair Conan Smith also proposed an amendment to move that line item out of the county’s funding for outside agencies, where it has traditionally been listed, and add it to the budget for the sheriff’s office. The funding could then be combined with a line item of $180,000 that is already part of the sheriff’s budget – for animal control officers. The county recently has discussed the possibility of paying HSHV $250,000 plus $180,000 – a total of $430,000 – if the humane society also takes responsibility for the work now done by the animal control officers. The shift in fund categories was approved on a 8-3 vote, with dissent from Rob Turner, Rolland Sizemore Jr., and Ronnie Peterson.

After the vote, sheriff Jerry Clayton spoke to the board during public commentary, saying he hadn’t been notified that this shift in funding to his office might occur. He expressed a range of concerns about the decision.

After making two other amendments not related to animal control, the board ultimately gave initial approval to the budget on a 9-1 vote, with dissent from Sizemore, who said he still has questions about it. Felicia Brabec abstained. Appointed two weeks ago to fill Kristin Judge’s vacated seat in District 7 (Pittsfield Township), Brabec indicated she’d like more time to review the budget document. Additional amendments are expected before the board takes a final vote on the budget, likely at its Nov. 16 meeting.

The board also got a third-quarter 2011 update from the county’s finance staff, projecting a nearly $1 million shortfall for the year, which will be covered by use of the county’s fund balance.

In other business, the county voted to create a planning task force for a new pilot program in agribusiness. Called ”Seeds for Change: Growing Prosperity in Ypsilanti,” the project is intended to provide job training and placement to unemployed workers interested in agricultural employment, and to offer shared commercial kitchen space and business support to local agribusiness entrepreneurs. No funding has yet been identified for the effort. [Full Story]

In advance of the Nov. 8 election, the author of Ann Arbor Schools Musings blog gives her thoughts on the six candidates for two open seats on the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education. Rather than give endorsements, she reflects on the attributes of each candidate, and explains why she’s inclined to vote for them, or not. However, she does give one “anti-endorsement,” and urges readers not to vote for Albert Howard, citing his “anti-Muslim sentiment.” [Source]

On his blog albertmcwilliams’s posterous, Al McWilliams of Quack!Media spanks all those who are upset by Ann Arbor’s recent ordinance that enhances the state law requiring vehicles to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. In a post titled “Smart folks in Ann Arbor crash their cars into stuff, blame City Council,” McWilliams writes: “Ann Arbor likes to think that it’s some bastion of progressive thought; a place where enlightenment reigns supreme. In reality, all it took to turn the wise people of this city into giant, selfish, babies was a little road rage.” [Source]

Members of the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council, representing about 4,000 nurses at the University of Michigan Health System, have voted to ratify a three-year contract, according to a report in the Detroit News, ending a months-long dispute over terms of the new agreement. The contract includes ”a phasing in of health insurance premium increases and includes 3 percent wage increases the first and second years and 4 percent the third year of the contract, plus step increases,” according to the report. [Source]

A report in the Detroit Free Press looks at how rising tuition and other costs are putting some of the state’s public institutions – like the University of Michigan – out of reach for many middle class families. The article quotes Eric Cole, a fourth-year student at UM in Ann Arbor: “It’s scary to open that tuition bill and see how much money I owe them. It’s either work a ton to pay them off now, or get a lot of loans and have to pay them off later, but I think the degree is worth it, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get through.” [Source]

Posting on his blog Common Monkeyflower, Richard “Murph” Murphy examines foreclosure activity in Ypsilanti, following up on a previous post about housing prices. He writes: “Foreclosures are still an issue in the City, and we’ve still got some stock of bank-owned homes to clear out to allow prices to rise, but at some point our own housing market becomes less an issue than that in surrounding communities: in the first 9 months of 2011, Ypsilanti Township had 275 foreclosures, compared to the City’s 50. Whether you adjust that for population, dwelling units, or structures, the Township’s foreclosure rate remains frighteningly high, and there’s only so much the City can do to stabilize its property values when surrounded by a community … [Full Story]

On a rainy Wednesday evening late last month, around 55 Ann Arbor residents gathered inside the Thurston Elementary School media center to hear Ward 2 Ann Arbor city council candidates respond to questions. This year, the general election in Ward 2 is contested between three-term Democratic incumbent Stephen Rapundalo and independent challenger Jane Lumm, who served on the council as a Republican from 1994-1998.

Rapundalo has made the city’s past and future a central theme of his campaign, and the Oct. 26 event amply reflected that. Rapundalo spent much of the evening trying to characterize the city councils of the 1990s, on which Lumm served, as unable to work cooperatively as a group. That contrasts with his own approach and that of the current council, said Rapundalo, which is based on consensus and cooperation, even if councilmembers don’t agree on everything.

Even as Rapundalo appealed to the past in criticizing Lumm – for supporting what he called luxurious labor contracts during her tenure of service – he also criticized what he perceives her attitude to be towards the future. He calls it a “hunker down” mentality, which he says doesn’t take into account the steps the city needs to take to ensure future generations have what they need.

For her part, Lumm tells a narrative in which city government has become, since the time she served on the council, disconnected from the priorities of residents. She wants to restore community input and open conversation back to city government, which she contends is now lacking. At the Thurston forum, she responded to Rapundalo’s criticism about her prior service as a councilmember by saying she welcomed the comparison between “the bad old days” and now. She characterized herself as a fiscal watchdog, who pressed financial issues, even if there was not the same appetite for that on the rest of the council.

Certain aspects of Lumm’s record are portrayed on Rapudalo’s campaign website in a way that could fairly be described as out of context. [A closer examination of Rapundalo's portrayals based on city council minute archival material is included in The Chronicle's write-up of the League of Women Voters forum, earlier in the campaign: "2011 Election: Ward 2 City Council"] At the Thurston forum, however, Rapundalo was right about a point of contention that emerged over whether Lumm had enjoyed a Republican majority on a city council committee. The city council archives show a 3-2 Republican majority on the labor negotiating committee in 1996.

The forum was hosted by the Orchard Hills/Maplewood Homeowners Association, moderated by Peter Mooney, who’s president of that group. Rapundalo is a member of the association, and Thurston Elementary is in Rapundalo’s neighborhood. But if there was a general leaning among the assembly, it seemed to be in favor of Lumm – based on response to a few laugh lines sprinkled throughout the forum.

The format of the event contrasted with many other similar events, in that it featured no rigid time constraints on candidate responses – just a general guideline from Mooney to try to limit responses to around three to four minutes.

Mooney took questions written by audience members on cards and synthesized them into prompts for the candidates. Paraphrased questions and responses below are summarized in the order they were given. [Campaign websites: Jane Lumm , Stephen Rapundalo] [Full Story]

[Full Story]

All six candidates for the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education attended a 90-minute forum at Ann Arbor Open @ Mack school on Thursday evening, Nov. 3. It was the final public candidate forum before next Tuesday’s election. About 50 people, including teachers and parents of AAPS students, filled the small auditorium. Several candidates remarked that it was the best-attended event of the election season.

Candidates for the two open seats – each for four-year terms on the seven-member school board – are Albert Howard, Ahmar Iqbal, Patrick Leonard, Larry Murphy, and incumbents Simone Lightfoot, and Andy Thomas.

The forum was hosted by the Ann Arbor Open Coordinating Council, and was moderated by AAOCC co-chair Sascha Matish. After brief opening statements from all candidates, they responded to a series of six questions that had been submitted by parents whose children attend Ann Arbor Open.

Questions covered the topics of programs of choice, standardized testing, state-mandated initiatives, the district’s budget, class size, and the proposed technology millage. Summaries of each candidate’s answers are provided below, presented in the order in which they responded.

For previous Chronicle coverage of the school board candidates, including more about their backgrounds, see: “Forum for Six AAPS Candidates“ and “Election 2011: AAPS Board Candidate Forum.”

This year, the general election falls on Nov. 8. Readers who are unsure where to vote can type their address into the My Property page of the city of Ann Arbor’s website to get that information. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. [Full Story]