Armentrout Eyes Ward 5 Council Race

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The city of Ann Arbor clerk’s office filing records indicate that Vivienne Armentrout, a former Washtenaw County commissioner, pulled petitions on Friday, May 4 for the Ward 5 Ann Arbor city council race. Armentrout is a Democrat.

Carsten Hohnke, who was first elected in 2008 after defeating Armentrout in a close Democratic primary that year, announced on April 21 his decision not to seek re-election this year.

An Ann Arbor resident since 1986, Armentrout is a freelance writer and author of the Local in Ann Arbor blog, which focuses on the Ann Arbor area and frequently highlights public transit and other planning issues. She served on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners from 1997-2004.

In November 2010 she ran for a position on the board of trustees for the Ann Arbor District Library. She was one of four candidates – and the only non-incumbent – who vied for three seats with four-year terms. Armentrout finished fourth in that non-partisan four-way race, with 16,975 votes or 22.3% of total votes cast. That compared with percentages ranging from 24.2–26.8% for the three incumbents on the ballot, on which voters chose up to three out of four candidates.

On the same day that Hohnke announced his intent not to run again, Chuck Warpehoski indicated an interest in running for Hohnke’s open seat and subsequently pulled petitions for the Democratic primary. Warpehoski is the director of the local nonprofit Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice. His wife, Nancy Shore, is director of the getDowntown program, which is funded jointly through the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the city of Ann Arbor, and the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

Republican Stuart Berry has also pulled petitions for the Ward 5 council race.

Each ward in the city is represented by two councilmembers. Ward 5 is also represented by Mike Anglin, who will be up for reelection in 2013.

For the Aug. 7 primary, the filing deadline for city council candidates with party affiliations is May 15 at 4 p.m. For independent candidates in the Nov. 6 general election, the filing deadline is July 19 at 4 p.m. More information about the filing process is available on the city clerk’s elections website.