Comments on: Ann Arbor Dems Mayoral Candidate Forum

By: Dave Cahill

Dave Cahill — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:55:28 +0000

My guess is that in this 4-person primary there will be two strong candidates and two also-rans.

By: Dave Fanslow

Dave Fanslow — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:10:45 +0000

Petersen said WRT non-motorized travel “But it should be more than paint on a road.” Not to single her out, but I hope the candidates have noticed that there are sections of some of the most heavily traveled roads in town that don’t have any paint on them at all! Division between William and Washington is like going on an exotic third world adventure. So who wants to integrate the issues of UM, infrastructure, revenue, non-motorized plans, staffing levels, etc and put the city income tax back on the table?

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 13:47:33 +0000

Douglas’ question is not at all naive since it highlights a difference in our primary system from those elsewhere, especially in other states, where there must be a runoff if no candidate obtains more than a majority (50% or more) of votes. (There is national attention on such a race in Mississippi just now.)

With a 4-person mayoral primary, presumably someone could become our mayor with just over 25% of the vote, if votes are evenly distributed. In a 4-person primary for County Commissioner, Yousef Rabhi won by just one vote. There are a number of other examples in recent local history of candidates winning by a plurality rather than a majority of votes, and often by just a few votes.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 02:13:34 +0000

Douglas,

To appear on the Nov. 4, 2014 general election ballot, an independent candidate has until July 17 to collect and submit at least 50 valid signatures from each of the city’s five wards.

The highest number of votes determines the winner of the primary. From the city charter: “The candidates receiving the highest number of votes of their respective parties at any city primary election shall be declared the nominees for election to the respective offices for which they are candidates.”

By: Douglas

Douglas — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 02:04:51 +0000

Please excuse a naive question from an interested outsider. Is the winner of the Democratic primary simply the person with the largest number of votes or does the winner have to meet a certain percentage of votes cast?

What is the date/deadline that anyone who wishes to run as an Independent candidate for AA Mayor need to have petitions submitted in order to have their name appear on the ballot in November?

Thank you.

By: Dave Cahill

Dave Cahill — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:29:13 +0000

Based on the legal materials cited in the comments to the Chronicle article Vivienne linked, the Planning Commission may be legally bound to approve this permit.

We’ll soon find out!

By: Tom Whitaker

Tom Whitaker — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 17:23:22 +0000

In the context of the City Place debacle, we brought it to the City’s attention that there were several problems with the zoning and housing ordinances in regard to unrelated persons sharing a “housekeeping unit.” Supposedly these and numerous other zoning deficiencies were thrown into the hopper to be dealt with in both the R4C/R2A study and the ZORO project.

Here we are six years after both of those projects were launched and the inconsistencies still remain between the zoning ordinance and its definitions and the housing ordinance and its definitions. From what I understand, the ZORO project is lost somewhere in the City Attorney’s office which is ironic, since these problems continue to make the City vulnerable to litigation or at least community conflict–especially since planning staff routinely make questionable interpretations when faced with these inconsistencies.

To me, this is just further evidence of the downtown-centric focus of the current administration and its apparent lack of interest in just about anything outside of the DDA boundary (unless it involves a bike lane)–an attitude that I have no doubt will continue if Christopher Taylor becomes our next mayor.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:41:45 +0000

Re (7) The Chronicle has a very complete discussion of this issue. [link] Personally, I am sorry that the religious issue was raised by some. I believe that this is a straightforward zoning issue, and that approval of this use would set dangerous precedents (unrelated to religious affiliation) for similar group housing in single-family neighborhoods across the city. Members of affiliations based on almost any interest or belief could make the same "functional family" claims.

By: Vivian Johnson

Vivian Johnson — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:49:55 +0000

A question many of us have and the answer will influence who we vote for is:
Where do the candidates stand on the Planning Commission request for the exception allowing 6 Jesuit priests from the St. Mary Student Parish to live together in a 7 bedroom house.
This will be discussed and voted on tomorrow night (June 17, 2014). Speaking of ethics and exclusionary practices, a small group of neighbors is attempting to keep 6 Jesuit priests from buying and occupying a 7 bedroom house at 1919 Wayne Street. Some of those who oppose the exception have even used neighborhood association fees to hire a lawyer to oppose the exception without notifying the general neighborhood association members that they are doing so. Currently zoning allows 4 unrelated individuals to live in the neighborhood but not more. This would allow 2 more Jesuit priests to live there. Rumors abound that at least one mayoral candidate is supporting this from behind the scenes. We all hope this is not true.
We need to know where the mayoral candidates stand on this issue.
Ann Arbor has come too far for this kind of DISCRIMINATORY practice to occur in this day and age.

By: Alan Goldsmith

Alan Goldsmith — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:57:12 +0000

Very disappointed in Sally Petersen. She is spewing all these grand statements and cliches, is happy with SPARK, and other than talking about needing funds from future development to pay for future financial needs for the city, her comments and statements are all safe and sound focused grouped to death. Sabra Briere doesn’t sound ready for prime time–her jabs at CM Kunselman here sounds like she joined the race to be a spoiler and nothing more. In the interview with Lucy Ann Lance, Ms. Lance asked great questions about…making right decisions in the beginning and not playing ‘fix it’ about Plans A and B have failed and Ms. Briere doesn’t come across well. Very telling interview. Christopher Taylor is going to likely be more failed leadership in the style of our current Mayor but at least he’s tempering some of his past comments in respect to accountability of SPARK–a small but important shift. Kunselman is the only candidate who stands out with a platform that embraces the entire City. So, my score, I liked Kunselman before this debate and still do, Petersen–if this is all she has, there is no reason for her to be elected to the office, Taylor–still remember HIS snarky FOIA emails while on Council but came away with a slightly higher opinion of him from this exchange and Briere is obviously the weakest of the four and shouldn’t be allowed within a hundred yards of this office. And Kunselman gets extra points for the giant glass ‘artwork’ safely behind the police protection at the Justice Center, a huge mistake both Taylor and Briere were more than happy to spend tax dollars for.