Stories indexed with the term ‘2014 election’

The final tally of costs to the city of Ann Arbor in connection with the Bob Dascola election lawsuit is $35,431.75. According to Tom Wieder, attorney for Dascola, the settlement agreed to on Aug. 20, 2014 for the second phase of the lawsuit was $9,400 – to be split between the city and the state of Michigan.

The city lost both phases of the litigation, which began when the city sought to enforce city charter eligibility requirements against Dascola to prevent him from being a candidate in the Ward 3 city council Democratic primary race. The election was won by Julie Grand in a three-person field that included Samuel McMullen.

The $35,431.75 amount is the total agreed to for the initial … [Full Story]

A successful election lawsuit filed against the city of Ann Arbor led last month to city council action to place a charter amendment in front of voters on Nov. 4, 2014. The amendments – which establish eligibility requirements for elected and appointed officials – were placed on the fall ballot in a July 21, 2014 vote of the council.

And now the ballot language for the two proposed Ann Arbor city charter amendments has been certified by Michigan’s attorney general as meeting the requirements of the Home Rule City Act. The AG’s office communicated its conclusion in an Aug. 8, 2014 letter to Gov. Rick Snyder’s office.

The existing charter language imposes a one-year durational requirement of voter registration on … [Full Story]

Four candidates have filed to run for three seats on the Ann Arbor District Library board in the Nov. 4, 2014 general election: Karen Hart, Jim Leija, and incumbents Jan Barney Newman and Ed Surovell. The filing deadline was Aug. 12.

These are non-partisan positions, with four-year terms starting Jan. 1, 2015. The seats are currently held by Newman, Surovell and Barbara Murphy, who decided not to seek re-election. Voters will be able to choose up to three of the four candidates on the ballot.

Leija is director of education and community engagement at the University Musical Society, a position he’s held since 2011. He’s worked for UMS in various roles since 2008.

Hart served as planning manager for the city of Ann … [Full Story]

The results of city council Democratic primary elections held in the city of Ann Arbor on Aug. 5 can fairly be considered determinative of Nov. 4 election outcomes – because no Republicans or independents filed petitions to qualify for the ballot.

November will see at least three newcomers to the 11-member council – Kirk Westphal in Ward 2, Julie Grand in Ward 3, and Graydon Krapohl in Ward 4. Westphal and Grand won their respective Democratic primaries that featured no incumbents. Both candidates were coming off unsuccessful council campaigns last year – against Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), respectively.

Westphal received 1,819 votes (59%) to Nancy Kaplan’s 1,261 (41%) in a race that was anticipated to be somewhat closer. Grand received 1,516 votes (51.1%) compared to Bob Dascola’s 794 (26.8%) and Samuel McMullen’s 616 (20.8%). That gave a decisive result to a Ward 3 race that had been fraught with legal disputes – about Dascola’s eligibility to appear on the ballot in the first place; and then about how to count misprinted absentee ballots, which omitted Dascola’s name.

Krapohl’s race did not even appear on the Aug. 5 ballot – because he was unopposed in the Democratic primary and no Republican qualified for the ballot. The omission of the race from the ballot under those conditions is stipulated in a clause of the city charter.

Krapohl will be filling the seat to which Democrat Margie Teall did not seek re-election. Westphal will almost certainly be filling the Ward 2 seat that Sally Petersen left to pursue an unsuccessful mayoral campaign. And Grand will almost certainly be elected to fill the seat vacated by Christopher Taylor, who ran a successful campaign for mayor.

Taylor, who’s currently a councilmember representing Ward 3, will be the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 4 general election against independent Bryan Kelly. Assuming Taylor does prevail, he will remain on the council as mayor. And among the 10 councilmembers who represent one of the five wards, he’ll almost certainly see a total of seven returning faces, including the two incumbents who prevailed in the Aug. 5 primaries.

That’s because those two incumbents, like the new Democratic council nominees, will also be unopposed on the November ballot. First-term Ward 1 councilmember Sumi Kailasapathy prevailed over Don Adams, who was seeking elected office for the first time. Kailasapathy received 1,113 votes (56.8%) compared to 840 (42.8%) for Adams.

And first-term Ward 5 councilmember Chuck Warpehoski prevailed over Leon Bryson, who had announced he was withdrawing from the race after the deadline to remove his name from the ballot. Bryson still collected 674 votes (18.6%), but Warpehoski’s total was 2,936 (81%).

Those three newcomers and two incumbents will join the five councilmembers who are currently in the middle of their two-year terms: Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Jack Eaton (Ward 4) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5) – as well as Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), who were unsuccessful in their mayoral bids.

Below are some maps illustrating the geographic distribution of votes in the three actively contested city council races, as well as some limited analysis of the Ward 2 race in terms of questions that were part of a pre-election poll conducted by Public Policy Polling. [Full Story]

Final unofficial results from the Washtenaw County clerk’s office have confirmed the results of early, informal reports directly from the Aug. 5, 2014 polls: Christopher Taylor has won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Ann Arbor.

Incumbent mayor John Hieftje is not seeking re-election, and there is no Republican candidate. Taylor will face independent Bryan Kelly in the Nov. 4 general election.

Some observers felt the four-way race could be won with as little as 35% of the vote. Taylor achieved a near majority, but fell a couple of percentage points short of 50% citywide. Taylor received 7,070 votes (47.6%) compared to Sabra Briere’s 2,967 (20%), Stephen Kunselman’s 2,447 (16.5%) and Sally Petersen’s 2,364 (15.9%).

The 16,591 ballots cast translated into a turnout of 16.67% registered voters citywide.

The ranking and clustering of the four candidates was roughly consistent with the amount of money each campaign raised in the pre-primary period – if the self-funded portion of Petersen’s campaign is discounted.

The rank order and clustering of candidates was also consistent with the results of a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling about a week before  the election. That poll also showed Taylor as a clear favorite over the other three candidates, who were grouped significantly behind, with Briere slightly stronger than Kunselman and Petersen.

Outgoing Democratic mayor John Hieftje never lost any of the city’s 48 precincts in seven election cycles. Taylor prevailed in 39 precincts. Briere won seven of them, while Kunselman won his home precinct in Ward 3. Briere and Petersen tied for most votes in one precinct – splitting the two votes in the lightly voted Precinct 1-1.

Taylor had the highest vote totals in each of the city’s five wards, with a majority of votes in three of them. In Ward 3, Ward 4 and Ward 5, Taylor received 50.4%, 52% and 50.6%, respectively.

All four candidates did best on their home turf – Briere in Ward 1, Petersen in Ward 2, Kunselman in outer Ward 3. But Taylor was strong not just in the Burns Park neighborhood of Ward 3, but also citywide, achieving better than 50% in 13 of 48 individual precincts, while winning 39 of them.

Charts of results by ward, as well as dynamic color-coded maps for each mayoral candidate, are presented below. [Full Story]

Ruth Ann Jamnick has won a four-way race in the Democratic primary for the District 5 seat on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners. It was the only county board seat that was contested in the Aug. 5 primary election. The district covers Augusta Township and part of Ypsilanti Township south of I-94.

Other District 5 Democratic candidates were Keith Jason, Wilma Gold-Jones, and Victor Dobrin. According to unofficial results on the Washtenaw County elections division website, Jamnick received 1,025 votes (36.39%) compared to 903 votes (32.06%) for Jason, 656 votes (23.29%) for Gold-Jones, and 232 votes (8.24%) for Dobrin.

In November, Jamnick will face Republican Timothy King, who was unchallenged in Tuesday’s primary. The current commissioner from that district, Democrat Rolland … [Full Story]

This article was set up with an automatic publishing time: 8 p.m. Aug. 5, 2014.

In this file The Chronicle will record summarized tabulations of early, informally-reported, completely unofficial election results – in city of Ann Arbor races for mayor and city council.

The headline is drawn from a tradition in Ann Arbor’s Internet culture dating back to the mid 2000s – the days of the now defunct community blog, ArborUpdate. At the moment the polls closed, local attorney Dave Cahill would reliably post a three-word comment: alea iacta est (the die is cast).

The Latin phrase is attributed to Julius Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon.

The results reported here come directly from individual precincts as the paper tapes are printed out by voting machines. They should be considered informal and unofficial.

Unofficial results will also be reported by the Washtenaw County clerk’s office on its Aug. 5, 2014 election results page.

The following block of text will be replaced with a time-stamped, updated version about every 10-15 minutes. To see the most recent results, please refresh the page manually.

 

Latest informal, unofficially reported results, as of 9:37:50 PM [This is the last update of informally reported results. For complete unofficial results, The Chronicle directs readers to the county clerk's website. The Ward 1 race looks clearly decided in favor of Kailasapathy. The Ward 2 race looks very likely  to go Westphal's way. The Ward 3 race looks very likely to go Grand's way. And the mayor's race will almost certainly go to Taylor.]

In the Ward 1 city council race, with 10 of 10 in-person precincts informally reporting, including absentee ballots, ADAMS has received 840 votes (43%), and KAILASAPATHY has received 1113 votes (56.9%).

In the Ward 2 city council race, with 7 of 9 in-person precincts informally reporting, including 2 of 2 absent voter count boards, KAPLAN has received 1163 votes (41.8%), and WESTPHAL has received 1615 votes (58.1%).

In the Ward 3 city council race, with 4 of 9 in-person precincts informally reporting, including absentee ballots, DASCOLA has received 572 votes (27.3%), GRAND has received 1126 votes (53.8%) and MCMULLEN has received 394 votes (18.8%).

In the Ann Arbor mayor’s race, with 32 of 48 in-person precincts informally reporting, and 7 of 7 absent voter count boards reporting in, BRIERE has received 2411 votes (20.1%), KUNSELMAN has received 1931 votes (16.1%) PETERSEN has received 1830 votes (15.3%), and TAYLOR has received 5785 votes (48.3%).

 

[Full Story]

Unofficial results for Tuesday’s local primary election races will be available on the Washtenaw County clerk’s election results page. Polls close at 8 p.m. so the earliest results will start showing up on the clerk’s website a couple hours after that.

We’d like to improve on that “delay.”

We’re asking regular folks throughout the city to visit a precinct after the polls close at 8 p.m. – and report the numbers from the publicly posted paper results tape.

Augmenting the civic satisfaction you’ll get from helping to report on our local democratic doings, you can also earn 1,000 points in the Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game. The mechanics of retrieving the game code are included below.

Most naturally, but not necessarily, voters would re-visit the place they voted earlier in the day. Or some voters might choose to vote close to 8 p.m. and then just stick around while the polls shut down, waiting for that magical sound of the voting machine printing off the results tape.

We’ll log the early results in a publicly visible Google spreadsheet, so that residents citywide can track the earliest possible (albeit completely unofficial) results as they come in. [That spreadsheet could currently be populated with some test data; please do not be alarmed.]

If you’d like to help out, then please let us know that you’re planning to lend a hand: leave a comment on this article; shoot me an email (dave.askins@annarborchronicle.com); Tweet at me (@a2chronicle), or flag me down if you spot me traveling through town.

Below we’ve included a list of polling places and a map, as well as some basic instructions for those who have never picked up early results before.  [Full Story]

In Ann Arbor, local elections are mostly determined in the Democratic primary, held this year on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The mayoral race is well contested with four Democratic candidates. Races in three of the city’s five wards offer actively contested races.

No Republicans are running for mayor or in any of the city council races. Only one independent candidate – Bryan Kelly, who’s running for mayor – will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Races for probate judge and circuit court judge offer fields of five and three candidates, respectively.

This article provides a roundup of Chronicle election coverage, for anyone who’s still studying up on the candidates. It includes links to reports and recordings of candidate forums, campaign finance data, analysis and other information. Links are also provided to candidate websites and League of Women Voters candidate profiles.

If you’re not sure whether you’re registered to vote or you’re not sure which ward you live in, Michigan’s Secretary of State website offers an easy way to check. The site also lets you look at a sample ballot. To give you a general idea of what ward you live in, check out this ward boundary map.

Polls open on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Readers can follow along during the day as The Chronicle goes poll-hopping, checking in at locations throughout the city. We’ll also be posting updates with results starting soon after the polls close. The Washtenaw County elections division website also provides unofficial results on election night.

Below you’ll find more information on the Ann Arbor mayoral and city council candidates, as well as judicial candidates for the probate and 22nd circuit courts. [Full Story]

From July 28-29, several Ann Arbor residents reported being polled by telephone about their preferences in the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary election. The Chronicle has obtained the results of that poll of 435 likely voters by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a North Carolina polling firm.

They show Ward 3 councilmember Christopher Taylor to be a clear favorite, with about a week to go before the Aug. 5, 2014 primary. Taylor polled at 39% compared to 19% for Ward 1 councilmember Sabra Briere.

Ward 3 councilmember Stephen Kunselman and Ward 2 councilmember Sally Petersen polled a few points behind Briere at 15% and 13% respectively.

The poll indicates that 15% of voters still haven’t made up their minds. Margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.7%.

The relatively large four-candidate field is attributable to the fact that no incumbent is in the race.

Kunselman was the first of the four candidates to declare his candidacy – before mayor John Hieftje announced last year he would not be seeking reelection to an eighth two-year term.

The PPP poll also asked respondents if they approved of the job that Hieftje was doing as mayor.

One of the patterns revealed in the analysis of the poll responses is that Kunselman would be a 12-point favorite if the election were held just among those voters who disapproved of Hieftje’s performance. But the poll indicated that only 27% of Ann Arbor voters disapproved of Hieftje’s performance.

A polling question that asked about favorable or unfavorable opinions of candidates – independently of an inclination to vote for them – showed Kunselman polling with the highest unfavorable opinion numbers, at 36%. But the “not sure” category for that question polled fairly high across all candidates, ranging from 29% to 43%.

The poll also included two questions about future growth – one about downtown development, and the other about the need for an improved train station. The poll indicated 46% support for the downtown projects that have been approved and built in recent years and 39% opposition. The need for a new train station polled at 52%, while the alternate view – that the current station is adequate – polled at 35%.

The content of the poll – which evinces some knowledge by its creator of the Ann Arbor political landscape – was not commissioned by The Chronicle or by any of the four mayoral campaigns. Tom Jensen grew up in Ann Arbor and is now director at Public Policy Polling, a firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. But Jensen still follows Ann Arbor politics. It was Jensen who put the poll together – out of his own interest. And it was Jensen’s voice that was used in the interactive voice response (IVR) technology deployment of the Ann Arbor mayoral poll.

The poll drew as a sample all those who’d participated in any primary election (Democratic or Republican) since 2006. Poll respondents included 32% Republican or other non-Democratic affiliation.

In a telephone interview, Jensen stressed that any poll result should be viewed with a lot of caution, especially with local elections. “I would definitely, as a pollster, encourage people to take caution in over-interpreting one poll of a low-turnout race in the middle of the summer. You’re definitely prone to more error.”

But based on the results of this poll, he said he was 99% confident that Taylor was going to be the next mayor of Ann Arbor.

Additional charts and some additional background on the polling methodology are presented below. [Full Story]

Over the weekend, local attorney Laurie Longo brought to my attention a political sign placed on North Main by probate court candidate Julia Owdziej – who’s also the incumbent in that race.

The incumbency is the result of a gubernatorial appointment made just two months ago, on June 2, 2014. And that forms a part of Longo’s objection to the sign – because it displays the text “Judge Julia Owdziej” in the context of the campaign tagline “Protecting the County’s Most Vulnerable for Over 20 Years.”

The sign seems to implicate that Owdziej has been serving as judge for two decades, not two months. Certainly if I were editing an endorsement op-ed that included a sentence like, “Judge Julia Owdziej has protected Washtenaw County’s most vulnerable for over 20 years,” I would move to strike the word “judge.”

I imagine some readers might agree with Longo’s conclusion – that because the sign is misleading (and violates Ann Arbor’s political sign ordinance), voters should consider other candidates instead. Other candidates in the race are: Jane Bassett, Tamara Garwood, Constance Jones, and Tracy Van den Bergh.

That conclusion is, I think, somewhat debatable. Some voters will likely consider that message to be, technically speaking, factually accurate – even if misleading – and within the latitude that is typically afforded political candidates who are trying to market themselves to voters.

What does not seem open to debate is Longo’s point that the billboard-sized sign was in obvious violation of the Ann Arbor ordinance on political signs – most clearly the maximum size for such signs, which is 4′ x 3′. [.pdf of Ann Arbor ordinance on political signs]

When I reached Owdziej by phone Sunday night (July 27), she indicated that the city of Ann Arbor had contacted the campaign about the sign and that the trailer to which it was affixed was to be removed on Monday. And on Monday it was removed.

That’s consistent with remarks made by all probate court candidates in response to a question posed about yard signs at a July 19 forum hosted by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party: They’ll remove signs that are in violation, if the violations are pointed out to them.

So in this final week leading up the election, I would first like to encourage all candidates – not just those in judicial races – to make sure they adhere to local laws on political signs. If you don’t know that you’re not supposed to have any signs in the public right-of-way or within 5 feet of a sidewalk (with some exceptions), then please read up on the details.

For readers, there are at least two options for addressing political signs that you think aren’t in conformance with Ann Arbor’s ordinance. Contact the candidate and tell them where the offending sign is, and ask them to remove it – or to explain why they think the sign is actually in compliance. A second option is to contact community standards by phone at 734.794.6942, or by email at communitystandards@a2gov.org. ​

Below are the responses that probate court candidates gave on July 19 to the question about campaign yard signs – as well as some thoughts of my own about yard signs, with a look back to a 2006 interview with Washtenaw County clerk Larry Kestenbaum. [Full Story]

Federal judge Lawrence Zatkoff has concluded that the city of Ann Arbor is not in contempt of court for mailing out nearly 400 absentee ballots that omitted the name of one of the candidates in the Ward 3 Democratic primary. The order was issued on July 28, 2014. [.pdf of July 28, 2104 order]

The ruling came after the city of Ann Arbor  responded to a show cause order from Zatkoff by giving arguments that the city should not be found in contempt of court – for sending out 392 absentee ballots for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election that did not contain Bob Dascola’s name. The court had earlier ruled that the city charter eligibility requirements for elected officers could … [Full Story]

A dataset analysis of pre-primary contributions to 11 different local campaigns for Ann Arbor elected office confirms some clear patterns among the donors. The primary election will be held Aug. 5, 2014.

The dataset was compiled by The Chronicle after the Friday, July 25 deadline for filing campaign finance reports. It includes contributions to the 2014 mayoral Democratic primary campaigns for the four candidates – Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman – as well as contributions to Democratic city council primary campaigns of seven candidates in three wards: Don Adams and Sumi Kailasapathy in Ward 1; Nancy Kaplan and Kirk Westphal in Ward 2; and Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen in Ward 3.

Contributors to those 11 campaigns appear to perceive city council candidates Don Adams, Kirk Westphal and Julie Grand as aligned with mayoral candidate Christopher Taylor – as well as with each other. And judged by their donations, contributors appear to perceive city council candidates Sumi Kailasapathy, Nancy Kaplan and Bob Dascola as politically similar to each other – and to some extent politically similar to mayoral candidates Sabra Briere and Stephen Kunselman.

Those conclusions are based on the 1,278 individual contributions totaled across all the campaigns (517 for city council races and 761 for the mayoral race). The Chronicle counted at least 312 contributions that were made by people who gave to more than one of the campaigns. Those 312 contributions came from 99 different people. Not typical of the contributions were those of 22nd circuit court candidate Veronique Liem, who gave money to seven of the 11 campaigns, including all four mayoral candidates.

The Chronicle also tagged donors in the dataset as current or past members of public bodies – like the city council, the city planning commission and the Ann Arbor District Library board. That exercise revealed that every current member of the library board made at least one contribution to mayoral or council campaigns. Taylor received contributions from five of seven library board members and Briere from one. Westphal received contributions from three library board members.

Stephen Kunselman has campaigned in part based on his endorsements from four current city councilmembers – all of whom contributed money to his campaign. Ward 2 council candidate Nancy Kaplan received contributions from the same four, plus a former councilmember.

When former councilmembers are included in the count, Taylor received contributions from a total of seven. Briere received contributions from four former councilmembers. Among council candidates, Westphal received the most contributions from current and former councilmembers – a total of seven.

The Chronicle initially compiled the set of data – for three city council races and the mayor’s race – in order to generate analyses of geographic trends and distribution of amounts that have been contributed to each campaign. Those analyses are presented in previous coverage: “Council Election Finance 2014: Charts, Maps” and “Mayoral Election Finance 2014: Charts, Maps.”

The dataset should be viewed with the caveat that data entry was done manually from scanned documents generated by the campaigns, so they include a range of spelling variants and other minor inconsistencies. In addition, The Chronicle’s institutional knowledge about donors’ background, even when combined with online research, is imperfect. Some donors in various categories might have been missed.

Below we present some of the patterns of contributions made by donors to the campaigns.  [Full Story]

Editor’s note: The candidate forum was moderated by the writer, Chronicle publisher Mary Morgan.

Twenty candidates for political office attended a forum hosted by the Arts Alliance on July 23, held at the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor and focused on the creative sector.

The event included presentations by each candidate as well as opportunities for questions from the audience, and drew out policy positions related to the arts.

County-level candidates shared their thoughts on the possibility of a countywide arts millage.

And mayoral candidate Sally Petersen took the occasion to float the idea of an Ann Arbor city income tax as an approach that would generate more revenue, at the same time shifting some of the burden of local government funding to those who work in Ann Arbor but do not live here.

Bryan Kelly, independent candidate for mayor of Ann Arbor in the Nov. 4 general election, made his first public appearance since qualifying for the ballot. “I can say firsthand that being an artist is the toughest damn job in the world. I’d rather run for mayor than keep writing novels,” he quipped.

Ypsilanti mayoral candidate Tyrone Bridges shared an example of his daughter’s artwork with forum attendees.

Favorite public art named by the candidates included the mosaic adorning the Fourth and Washington parking structure, as well as the half-mile of daffodils planted in The Arb.

And Ann Arbor Ward 5 incumbent Chuck Warpehoski delivered his opening statement in the form of a rap.

In her remarks at the end of the forum, Arts Alliance executive director Deb Polich urged candidates and elected officials to tap into the experts who know the creative sector. She encouraged candidates to touch base with ArtServe Michigan and the Arts Alliance to get accurate information. Ann Arbor is losing ground to other communities like Grand Rapids and Detroit, she said, and that’s why public funding and investment in the arts is important. “Private funding is absolutely here in this county, but it’s not enough – there’s not enough.”

It’s not just about funding, however. Polich stressed the importance of public policy to make the city a fertile ground for the creative sector.

Polich reported that the Arts Alliance will be holding a statewide conference called Creative Convergence on March 19, 2015. Thought leaders from across the country, state and Washtenaw County will be coming to speak about these issues, she said.

This report focuses on state and local candidates, including the Ann Arbor mayoral and city council races, Washtenaw County commissioners, and state legislators. It also includes responses to a candidate survey distributed by the Arts Alliance prior to the forum. Not included here are statements by the two Congressional candidates who attended the forum: Democrat Debbie Dingell, who’s running in the primary against Raymond Mullins of Ypsilanti for the District 12 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; and Republican Douglas Radcliffe North, who’s running against incumbent Republican Tim Walberg for the District 7 seat in the U.S. House.

The outcomes of many of the local races will be determined in the Aug. 5, 2014 Democratic primary elections, if no Republicans or independent candidates are running. More information about candidates can be found on the Washtenaw County elections division website. Check the Michigan Votes website to find out your polling location and view a sample ballot. [Full Story]

According to reports filed with the Washtenaw County clerk’s office, seven Ann Arbor city council candidates in three contested Democratic primary races on Aug. 5, 2014 have raised a total of $57,877 in itemized cash contributions.

That’s about $100,000 less than the amount raised by four candidates in the mayoral primary. The filing deadline for pre-primary reports was July 25.

In Ward 4, incumbent Democrat Margie Teall is not seeking re-election and only one candidate is running – Graydon Krapohl. So he did not need to file campaign finance reports. In Ward 5, Leon Bryson announced several weeks ago that he was withdrawing from his challenge of first-term incumbent Chuck Warpehoski. Even though both Ward 5 candidates filed campaign finance reports, this article does not analyze them.

Accounting for more than half of the total amount raised in the other three wards were the two candidates in Ward 2: Kirk Westphal and Nancy Kaplan. Kaplan’s $16,314 was easily more than any other candidate. By way of comparison to recent Ward 2 races, for the pre-primary campaign period in 2011 and 2013 Jane Lumm raised about $19,000 and $20,000 in those respective years. Westphal raised $12,420 this year, which is about $2,000 more than he raised during the comparable period in his unsuccessful 2013 campaign against Lumm. Westphal and Kaplan are competing for the Ward 2 seat currently held by Sally Petersen. She decided to run for mayor instead of seeking re-election to the Ward 2 seat.

This year’s Ward 3 contest features Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen, who are all competing for the seat that Christopher Taylor is leaving in order to run for mayor. Among the three, Dascola raised the most money with $7,385 in contributions compared to $6,595 for Grand and $5,248 for McMullen. (McMullen’s campaign reported a total of $5,315 in itemized contributions, but The Chronicle’s calculation was for $67 less than that, based on the documents.) Grand’s total this year is significantly less than the $10,825 she raised in the comparable period in 2013 for her unsuccessful campaign against Stephen Kunselman.

The Ward 1 race features one-term incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams. Kailasapathy raised $5,345 compared to $4,570 for Adams. Kailasapathy’s amount this year is about $1,000 more than what she raised during the pre-primary period for the 2012 primary, which she won against Eric Sturgis.

While the raw totals provide some insight into how the campaigns are being financed, there’s more to it than that.

Here’s a read-only link to the Google spreadsheet used by The Chronicle to generate charts and maps: [2014 Council Campaign Finance: Ann Arbor] For readers who’d like full-sized versions of the maps embedded below, here’s a link to the Google Fusion tables: [2014 Council Campaign Finance Maps]

Below we present charts and maps to illustrate the distribution of donations by amount and geography. [Full Story]

According to reports filed with the Washtenaw County clerk’s office, the four Ann Arbor mayoral candidates in the Aug. 5, 2014 Democratic primary have raised a total of $153,847 in itemized cash contributions. The filing deadline for pre-primary reports was July 25.

Based on Ann Arbor’s population of about 114,000, that works out to about $1.35 per resident.

All four mayoral candidates currently serve on the Ann Arbor city council: Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3).

Raising by far the most of any candidate was Christopher Taylor with $75,198. (The campaign reported a total of $75,698 in its filings, but that amount was $500 more than the contributions calculated by The Chronicle, based on the campaign finance itemized list.) [link to WC clerk filing by Christopher Taylor] Taylor’s total came from 365 contributions, with an average contribution of $206.

Next was Sally Petersen with $44,495 from 133 contributions for an average contribution of $334 per donation. Petersen’s total was boosted with a $10,000 contribution of her own and $15,000 from her husband. The $2,000 limit does not apply to candidates themselves or members of their immediate family. [link to WC clerk filing by Sally Petersen] That total does not include a $5,000 late contribution filed by Petersen, bringing the total she and her husband contributed to $30,000.

Raising $26,680 was Sabra Briere. That total came from 204 contributions, for an average contribution of $130. [link to WC clerk filing by Sabra Briere]

Raising $7,474 from 59 contributions for an average donation of $126 was Stephen Kunselman. He had been the first to announce his candidacy for mayor – before current mayor John Hieftje decided that he would not be seeking an eighth two-year term. [link to WC clerk filing by Stephen Kunselman]

By way of comparison, when Jane Lumm raised roughly $18,000 for her pre-general election race for Ward 2 council in 2011 and then raised $20,000 for the same period in 2013, those totals were considered remarkable.

Here’s a read-only link to the shared Google Spreadsheet used by The Chronicle to generate charts and maps: [2014 Mayoral Campaign Finance: Ann Arbor]

Below we present charts and maps to illustrate the distribution of donations by amount and geography. [Full Story]

The city of Ann Arbor has responded to a show cause order from federal judge Lawrence Zatkoff by giving arguments that the city should not be found in contempt of court – for sending out nearly 400 absentee ballots that omitted the name of one of the candidates in the Ward 3 Democratic primary. [July 23, 2014 city of Ann Arbor response to Show Cause Order]

Last week the court had essentially ordered the city to present an explanation for the fact that the city clerk sent out 392 absentee ballots for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election that did not contain Bob Dascola’s name – after the court had earlier ruled that the city’s eligibility requirements could not be … [Full Story]

After a federal judge ruled earlier this year that eligibility requirements for elected officers in the city of Ann Arbor’s charter are not legally enforceable, the city council has now voted to put eligibility requirements on the Nov. 4, 2014 ballot for voters to decide.

Action came at the council’s July 21, 2014 meeting. The council had one additional meeting on its calendar at which it could have voted to place the resolution on the ballot – on Aug. 7. That’s the last council meeting before the Aug. 12 deadline for certifying ballot language to the Washtenaw County clerk’s office.

The existing charter language imposes a one-year durational requirement of voter registration on elected and appointed officials in the city. But the … [Full Story]

The Washtenaw County Democratic Party is hosting a forum for candidates in county judicial races this morning (July 19, 2014) at 10 a.m. at the Pittsfield Township Hall on Michigan Avenue near Platt Road.

The Chronicle plans to provide a live audio broadcast from the event. The embedded live-stream player below will be replaced with an audio recording after the event is over.

Two contested races will appear on the ballot for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary – one for the circuit court and the other for the probate court.

The circuit court tries felonies and criminal matters, family law, and civil disputes where claims are greater than $25,000. However, the docket for this particular seat on the circuit court is heavily weighted … [Full Story]

Five candidates seeking to be the next Washtenaw County probate judge answered questions about themselves, probate law and general judicial philosophy at a candidate forum held July 7, 2014. The forum was moderated by the League of Women Voters and broadcast on Community Television Network.

Jane Bassett, Tamara Garwood, Constance Jones, Tracy Van den Bergh and recently appointed judge Julia Owdziej will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. The nonpartisan primary will narrow the race to two candidates for the Nov. 4 general election.

Owdziej was appointed to the seat by Gov. Rick Snyder just last month, on June 2, to fill the vacancy on the court left by Nancy Wheeler’s retirement. The announcement of that retirement came on May 1, after candidates had filed to run. Wheeler was expected to retire at the end of the year, but it came earlier than expected due to health reasons. Bassett, Garwood and Jones currently work in private practice while Van den Bergh is a staff attorney for a legal services nonprofit.

On its Vote411.org website, the LWV has posted candidates’ written responses to questions: [Probate court candidate responses] As of July 17, the Vote411.org website had not been updated to reflect the fact that the race now has an incumbent.

The county probate judge handles largely estate cases, and issues regarding mental health and addiction. During the July 7 judicial forum, the candidates made opening statements, answered six questions and then made closing statements. The forum was moderated by Miriam Eve Borenstein with questions predetermined by the League of Women Voters after asking for public submissions.

Candidates’ remarks are summarized below. To view the recorded video from the probate court LWV forum, use Community Television Network’s video on demand.  [Full Story]

On July 7, 2014, three candidates vying to fill a vacancy on Washtenaw’s 22nd circuit court participated in a League of Women Voters forum.

Pat Conlin, Veronique Liem and Michael Woodyard will compete in the nonpartisan Aug. 5 primary, which will advance the top two candidates to the Nov. 4 general election. The winner of that contest will fill the open seat left by judge Donald Shelton, who turned 70 in June. According to Michigan state law, only a person under the age of 70 can be appointed or run for the position of judge.

The circuit court tries felonies and criminal matters, family law, and civil disputes where claims are greater than $25,000. However, the docket for this particular seat on the circuit court is heavily weighted toward family cases.

Conlin and Liem are local attorneys, while Woodyard works in the Wayne County prosecutor’s office. At the July 7 forum, the candidates fielded questions covered topics including: family, the visibility of the court and general judicial philosophy.

A second seat on the court is also up for election, as judge David Swartz is at the end of a six-year term. He is running uncontested to retain his 22nd circuit court incumbent seat.

On its Vote411.org website, the LWV has posted candidates’ written responses to questions: [22nd circuit court candidate responses]

At the July 7 LWV forum, the candidates made opening statements, answered six questions and then made closing statements. The forum was moderated by Miriam Eve Borenstein, with questions predetermined by the league after asking for public submissions.

Candidates’ remarks are summarized below. To view the recorded video from the 22nd circuit court LWV forum, use Community Television Network’s video on demand.  [Full Story]

The winner of Ann Arbor’s mayoral Democratic primary to be held on Aug. 5, 2014 will face an independent candidate on the ballot in the general election. Bryan Kelly is now qualified to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, according to Ann Arbor’s city clerk, Jackie Beaudry.

The last of Kelly’s signatures were validated late yesterday, July 16, the day before the deadline for independents to file. Mayoral candidates must obtain signatures from 50 voters in each of the city’s five wards for a total of 250. Kelly was short in Ward 2 and Ward 3 for his initial submissions, but filed sufficient supplemental signatures to qualify. By ward, his signature tally broke down as follows: Ward 1 (52); Ward 2 … [Full Story]

A procedural issue related to the Ann Arbor Ward 3 city council ballot counting question has been decided by a federal court as expected: The Michigan Secretary of State has been allowed as an intervening party in the dispute.

Not necessarily expected, however, was the court’s issuance of a show cause order that requires the city of Ann Arbor to demonstrate why the city is not in contempt of court.

The court has essentially ordered the city to present an explanation for the fact that the city clerk sent out ballots to 392 absentee voters in the Aug. 5, 2014 primary that did not contain Bob Dascola’s name – after the court had earlier ruled that the city’s eligibility requirements could not be enforced against Dascola.

Both of the most recent decisions were issued by the court on July 16, 2014.

[July 16, 2014 Show Cause Order] [July 16, 2014 Order on Intervention] [.pdf of July 11, 2014 SoS motion to intervene]

The prior court ruling on May 20, 2014 had held that the city charter’s eligibility requirements are not enforceable. And the effect of that ruling was that the city was supposed to place Bob Dascola‘s name on the Ward 3 city council ballot for the Aug. 5, 2014 Democratic primary. Printed correctly on the ballots were the names of the other two candidates: Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen. [Full Story]

A forum for Ann Arbor mayoral candidates  is being hosted tonight at 7 p.m. at St. Clare’s and Temple Beth Emeth, located at Genesis of Ann Arbor at 2309 Packard St. The forum will focus on issues of homelessness and affordable housing.

Competition for the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination is a four-way race: Stephen Kunselman, Sabra Briere, Christopher Taylor, and Sally Petersen. All candidates currently serve on the Ann Arbor city council. Kunselman and Briere are in the middle of their two-year terms, while Taylor and Petersen have chosen to run for mayor instead of seeking re-election to their Ward 3 and Ward 2 council seats, respectively.

The topics of homelessness and affordable housing have come up at previous mayoral forums – such as those hosted by Literati Bookstore, the League of Women Voters and the Ann Arbor Democratic Party. Here’s an .mp3 file from the Dems forum that includes just candidates’ responses to a question about affordable housing: [.mp3 of responses on affordable housing]

Tonight’s forum will be moderated by Julie Steiner, former executive director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance. Candidates will have five minutes to talk about addressing homelessness and increasing affordable housing in Ann Arbor. Candidates will then respond to questions prepared by local advocacy groups, service providers, and faith communities. Questions from the audience will then be answered.

Listen to the forum live in the embedded audio player below. [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor city election commission meets today at 3 p.m. in the city council workroom at city hall. The Chronicle plans to present a live audio broadcast of the proceedings, using the embedded live stream player below.

This meeting is a regular event in the election process, and will include the approval of the list of election workers for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary. The three-member commission consists of chief of police John Seto, city attorney Stephen Postema and city clerk Jackie Beaudry.

Possibly of more interest than the approval of the list of election workers will be an update on proceedings in the pending legal dispute over the way that some misprinted ballots might be counted. Nearly 400 misprinted ballots … [Full Story]

The Orchard Hills-Maplewood neighborhood association is hosting a forum tonight (July 14) at 7 p.m. for Ward 2 city council candidates in the Democratic primary election, to be held Aug. 5, 2014.

The forum will be held at the Traverwood branch of the Ann Arbor District Library.

The Ward 2 city council race features Kirk Westphal, current chair of the city planning commission, and Nancy Kaplan, current trustee on the Ann Arbor District Library board.

There’s no incumbent in this race, because Ward 2 city councilmember Sally Petersen is running for mayor instead of re-election.

The Chronicle plans to broadcast live audio of the event. The live audio player is embedded below. After the event, it will be replaced with an .mp3 recording. Update: Several .mp3 files broken down by question are now included in the article in place of the live-stream player.

Previous Chronicle coverage of the Ward 2 city council race includes: “Ward 2 Candidate Forum: CTN Broadcast” (embedded video with transcript in a scrolling text box) and “Council Candidates Live: Ann Arbor Dems” (.mp3 audio files).

Community Television Network has pre-recorded some comments from candidates in all races. [link to CTN video-on-demand for council candidate comments ]

And the League of Women Voters provides written candidate profiles with responses to questions on its Vote411.org website. [Ward 2 Vote411.org profiles]

Listen below to the live broadcast from the Traverwood branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor District Library staff is hosting an information session for potential candidates running for election to the AADL board. The event will last from 6-7 p.m. in the fourth floor boardroom at the downtown library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

Three spots on the board will be on the Nov. 4, 2014 ballot. These are non-partisan positions, with four-year terms starting Jan. 1, 2015. The seats are currently held by Barbara Murphy, Jan Barney Newman and Ed Surovell.

Update: Newman and Surovell have told The Chronicle that they plan to seek re-election this year. However, Murphy has decided not to run for another term.

Depending on the outcome of the Aug. 5, 2014 primary, there might be an additional opening on … [Full Story]

The Ann Arbor Democratic Party is hosting a forum for city council candidates this morning, July 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Community Center at 625 North Main Street.

The Chronicle plans to broadcast live audio from the event. A live-stream audio player is included below. [Updated: The live stream audio player has been replaced with a set of .mp3 audio files from the event.]

Primary elections take place on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014.

All candidates who have qualified for partisan primary ballots are Democrats. No Republicans have filed in any ward. In Wards 1, 2 and 3, the Democratic primary is contested.

The Ward 1 race features one-term incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams, who is seeking elected office for the first time. [Ward 1 Candidate Forum: CTN Broadcast]

The Ward 2 city council race features current chair of the city planning commission, Kirk Westphal, and current trustee on the Ann Arbor District Library board, Nancy Kaplan. [Ward 2 Candidate Forum: CTN Broadcast]

This year’s Ward 3 contest features Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen, who are all competing for the seat that Christopher Taylor is leaving in order to run for mayor. [Ward 3 Candidate Forum: CTN Broadcast]

Ward 4 does not offer a contested race. Graydon Krapohl, a Democrat who is currently vice chair of the park advisory commission, is the only person who has qualified for the ballot.

The race in Ward 5 is also uncontested, practically speaking. Leon Bryson, who will appear on the Democratic primary ballot, has announced that he’s withdrawn his candidacy and won’t campaign for the seat. That means that one-term incumbent Chuck Warpehoski is almost certain to prevail in the primary.

Listen to the broadcast from the July 12 forum using the audio player below.  [Full Story]