Pamphlets for gubernatorial candidates Alma Wheeler Smith and Rick Snyder, on the table at Wednesday's Morning Edition breakfast hosted by the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce. Smith, a Democrat, and Snyder, a Republican, were both speakers at the event.

Running was a common theme for speakers at Wednesday’s Morning Edition, a breakfast meeting hosted by the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce at Weber’s Inn.

Alma Wheeler Smith and Rick Snyder are both running for governor, in the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively. Michael Ford, the new CEO for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, keeps the buses running, while Keith Hafner runs a local karate business. And Kevin Borseth, the University of Michigan women’s basketball coach who makes his team run drills, almost ran for cover when Russ Collins, the event’s MC, brought up an infamous YouTube video that Borseth might well want to forget.

Collins, who’s also executive director of the Michigan Theater, kept the speakers running on schedule – after the jump, we’ll give a summary of their remarks, presented in the order in which they spoke.

Alma Wheeler Smith, candidate in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary

Smith currently serves as state representative for the 54th District, which includes the city of Ypsilanti, and Augusta, Salem, Superior and Ypsilanti townships. After serving three, two-year terms, she’s ineligible to run again because of term limits – she also previously served as a state senator from 1994-2002. This is Smith’s second run for governor: she campaigned in the 2001 primary, and the following year became the running mate of David Bonior, losing in the primary to Jennifer Granholm.

Alma Wheeler Smith, a current state representative and candidate for governor in the Democratic primary. (Photo by the writer.)

Smith said that one of her strengths is a bipartisan approach and willingness to work both sides of the aisle. She cited jobs as a priority, and emphasized the importance of small businesses.

Key initiatives would include restructuring government by looking at ways to consolidate or, if consolidation has occurred that isn’t effective, to reverse it. When a bureaucracy becomes too large, she said, it’s inefficient and ineffective. She plans to push for universal preschool and strengthen the K-12 system, citing the need for consolidation – in the area where she serves as state representative, there are at least two school districts that should consolidate, she said, without naming them.

Education needs to be considered from preschool through college, she said. The Kalamazoo Promise is a good model, Smith added – that privately funded initiative pays for college tuition to graduates of the Kalamazoo public schools. In general, tuition is out of control, she said, and all children need the opportunity that a quality education offers.

Smith also said she’s especially interested in initiatives that will support the state’s small businesses, which she noted have led the country out of every previous recession.

“Without small business being able to work and thrive,” Smith said, “we fail.”

Kevin Borseth, coach of the University of Michigan women's basketball team. (Photo by the writer.)

Kevin Borseth, head coach of UM’s women’s basketball

Now in his third season coaching women’s basketball at Michigan, Borseth told the audience that he’d always dreamed of being head coach there. “Not many people get to live their dream,” he said. “I also learned be careful what you wish for.”

He said the team recently started practice for the season, which begins Nov. 13. Both the men’s and women’s teams kicked off the year on Friday, Oct. 16 with a Midnight Madness event for fans at Crisler Arena – Borseth said the staff made a YouTube video of the coaches dancing during the event. That reference caused Collins to quip that not everyone knew about Borseth’s YouTube fame, alluding to a clip of an explosive post-game press conference Borseth gave last year, which was followed by “Rate the Rant” commentary by ESPN2 sportscasters. Borseth acknowledged that he’d been pretty upset at the time. “I’m kind of a fiery coach,” he said.

Women’s basketball is a purer form of the game, with better shooting and crisper passing than on men’s teams, Borseth said. He urged everyone to come to the games, adding that he was embarrassed to say season tickets cost only $20.

Rick Snyder, an Ann Arbor businessman and a gubernatorial candidate in the Republican primary. (Photo by the writer.)

Rick Snyder, candidate in the GOP gubernatorial primary

Snyder, an Ann Arbor venture capitalist, began by saying that the most frequent question he’s asked is “Why on earth do you want to be governor?” There are three reasons, he said: 1) Michigan is an economic disaster, 2) if Lansing lawmakers were a business, “we’d have fired them,” and 3) career politicians aren’t the answer.

But Snyder said he wants people to vote for him for positive reasons – a long-term vision that transitions the state to an era of innovation with a diverse economy, restores Michigan’s major cities, protects the environment and gives young people a reason to stay here after graduation.

Snyder also outlined his 10-point plan, noting that No. 1 on the list is creating more and better jobs. Government’s role is to create an environment in which business can thrive, but Michigan doesn’t have that, he said, calling the Michigan Business Tax “the dumbest tax in the United States.” The state also has a regulatory environment that assumes people are bad. Government is a bureaucracy, but should be a customer service organization, he said, with citizens as the customers.

“This is the time for the solve-it attitude,” he said.

Michael Ford, CEO of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, and Russ Collins, executive director of the Michigan Theater and emcee of Wednesday's Morning Edition. (Photo by the writer.)

Michael Ford, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority CEO

Hired as AATA’s new CEO this summer, Ford responded to a question from Russ Collins by saying that although he grew up in Seattle and was a Huskies fan, he’d been impressed by Michigan’s defeat of Notre Dame and was now a Wolverine.

There are many opportunities in the Ann Arbor region for improving its transportation, Ford said. Among them are the WALLY proposal connecting Washtenaw and Livingston counties by rail, and the Fuller Road transit station, a joint city/UM effort, and the Ann Arbor to Detroit rail project.

Doing nothing, Ford said, is not an option – all great cities have great transportation infrastructure. He asked for feedback from the audience on how they used AATA, saying that “transportation doesn’t do any good if it’s not meeting your needs.”

[The AATA is holding a special meeting of its board, also at Weber's Inn, on Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:00 p.m. in the Varsity Room.  The topic of the meeting will be the possibility of reorganizing as a regional authority under Act 196. ]

Keith Hafner, owner of the eponymous karate school in downtown Ann Arbor. (Photo by the writer.)

Keith Hafner, owner of Keith Hafner’s Karate

Russ Collins introduced Hafner and asked a series of questions, adding, “I ask you most sincerely not to kick my ass if you don’t like the questions.”

Hafner has owned Keith Hafner’s Karate for 30 years, and earlier this month became a grand master – a title conferred on him in a ceremony led by Ed Sell, Hafner’s former karate teacher and the previous owner of the local school.

Hafner noted that his business is one of the oldest on Main Street. In addition to karate classes for kids and adults, Hafner is a consultant and author of the book “How to Build Rock Solid Kids.”

There’s a crisis among kids today, he said, adding that they lack self-confidence and a positive attitude. Learning karate is a great way to build both of those characteristics, he said.

John Hansen talks to the media – in this case, both The Chronicle (in the room) and Paula Gardner of AnnArbor.com (on the phone).

John Hansen’s title on his business card is “Transitionist” – and he isn’t kidding. Hansen has been on the job only a few days as interim president of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce, but he’ll be shepherding what could be a significant physical transition too: A possible move out of the business group’s third-floor offices at 115 W. Huron St.

On Monday, the chamber announced plans to sublet all or part of its 6,300-square-foot warren of offices. There’s too much space for the 10 or so people who work there, Hansen said, and they’re paying too much for it. He declined to say how much, noting only that “it’s very expensive” – the biggest cost after payroll in a roughly $1 million budget.

The Chronicle talked to Hansen on Monday about both transitions: The possible move, and the process of choosing a new leader for the 1,200-member group. Along the way, we learned a few things about what it’s like to be a state legislator and school superintendent, too.

No, Really – He’s Interim

Hansen doesn’t blame people who might think “interim” means “trial run before taking the job full-time.” That was the trajectory of Jesse Bernstein, who was brought on as interim in the spring of 2006 after former president Sabrina Keeley’s departure. Bernstein was hired permanently that fall, but resigned in June of this year.

Over the past few years, Hansen has made a career out of being the go-to interim guy. His first career was in education – he served as superintendent of Dexter Community Schools from 1984-1998. In 1998 he ran and won a race for state representative from District 52, an office he held until 2002. In the 1998 Democratic primary race for that seat, he defeated Larry Kestenbaum, Pam Byrnes and Rebekah Warren.  All three of them now hold elected office – in contrast to himself, Hansen notes wryly.

Hansen took his first interim job in 2003 after leaving the legislature, as superintendent for Willow Run Community Schools in Ypsilanti Township. He’s had several more gigs since then, mostly – but not all – in education. The chamber is his seventh interim job – and he’s clear about not changing his “Transitionist” title.

The end date for him is Jan. 1, 2010 – assuming the chamber’s board has found a replacement by then. They’re forming a “vision committee” co-chaired by Debra Power and John Petz, who both serve on the board’s six-member executive committee.

That group will meet in September and focus on big-picture questions, looking at what kind of organization the chamber should be in the future. The answers will shape the eventual job posting for a permanent president, Hansen said, and they’ll serve as the standard they use to screen applicants “so we’re not just evaluating people on their warm smile.” A not-yet-formed search committee will handle that part of the process.

The issue of office space could also be informed by the answer to “What will be chamber be?”

This room at the chamber offices, with five workstations or "hotels," is available for members to use as temporary office space. (Photo by the writer.)

What Does the Chamber Need?

When The Chronicle spoke to Bernstein upon his departure in June, he cited the chamber’s move into new offices – they were formerly located in the DTE building, at the corner of South Main and William – as one of his accomplishments. He felt the new space presented a more inviting, professional image for the chamber – and it does, Hansen says. “I would have been proud of that, too.”

But conditions have changed since 2007. The economy tanked, for one thing. Chamber membership is down, but the lease expense is locked in until 2017. In fact, the conversation about how to address this problem pre-dates Hansen. For the past six to 12 months, the board and staff have been looking at whether the amount and cost of the office space they have matches their needs, said Newcombe Clark, a chamber board member and local real estate agent who’s taking the lead on finding a sub-lessor.

The chamber’s asking rate of $18.75 per square foot, plus utilities, is close to what the chamber itself is paying, Clark said.  [Based on the 6,300 square feet of space, that would put the chamber's costs at close to $118,000.] There’s typically a 15-20% gap between the asking rate and the final deal, Clark added, but that gap has been ballooning. Landlords are cutting great deals because there’s so much vacant space on the market. Rates are especially low on the south side of Ann Arbor, Clark said – that’s why it’s unlikely that the chamber will find someone to sublet the entire space. That, plus the fact that “there’s not a lot of 6,300-square-foot tenants out there,” he said.

So how much space does the chamber itself need? They’ve enlisted architects to do some space configuration analysis, to get a better idea of the square footage they’d need. In addition to the chamber’s own people, staff from the getDowntown program and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) work out of the current space. There’s also a room with five workstations – or “hotels” – that are available for chamber members to use on a temporary basis.

John Hansen points out an August 2009 Ann Arbor Observer article about the Workantile Exchange, which prompted him to ask, "Why aren't we them?" (Photo by the writer.)

In fact, the hoteling and co-office concept is an intriguing one for Hansen. As part of his outreach to get to know board members, he’s been meeting them one-on-one at their offices. He met Clark at the bare-bones offices of Ghostly International on Maynard Street. The office condo is owned by Clark, and in addition to housing Ghostly, it’s used as temporary office space for freelancers and others working on collaborative projects – essentially, there are tables and places to plug in your laptop. Until recently, Clark has worked out of there, too, though Hansen jokes that “his place of business seems to be on his feet.”

Then Hansen read an Ann Arbor Observer article that Kyle Mazurek, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs, had flagged for him – about the Workantile Exchange, a co-working space just around the corner on South Main Street. When Hansen read the description of the Workantile, he thought, “Why aren’t we them?”

The organization has been around for 90 years, Hansen said, and back in the early 1900s, its membership and services were very different than what they became a few decades later, when large corporations dominated. There’s yet another transition taking place, he said, with the “1099s” – the self-employed – making up a larger part of the business landscape. “I happen to be one of those,” Hansen added.

It will be up to the chamber board, in part through the newly formed vision committee, to figure out if the organization needs to adapt in ways small or dramatic. Hansen says he’ll have the “elderly statesman-y role” in this transition – but then, of course, he’ll be moving on.

Jesse Bernstein, Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce president, has resigned his post. His last day in that job is June 30.

On a downtown street corner recently, The Chronicle had occasion to witness an informal idea pitch from Hal Davis to Jesse Bernstein,  president of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce: Busker Week for downtown Ann Arbor – where independent musicians would explicitly be invited to come perform in Ann Arbor’s downtown. Bernstein’s reaction can fairly be described as positive.

But if Bernstein helps Busker Week to join Sonic Lunch on downtown Ann Arbor’s summer musical calendar, it won’t be as president of the chamber. Bernstein told staff at 4 p.m. Tuesday that his last day leading the organization will be June 30, 2009. It ends three year’s of Bernstein’s leadership of the area business organization.

Speaking by phone Tuesday evening with The Chronicle, Bernstein said he counted among his accomplishments as head of the chamber a change in location for the organization’s offices to the Dahlman property at 115 West Huron. Two years ago, the chamber signed a 10-year lease for the space, which provides a more welcoming layout for the organization, says Bernstein. In the old space – at the other end of Main Street in the DTE building – visitors were first confronted with Venetian blinds on the windows to a conference room, which had a somewhat uninviting effect.

Bernstein said he’s also proud of a change to the membership structure that was undertaken on his watch – while members still pay membership fees based in part on the size of their organization, they have the option of different tiers within that system to opt for greater or fewer value benefits. A Chair Circle membership, for example, includes a scholarship to the LEAD Institute, and a trip to visit the Herman Miller furniture factory – a western Michigan company that is on course, says Bernstein, to achieve zero waste in its operations by 2020. “You heard me right,” he said, “zero waste.”

With the chamber’s informal program cycle of September to June, Bernstein felt that now – at the conclusion of the program year – was a good time to step down. The chamber wound up its Morning Edition program at the University of Michigan Museum of Art last Wednesday.

Board chair Ed Pagani couldn’t be reached for comment. In a statement released by the chamber Wednesday morning, Pagani said, “The Chamber is truly sorry to see Jesse leave, but we wish him the very best in his future ventures. His contribution to the organization, and the community as a whole, has been appreciated and valued.” The board’s executive committee will oversee the organization while they conduct a search for the new president, according to the statement.

What’s next for Bernstein? He said he’s tried retirement before, but that he hadn’t managed to stay retired for long. First, though, he will take some time off. For the longer haul, he said, “I’ll still be around. I’m not going anywhere!” He also serves as a board member for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

We asked him if he would eventually be looking for an interesting topic to work on, or was it more the mix of people he was interested in. Bernstein’s answer: “I have to be passionate about what it is.” That’s what made the chamber job come easily to him, he said – he was passionate about representing Ann Arbor and its businesses.

Ed Pagani of Lumigen Inc. holds aloft a chemiluminescent compound that Russ Collins may or may not have been tempted to drink.

Ed Pagani could have gotten an award for best prop, if such an award were given at Morning Edition. Pagani, a former Pfizer executive who’s now general manager of Lumigen Inc. and chair of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce board, was one of five speakers at Wednesday’s breakfast meeting, which drew about 200 people. The Chronicle didn’t hear a single one of them make a “Glow Blue” joke – even though his elixir did evoke the University of Michigan’s decommissioned nuclear reactor.

As is the drill at these monthly meetings, each speaker got five minutes to talk about their project or business. Wednesday’s topics ranged from the auto industry and Zipcars to downtown development and a local reentry program for former prisoners. Russ Collins, executive director of the Michigan Theater, was emcee. Here’s a brief recap:

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research: Saying that people in Ann Arbor tend to be ignorant of the auto industry, Cole defended the domestic automakers. All auto manufacturers globally are struggling, he said, and the worldwide financial crisis has exacerbated their challenges, causing sales to fall to Depression-era levels.

Cole doubts we’ll see any of the domestics declare bankruptcy, since the cost of such a failure would be higher than the bridge loans provided by the federal government. A bankruptcy could push auto suppliers over a cliff, cascading job losses to a conservative estimate of 2.5 to 3 million, and perhaps as high as 5 million, he said.

The good news is that “times are not going to be bad forever,” Cole said. Labor costs are coming closer to parity between domestic and international automakers, and the problem of overcapacity – creating higher supply than demand – is being addressed. Eventually, pent-up demand will lead to profitability, he said. “The real issue is living to the future.”

Mary King, community coordinator for the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative of Washtenaw County: King described how this program aims to reduce the 76% recidivism rate for people released from prison who return to Washtenaw County. The ultimate aim, she said, is to reduce crime, but it’s also an economic issue – the state spends about $2 billion annually through the Department of Corrections. Locally, about 300 people are released each year, and the program begins by meeting with them 60 days before they’re released. MPRI does a needs assessment, finding out if they need housing (about 30% do), a job, training, transportation or other support. From that assessment, the program develops a plan for services that are provided for the critical 90 days after their release. (Additional, less intensive support is provided for 90 days after that.)

One of the events held for each person is a welcome home lunch with local law enforcement officials. That statement drew laughs from the audience, which prompted King to say, “You should see their faces when we tell them in prison that’s going to happen.”

King said one of the best ways to help is to offer jobs to MPRI’s clients, or to act as a job coach, and she urged businesses to consider doing that.

Ed Pagani, general manager of Lumigen Inc.: Though Lumigen is based in Southfield and owned by the much larger firm Beckman Coulter, Pagani has strong ties to Ann Arbor. In addition to his work with the chamber, he’s on the executive committee of Ann Arbor Spark and is former chairman of the trade group MichBio, based in Ann Arbor.

But his five minutes on Wednesday focused on giving an overview of Lumigen’s work. The company makes chemiluminescent compounds – “things that light up,” Pagani said, by way of explanation to an audience of mostly (one assumes) non-scientists. These compounds are used in life science research and testing for a wide range of medical issues, including fertility, diabetes, anemia, cardiovascular diseases and more. Lumigen has 40 employees and about $50 million in revenues, he said.

Nancy Shore, getDowntown program director: Following yesterday’s unveiling of four new Zipcars in downtown Ann Arbor, Shore gave an overview of the program and urged people to join. She said the car-share program eliminates some of the excuses she hears from downtown workers, who say they’d like to take a bike or bus to work, but that they sometimes need a car during the day. She highlighted some of the local businesses involved in the project, including the Betty Brigade, which has a contract to do regular cleaning of the fleet. “It is a sweet deal,” Shore said of the Zipcar program, “and it’s very affordable.”

Sandi Smith, Trillium Real Estate president and Ann Arbor City Council member: Smith mentioned that her real estate firm recently relocated to a building in Kerrytown’s Braun Court, but she spent most of her time talking about issues related to her work on city council and as a Downtown Development Association board member. That experience has caused her to see the city through a different lens, she said. Smith said that she stayed in Ann Arbor after graduating from UM, but young people aren’t as likely to do that these days. They’re looking for downtowns that are vibrant, diverse, with a certain critical mass of humanity, mass transit that works, music and the arts, with nearby recreation and natural resources. “We have the opportunity today to create such a place,” she said.

She urged people in the audience to voice their opinions about proposed zoning changes under the A2D2 initiative. Public comment sessions will be held on Monday, March 23 at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers (2nd floor of city hall, 100 N. Fifth Ave.), with others set for April 20 and May 4. She said she’s discovered during her five months on council that the same 20 or so people show up at all the meetings, and “most of them don’t want Ann Arbor to grow.” Call or email your council representative, Smith said. “We really need to hear what’s important for your businesses not just to survive, but thrive.”

Susan Pollay, right, introduces Amanda Uhle of 826michigan at Wednesday's Morning Edition breakfast.

If you went to Wednesday’s Morning Edition breakfast, here’s what you’d know now: A shop on East Liberty sells bouncing eyeballs; there’s a chance you could get a cupcake named after you; wind turbines are expensive but not that noisy; it’s not too far-fetched to link Nepal with UM’s business outreach; and Washtenaw Community College doesn’t really want a football team.

The monthly event was emceed by Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, who revealed that she views cupcakes as diet food “because, of course, it’s portion control.” Here’s what other speakers had to say:

Larry Whitworth, president of Washtenaw Community College, talked about the November ballot proposal to request a 1 mill renewal for WCC funding, which would raise about $15 million annually. It’s Proposition H, he said, “and I don’t have to tell you it comes right after A,B,C,D,E,F and G – we’re way down on the ballot.” Though the ballot language states that it’s an increase, Whitworth describes it as a renewal because it was originally approved 10 years ago at 1 mill, but has been rolled back in subsequent years because of the Headlee Amendment, and now stands at .948 mills. He said WCC has no plans to ask for additional taxpayer funding in the foreseeable future. And in response to a question from Pollay, Whitworth said they’re not looking for a football team, either: “Well, what can I say? Did you see the game on Saturday? We certainly do not want to take that kind of abuse. We can’t afford it.”

Amanda Uhle, executive director of 826michigan, described the work of the nonprofit writing center, which provides tutoring, workshops and other programs for students between 6 and 18 years old. The local chapter was started by Ann Arbor writer Steven Gillis and is part of a national organization that evolved from a similar group in San Francisco founded by writer Dave Eggers. All of their programs are free, Uhle said, and they serve about 1,600 students each year. Their quirky shop at 115 E. Liberty – the Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair – sells all manner of oddball items, including the bouncing eyeballs that Uhle had placed on every table at Morning Edition. She also mentioned a partnership with AATA, which has posted poetry by 826michigan writers on every bus.

Pollay asked Daryl Weinert, executive director of the UM Business Engagement Center, if he saw any connection between his current job and his work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal during the late 1980s. People laughed at that, but he was actually able to make a link: Both jobs involve connecting people to resources that help them, he said. In Nepal, he worked on developing “appropriate technology,” such as hydropower to provide electricity in rural villages. At UM, the Business Engagement Center aims to help businesses that are looking for university expertise – trying to hook up with researchers or license technology, for example. The center helps them navigate the UM labyrinth to find what they need. Pollay likened it to a kind of eHarmony matchmaking for business types – Weinert allowed that it was an apt analogy.

Kerry Johnson recently opened The Cupcake Station on East Liberty, and described how he started the business by coming up with cupcake recipes in the basement of his home, using fresh ingredients and making everything from scratch. He wanted to create a product that was inexpensive in part so that he could use it to help nonprofits raise money – all of their advertising is geared to charity fundraisers. He said the carrot cake cupcake and the Michigan bumpy cake (with buttercream dots dipped in chocolate) are among the most popular of their 25 varieties. They also started something new: Customers can create their own cupcake on the shop’s website, then once a month Johnson and his staff will pick their favorite, make it and name it after the creator. (In the “Cupcakes” drop-down menu, select “Submit Your Flavor.”)

Jay Mehta was the final speaker, and described his experience installing a wind turbine at his Scio Township home. Bottom line: The electricity it generates won’t offset the $15,000 cost. Regulations are another obstacle – he wanted to mount it on a higher pole, but township code limited the height to 15 feet. But Mehta, who owns Case Handyman & Remodeling, sees it as an experiment to prove that a wind turbine could work inland, not just near a body of water. He also dispelled concerns that it’s too noisy (it’s not) and that it chops up birds (it doesn’t – and he’s actually seen birds use it as a perch when the blades aren’t turning). The turbine was on a recent solar tour, and about two dozen people dropped by during that weekend to check it out. And windy days are gratifying: “Yesterday morning it was spinning like crazy and my meter was running backward.”

Other tidbits: Sharon McRill announced that as of Nov. 1, the Betty Brigade will have a location at Briarwood Mall for the holiday season, offering concierge shopping – including a service that would deliver packages to your home or office.

Morning Edition is an event of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce. The next meeting is Nov. 19 – all are held at Weber’s Inn, 3050 Jackson Ave.