Stories indexed with the term ‘Graydon Krapohl’

The 4 p.m. deadline for filing petitions to appear on the ballot in Ann Arbor’s city primary elections passed today with no surprises, but a bit of suspense. All candidates who took out petitions and intended to file them did so and the clerk’s office was able to verify sufficient signatures for all candidates. The primary elections will be held on Aug. 5, 2014.

Council candidates must collect 100 signatures from voters registered in the ward they seek to represent. Mayoral candidates need 50 signatures from each of the city’s five wards.

All candidates who filed petitions are Democrats. No Republicans took out petitions. Only one race is uncontested – in Ward 4.

Here’s a quick listing of candidates for city office. Mayor: Sabra Briere, Stephen Kunselman, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor. Ward 1: Sumi Kailasapathy, Don Adams, Jr. Ward 2: Nancy Kaplan, Kirk Westphal. Ward 3: Julie Grand, Samuel McMullen and possibly Bob Dascola. Ward 4: Graydon Krapohl. Ward 5: Chuck Warpehoski, Leon Bryson.

The minor suspense stemmed from the fact that McMullen had fallen eight signatures short with his initial filing. But he handed in 17 supplemental signatures on April 22, about a half hour before the deadline. Those signatures gave him more than the 100 total he needed.

One independent, Bryan Kelly, took out petitions in Ward 1 – but he’s been informed by the city clerk’s office that he does not meet the one-year residency and voter registration requirements in the city charter. Kelly might become eligible, depending on the outcome of a pending lawsuit that’s been filed against the city by a would-be Ward 3 candidate, Bob Dascola.

Dascola has submitted sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot, but has also been informed that he does not meet the charter requirements on one-year residency and voter registration. The U.S. District Court is handling the case on an expedited schedule, so the matter is likely be settled before ballots are finalized in June.

As an independent, Kelly would have until July 17 to file petitions to appear on the November ballot.

Brief snapshot descriptions of all candidates except for those in Ward 1, based largely on their own remarks or campaign website descriptions, are presented in this report. [Editor's note: We've elected instead to add Ward 1 candidate information to this article, instead of creating a separate file.] [Full Story]

Graydon Krapohl has filed paperwork to form a campaign committee to run for a seat representing Ward 4 on the Ann Arbor city council. According to information posted the Washtenaw County elections website, the committee was formed on Jan. 9, 2014. As of Jan. 15, Krapohl, a Democrat, has not yet pulled petitions with the Ann Arbor city clerk’s office.

Krapohl currently serves on the city’s park advisory commission, and was elected as vice chair of that group on Sept. 17, 2013. He was nominated to the position by mayor John Hieftje and confirmed by the city council in late 2012. He is adjunct faculty with the U. S. Army War College and is a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Krapohl’s campaign filing lists Leah Gunn as treasurer. Gunn, a former Washtenaw County commissioner and former Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member,  is also treasurer for Christopher Taylor’s mayoral campaign. Taylor currently is a Ward 3 councilmember and serves on the park advisory commission with Krapohl.

Gunn has served in the past as campaign treasurer for Ward 4 councilmember Margie Teall, whose term ends this year. Teall has not publicly indicated whether she intends to seek re-election.

Updated at 8:29 p.m. Jan. 15, 2014: Teall spoke with The Chronicle after the Ann Arbor Housing Commission meeting, a group for which Teall serves as the city council liaison. Teall said she’s not planning to run for re-election this year. Teall was first elected in 2002, and after mayor John Hieftje, is currently the longest continuously serving member on the city council. With Teall’s departure from the council in November this year that distinction will belong jointly to Sabra Briere (Ward 1) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5), who were both first elected in 2007. 

In other Ann Arbor wards, Democrat Kirk Westphal pulled petitions on Jan. 15 to run for a Ward 2 city council seat – which will be open as a result of Sally Petersen’s mayoral candidacy. And Democrat Julie Grand pulled petitions on Jan. 14 to run for the city council seat that will be left open in Ward 3 as a result of Taylor’s mayoral candidacy.

Incumbent Democrats Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) also have taken out petitions to seek re-election. The only other person shown in city clerk records to have taken out petitions for local office is Eric Sturgis for the Ward 1 council seat. But an asterisk recorded next to his name includes a note that says Sturgis has indicated to the clerk’s office that he does not intend to file signatures to become a candidate. Sturgis contested the Ward 1 Democratic primary in 2012, which was won by Kailasapathy. [Full Story]