Kunselman’s win was relatively narrow compared to the 29-point spread in the Ward 4 race between Jack Eaton and incumbent Marcia Higgins. That margin translated into 559 more votes for Eaton.

Results map. Ward 4 precincts won by Eaton are in blue shaded by strength of support. Precincts won by Higgins are in red. Ward 3 precincts won by Kunselman are in purple, shaded by strength of support. Precincts won by Grand are in green.

Totals and percents in Ward 3: Kunselman received 927 votes (51.8%) and Grand received 862 votes (48.2%).

Totals and percents in Ward 4: Eaton received 1,233 votes (64.6%) and Higgins received 674 votes (35.3%).

Complete unofficial results with various cuts of the data are available on the Washtenaw County clerk’s election results website.

Voter turnout was 9.24% in Ward 3 and 9.58% in Ward 4.

Of the city’s five wards, those were the only two primaries that were contested. No Republican candidates filed this year. The council consists of two representatives from each ward plus the mayor for a total of 11 members. Councilmembers serve two-year terms, so every year one of the seats is up for election. This is not a mayoral election year.

With Kunselman’s victory in the primary, it sets up the possibility of a Democratic primary race in 2014 between the sitting councilmember Kunselman and incumbent mayor John Hieftje. Kunselman has said that if Hieftje seeks an eighth term, he’d run against him.

But Kunselman will need to get past the Nov. 5 general election in Ward 3, when he’ll face independent Sam DeVarti. DeVarti is a UM student, and son of long-time Kunselman supporter Dave DeVarti – who’s a former councilmember and former Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member. Add in the fact that Kunselman’s wife Letitia and the younger DeVarti are co-workers at the Northside Grill and it points to a campaign that’s more likely to be waged on respectful than on bitter terms.

Other races now basically set for the fall include possibly a three-way race between incumbent Ward 1 Democrat Sabra Briere and independents Jeff Hayner and Jaclyn Vresics. As of the end of the day on Aug. 6, the city clerk was still in the process of verifying signatures for Vresics in advance of the Aug. 7 deadline.

In Ward 2, incumbent independent Jane Lumm will face challenges from Democrat Kirk Westphal (who was unopposed in the Aug. 6 primary) and independent Conrad Brown. Of the city council races in the fall, the Ward 2 race is likely to draw the most interest citywide.

In Ward 4, Eaton will almost certainly not face a challenger on November’s ballot. In Ward 5, incumbent Democrat Mike Anglin will likely be the only choice presented to voters.

In this report we provide some additional detail on the Ward 3 and Ward 4 primary result maps.

Ward 3

Kunselman’s 65-vote margin in Ward 3 is comparable to the 58-vote spread between Carsten Hohnke and Vivienne Armentrout in the 2008 Ward 5 Democratic primary. That resulted in a recount, which confirmed Hohnke’s win.

In Ward 3, Grand prevailed in two precincts. Grand’s 109-vote plurality in her own Burns Park neighborhood Precinct 3-3 provided some possibility that it would be a big enough buffer to prevail overall. There she had 313 (60.5%) votes to Kunselman’s 204 (39.5%). But the other precinct she won, Precinct 3-5, provided just 18 additional votes over Kunselman. In the 2008 primary, when Christopher Taylor prevailed against Kunselman, the Burns Park Precinct 3-3 – where Taylor and Grand live only a block apart – delivered an 80% Taylor spread (487-114).

Percentages in the Ward 3 map caption have been corrected from initial publication.

Ward 4

The first results to be reported out of Ward 4 came from Precincts 4-4 and 4-8 – just 10 minutes after the polls closed. Based on Eaton’s performance in the 2010 and 2012 primaries, which he contested unsuccessfully against Margie Teall, those combined precincts should have gone to Higgins, if she was to have any chance of winning. So from the 172-123 margin Eaton had there, it was already apparent that Eaton had won. The only question was by how much.

Now Eaton is likely to join Teall at the council table.

In the one precinct where Higgins prevailed, Precinct 4-1, only four people voted. So the two-vote plurality she achieved there did not come close to offsetting the clear majorities Eaton won across the ward. Eaton’s decisive victories near his own neighborhood in Precincts 4-7 and 4-9 were somewhat expected. But he also edged out Higgins in the Lower Burns Park Precinct 4-3, where Higgins would have been expected to show some strength.

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With results from 1 of 8 in-person polling locations informally reported, Eaton has received 172 votes (58.3%) and Higgins has received 123 votes (41.7%). The location reporting results is the combined 4-4 & 4-8 precinct. Based on results from previous years, Eaton would have not expected to poll as strong in those precincts as in 4-7 and 4-9.

This brief will be updated as more results are reported.

Update at 8:37 p.m. With results from 7 of 8 in-person polling locations informally reported, as well as absent voter totals from all precincts in Ward 4, Eaton has received 972 votes (62.6%) and Higgins has received 580 votes (37.3%).

Update at 9:11 p.m. With results from 8 of 8 in-person polling locations informally reported, as well as absent voter totals from all precincts in Ward 4, Eaton has received 1233 votes (64.6%) and Higgins has received 674 votes (35.3%).

Jack Eaton appears to have won this race.

These results are unofficial. The Washtenaw County clerk’s website for election results will also have unofficial tallies.

Members of one of the Pioneer High School marching band drum lines practiced on the evening before Election Day. Already in place was the yellow sign indicating that no campaigning is allowed beyond that point. Pioneer High serves at the polling location for Precincts 4 & 8 in Ward 4. (Photo illustration by The Chronicle.)

This year voters in the primary will be confronted with a single issue – a city council race. Ann Arbor city council seats have contested Democratic primaries in just two of the five wards. No Republican candidates are on the ballot.

Voters in Ward 3 will choose between incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand. In Ward 4, the choice is between incumbent Marcia Higgins and Jack Eaton.

For all of you procrastinators who are still researching the candidates, here’s a link to Chronicle coverage of the Democratic primary races for Ann Arbor city council this year.

Not sure where to vote? To find your polling place and view a sample ballot for your precinct, visit the Secretary of State’s website.

Check back here throughout the day for briefs filed from the field, or add a comment with your own Election Day observations. 

7:15 a.m. Ward 3, Precinct 8 (Pittsfield School, 2543 Pittsfield Blvd.) As I roll up, poll worker Joseph Bones opens the door to the elementary school. In a loud, booming voice, he declares the polls open for all the world to hear. One person was there that early to vote. Two more arrive shortly after that. Among the reading material brought by poll workers: “Evil” by David Baldacci.

7:20 a.m. Ward 3, Precincts 1 & 2 (Michigan League, 911 N. University) Outside, there are 16 campaign signs for Julie Grand posted around the perimeter of the Michigan League – but so far, none for Stephen Kunselman. Poll workers expect an extremely slow day. They’re taking bets on the number of voters who might show up, with estimates ranging from 34 to 75.

This is a polling station for a combined precinct, and one of those precincts, 3-1, is primarily University of Michigan student housing, including the East Quad dorm. Poll workers recall that they were busy in November of 2012. “That was fun,” one of them says. One of the poll workers brought chocolate cookies to share. Another one brought carrot cake. They are well stocked for the long day.

7:49 a.m. Ward 4, Precinct 1 (Michigan Union, 530 S. State St.) The small polling room on the union’s first floor is stuffy – both the heat and the AC are on, poll workers report. One person has voted here so far. Because this is also a heavy student precinct – including the South Quad dorm – workers don’t expect more than a trickle of voters. They’ve brought reading material.

8:08 a.m. Ward 3, Precincts 6 & 9 (Scarlett Middle School, 3300 Lorraine St.) Approaching the Turnberry neighborhood through a cross-lot path, there’s a small sign in a front lawn: “US War Dead: 6,745.” The polls are set up in the gym. The two doors are propped open to the outside, but the air inside remains heavy with the smell of old gym wood floor varnish. A banner indicates that Scarlett athletes compete as the Roadrunners. Other middle schools: Cougars (Clague), Trojans (Tappan), Vikings (Forsythe), Golden Bears (Slauson), and Pandas (Ann Arbor Open). No Wile E. Coyotes in the mix. About a dozen people have voted so far. As she’s leaving, one tells the poll workers: “Thanks for doing this, you guys!”

8:27 a.m. Ward 4, Precinct 3 (UM Coliseum, Fifth Ave. & Hill St.) Voter No. 2 this morning just walks in – Graydon Krapohl, a member of the city’s park advisory commission. We chat after he finishes voting, and he reports that he’ll be putting out campaign signs here for incumbent Marcia Higgins. Signs for Jack Eaton are already posted in the appropriate spots. A few more voters show up, and most seem familiar to the poll workers. One worker is sewing red cloth baskets – she has three on the table. Others are doing more traditional time-killing activities: Reading and chatting. Voter No. 8 has now arrived.

And now voter No. 9 – Ned Staebler. He points out that voters no longer have to sign the statement saying they are a U.S. citizen. “I’m not a lawyer, but I play one on Facebook,” he jokes. Staebler also observes there are no longer any paper poll books – all precincts use electronic poll books now, and he clarifies that candidates can look at those. One of the poll workers asks: “Who are you?” He explains that he previously ran for office here, and has worked on other campaigns. Most recently, in 2010 he ran for state representative in District 53, but lost a very close race in the Democratic primary to Jeff Irwin.

8:35 a.m. Ward 3, Precinct 5 (University Townhouses Center, 3200 Braeburn Circle) The speedbumps leading to the polls are substantial. Poll workers are disappointed that I am not here to vote. Three people have cast their ballots in person so far. There’s not typically a morning rush, they explain, but around lunchtime and evening when people get off work, they expect to see a few more voters. Poll workers sort through the scheduling for their lunch breaks.

9:02 a.m. Ward 4, Precinct 2 (Mary St. Polling Place, 926 Mary St.) Here at the city’s historic polling station – the only building that’s still used for its original purpose – the smell of bleach doesn’t quite mask the underlying scent of bird excrement. Most of the year, this small one-room structure is used by the Bird Center of Washtenaw County. There have been three voters here by 9 a.m., including one of the poll workers. The precinct chair, Richard Holmes, points out the new window air-conditioner that’s been installed. But unlike most August primaries when the weather is hot and humid, the AC is hardly needed today. At nearly every polling station, workers remark on the pleasant weather this year – they caught a break.

9:13 a.m. Ward 3, Precincts 4 & 7 (Allen School, 2560 Towner Blvd.) The road to Allen Elementary is called Easy Street, which competes with Goat Fell for the best street name in the city. The pervious pavers on the east side of Easy Street have sunken a bit, making cycling a bit of a challenge. Poll workers exhibit a bit of precinct pride in reporting that 48 people have voted so far. At one point, four people were in line, and two of the voting booths were occupied at the same time. They’re happy the lighting in the school has been upgraded, making it easier to see than in past years. They offer me a spot to observe, situated between the flag of the state of Michigan and the American flag.

9:32 a.m. Ward 3, Precinct 3 (Tappan Middle School, 2251 E. Stadium Blvd.) When I arrive, 64 people have voted. During the next 15 minutes, another 10 people show up to vote, but never enough to create a wait. On her way out, one voter says, “Well, that was really easy!”

City attorney Stephen Postema walks in and introduces himself to poll workers as a member of the city’s election commission. He arrives at the same time as Ward 3 councilmember Christopher Taylor and two other voters. Outside, two volunteers for Julie Grand – wearing her purple campaign T-shirts – are handing out literature and talking to voters on their way in. These are the first campaign workers I’ve encountered so far at a polling station.

10:08 a.m. Ward 4, Precinct 6 (Cobblestone Farm, 2781 Packard St.) Large cutouts of fruits and vegetables along Packard indicate the farmers market, which runs from 4-7 p.m. at this location today. At the polls, a ballot jams in the machine. Could be the humidity. In any case, it results in a spoiled ballot. And the tabulator appears to be wrecked. Poll workers decide to have subsequent voters put their ballots in the auxiliary bin in the voting machine on the lower left side of the machine. The second voter who was asked to use this secondary procedure is Liz Margolis, Ann Arbor Public Schools communications director. Her comment to poll workers on placing it in the auxiliary bin: “As long as it counts.”

A few minutes later, the poll workers break out the manual for opening up the tabulator to clear obstructions. “You want to take one and try it again?” It appears that one of the wheels that pulls in the ballots is not grabbing properly. It’s pulling on one side but not the other. A technician is called. He’s now on site. Wire cutters are located. Current count is verified. Power is switched off. Tabulator is removed from top of machine. Replacement is installed. Poll workers engage in verification procedures. Ballots are fed successfully through the new tabulator. Technician leaves with defective tabulator.

City attorney Stephen Postema has arrived. He’s approaching each poll worker, introducing himself and thanking them for their service, working the room as a candidate running for office would. This is his custom, as a member of the city’s election commission, to visit the polls, introduce himself and shake hands with as many people as possible. So it’s not necessarily analyzable as a soft launch to his campaign for 22nd Circuit Court judge in 2014. Still, according to some members of the Washtenaw County legal community, he’s told them that he’s decided to run in 2014 for the judgeship that Donald Shelton will leave open when Shelton is “aged out.” Other possible candidates include Cedric Simpson and Erane Washington.

11:56 a.m. Ward 4, Precinct 5 (Clare Church/Temple Beth Emeth, 2309 Packard) So far 53 people have cast ballots here. The designated public area for this precinct includes a table and a chair, making it the very best precinct in the city from the perspective of a working journalist. Campaign sign count outside is Eaton, 5; Higgins, 3.

This polling location is on an AAATA bus route. Bus #479 [vehicle number] has just pulled into the stop heading southeast on Packard [Route #5]. A family arrives – parents, teenage daughter, and two younger kids. About the older daughter, mother announces: “This is her first time voting!” After voting, she declares: “That’s exciting.” “I voted” stickers are handed out all around.

2:12 p.m. Ward 4, Precincts 4 & 8 (Pioneer High School, 601 W. Stadium Blvd.) Voter No. 123 walks into the Pioneer gym, which is empty except for the four poll workers. “How will you handle this big crowd?” she jokes. One worker reports that turnout is better than expected, and has been steady.

Soon there’s a mini rush of sorts, with about five voters showing up. The gym is a little stuffy – one of the big stationary fans isn’t working, and the school electrician is enlisted to see if it can be fixed.

Also making an appearance is Howard Scheps from the city clerk’s office, with some paperwork for a poll worker to fill out. One of the workers calls out: “Get two pieces of ID from this guy!”

2:37 p.m. Ward 4, Precinct 9 (Lawton School, 2250 S. Seventh St.) To get to the polling room here, you have to navigate a twist of hallways, though there are plenty of “Vote Here” signs to guide the way. Even so, one voter that I encounter has gone into a darkened room by mistake, so I point her in the right direction. Turns out we interrupted someone’s nap.

There have been 150 voters so far, and poll workers cheer when they hear that their number is higher than the Pioneer High polling station. They talk about a relatively easy wrap-up after polls close at 8 p.m., given the relatively low number of voters and the simple ballot – especially compared to November 2012. One woman who took less than a minute to vote says “That’s my kind of ballot!”

3:19 p.m. Ward 4, Precinct 7 (Dicken School, 2135 Runnymede) The polls have been open 8 hours when voter No. 200 walks into the gym at Dicken. Poll workers have been here since 6 a.m., and have five more hours until the polls close – not that they’re counting.

The elderly couple who are voters No. 199 and 200 walk arm in arm. The woman tells poll workers that “I used to work here many years ago.” The man says he’s glad it’s a short ballot. He puts the “I Voted” sticker on his forehead, and paraphrases General MacArthur as he walks out: “I shall return – in November!”

And that wraps up the tour for this year.  The polls close at 8 p.m. The earliest results could be available within a half hour or so after the polls close. We’ll publish initial, unofficial results – based on voting machine tapes generated at the close of polls – in the Civic News Ticker. The Washtenaw County clerk’s website for election results will also have unofficial tallies.

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Joining Ward 1 incumbent Democrat Sabra Briere on the Nov. 5 general election ballot will be independent Jeff Hayner. Briere is unopposed in the Democratic primary and no Republican candidate filed to run – in Ward 1 or in any other of the city’s five wards. According to city clerk’s office records, Hayner took out nominating petitions on July 3, submitted them on Aug. 2, and they were certified by the city clerk’s office that same day.

Also in Ward 1, independent Jaclyn Vresics submitted signatures on Aug. 1 but the clerk’s office has been able to validate only 68 of them, which falls short of the 100 necessary to qualify for the ballot. If she submits 32 additional valid signatures by the Aug. 7 deadline, that would set up Ward 1 for a three-way race. Vresics is affiliated with the University of Michigan student Mixed Use Party.

A three-way race for Ward 2 is already assured, as independent Conrad Brown submitted 101 valid signatures on Aug. 1. He’ll join incumbent independent Jane Lumm and Democratic challenger Kirk Westphal on the Nov. 5 ballot. Lumm filed her petitions on July 23, and Westphal is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Like Vresics, Brown is affiliated with the Mixed Use Party.

In Ward 3, the winner of the Democratic primary – either incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand – could face an independent challenge from Sam DeVarti. He filed his petitions on Aug. 2, but the city clerk has been able to certify only 97 of them.

In Ward 4, Noah Weber took out petitions in mid-May, but as of noon on Aug. 5 he has not yet filed signatures with the clerk’s office. If he does not file at least 100 valid signatures by the Aug. 7 deadline, then the winner of the Democratic primary – either incumbent Marcia Higgins or Jack Eaton – would almost certainly be unopposed on the November ballot.

In Ward 5, Thomas Partridge took out petitions to run as an independent on Aug. 2, but has not filed signatures yet. Partridge also took out petitions to run in the Democratic primary, but did not submit any signatures. Incumbent Democrat Mike Anglin is unopposed in the Aug. 6 primary for Ward 5.

Update on Aug. 6, 2013 at 4:35 p.m.:  DeVarti submitted supplemental signatures and now has 103 valid signatures. That sets up a choice for Ward 3 voters in the fall – between DeVarti and the winner of the race between Grand and Kunselman.

In Ward 1 Vresics submitted supplemental signatures today that city clerk staff are still verifying. And even though he already submitted enough signatures, Hayner also submitted supplemental signatures today to guard against the possibility that some people might have signed both his and Vresics’ petition. Signing both petitions would disqualify the signature for both candidates. 

Update on Aug. 7, 2013 at 4:10 p.m.: According to city clerk staff, Vresics did have sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot. With the deadline now passed – without Partridge or Weber filing petitions – that finalizes the field of city council ballot candidates on Nov. 5. (Kunselman and Eaton prevailed in the Ward 3 and Ward 4 Democratic primaries, respectively.) Ward 1: Briere, Vresics, Hayner. Ward 2: Lumm, Westphal, Brown. Ward 3: Kunselman, DeVarti. Ward 4: Eaton. Ward 5: Anglin.

2013 Ann Arbor Democratic primary city council campaign contributions: All candidates. (Map by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk’s office.) Maps by candidate are included after the jump.

The deadline for filing pre-primary reports was July 26, for the period ending July 21.

Voters in the Democratic primary for Ward 3 will choose between incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand as the Democratic candidate to appear on the November city council ballot. Grand raised the most cash of any candidate, getting donations from 68 contributors averaging about $160 apiece for a total of $10,825.

Kunselman raised $5,855 from 54 contributors. While that’s roughly half what Grand raised, it’s about twice what he received in the pre-primary period in 2011 ($2,750). That was a three-way race between himself, Ingrid Ault and Marwan Issa. The average contribution to Kunselman’s campaign this year was about $110.

In Ward 4, voters will choose between incumbent Marcia Higgins and Jack Eaton. Fourteen-year incumbent Higgins raised the least cash of any candidate, receiving $4,592 from 26 contributors for an average donation of $177.

Eaton raised $7,958 from 82 different contributors for an average donation of $97. That’s the greatest number of individual contributors of any candidate. Eaton’s total this time around is about twice as much as he raised for the same period in 2012 ($4,305), when he ran a close but ultimately unsuccessful race against incumbent Margie Teall.

Of the 228 total contributors for all four candidates (including those who contributed to more than one campaign), The Chronicle counted at least 57 contributions (25%) from people who are either current or past elected or appointed officials – including appointees to committees. Those contributions were evenly distributed across candidates: Eaton (16); Higgins (13); Grand (14); Kunselman (14).

Some current councilmembers have lent their financial support to candidates. Ward 4 challenger Jack Eaton is supported financially by Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Jane Lumm (Ward 2). Incumbent Marcia Higgins has financial support from her wardmate Margie Teall as well as mayor John Hieftje.

Ward 3 incumbent Stephen Kunselman is also supported financial by Anglin and Lumm. Julie Grand has received contributions from Higgins and Teall.

Current and past campaign filing documents can be searched and retrieved from the Washtenaw County clerk’s web page. [.pdf of Grand's statements] [.pdf of Eaton's statements] [.pdf of Higgins' statements] [.pdf of Kunselman's statements]

Other coverage of the campaigns is categorized in The Chronicle as “2013 primary election.”

Presented below are charts of contribution counts, broken down by size of contribution, as well as maps showing the geographic distribution of contributions.

Contribution Counts by Size

In recent Democratic primaries, the shape of the distribution of contributions by size has been a possible indicator of success. Specifically, those candidates with a distribution skewed toward a greater number of smaller contributions have been successful.

Jack Eaton: Ann Arbor Ward 4 city council 2013 Democratic pre-primary campaign contributions. (Chart by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Marcia Higgins: Ann Arbor Ward 4 city council 2013 Democratic pre-primary campaign contributions. (Chart by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Julie Grand: Ann Arbor Ward 3 city council 2013 Democratic pre-primary campaign contributions. (Chart by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Stephen Kunselman: Ann Arbor Ward 3 city council 2013 Democratic pre-primary campaign contributions. (Chart by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Geographic Distribution

The maps below do not include contributions made from out of state. For example, members of Ward 3 candidate Julie Grand’s family, who live in Massachusetts, contributed to her campaign.

Contributions in Ward 4 (green) this year continue a trend seen in previous primaries – for many contributions to come from residents who live inside the city but outside the ward. Eaton’s geographic distribution can be identified by the tight cluster of donations in the northwest corner of the ward – where he lives. But his support is evenly distributed across the middle of the city, without regard to ward boundaries.

Based on the geographic distribution of contributions to Higgins’ campaign, it’s not evident which ward the race is in.

Jack Eaton 2013 Ward 4 (green) Ann Arbor city council campaign contributions: Democratic primary. (Map by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Marcia Higgins 2013 Ward 4 (green) Ann Arbor city council campaign contributions: Democratic primary. (Map by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

In Ward 3 (yellow), both candidates enjoyed some support from outside the ward, but Grand’s support is more clearly centered in the neighborhood where she lives – in Burns Park. She received no contributions in Ward 3 south of Buhr Park. Kunselman’s neighborhood is discernible in the geographic plot, south of Packard and west of Platt.

Julie Grand 2013 Ward 3 (yellow) Ann Arbor city council campaign contributions: Democratic primary. (Map by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

Stephen Kunselman 2013 Ward 3 (yellow) Ann Arbor city council campaign contributions: Democratic primary. (Map by The Chronicle based on data from the Washtenaw County clerk.)

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Jack Eaton and incumbent Marcia Higgins are competing for the Democratic nomination in the Ward 4 primary election on Aug. 6. (Photos by the writer.)

Each of the city’s five wards is represented with two seats on the 11-member council, which includes the mayor. The terms for council seats are two years, and one of the two seats is up for election every year.

Both candidates participated in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on July 10. The complete video recording of the forum, conducted at Community Television Network’s studios on South Industrial, is available online through CTN’s Video on Demand.

Questions fielded by Eaton and Higgins included topics like downtown Ann Arbor and future development, transportation, relations between the University of Michigan and the city, and interactions between councilmembers and residents.

They also responded to a debate prompt that for Ward 4 possibly could be of greater significance than those other issues – a question about flooding. In last year’s Ward 4 Democratic primary, which Eaton contested with incumbent Margie Teall, the election came about five months after heavy rains on March 15, 2012 caused overland flooding in the Lansdowne neighborhood of Ward 4. Although Eaton lost the election by a handful of votes, he was strongest in the precincts farther from downtown, where the flooding took place. Previously, Eaton had run for the Democratic nomination to represent Ward 4 in 2010, also against Teall. His showing in 2012 was a significant improvement over his 2010 result. This year marks his third campaign for Ann Arbor city council.

Higgins was first elected to the council in 1999 – as a Republican. However, she switched to the Democratic Party in 2005. She’s in her 14th year of service on the council.

This report presents responses by Higgins and Eaton to questions at the July 10 LWV forum, grouped more by theme than by chronology.

Opening Statement

Candidates were given a chance to make a one-minute opening statement.

Opening Statement: Eaton

Eaton began by thanking the League of Women Voters for holding the forum. Ward 4 residents were telling him that city hall needs to focus on sensible priorities, such as essential infrastructure and core services, he said. He’s running for office because he has been involved in local politics – as he’s been active in his neighborhood association and in helping other neighborhoods get organized.

What he’d found, Eaton said, is that the city council is unresponsive to the concerns of city residents. He’s running for council because he believes that Ward 4 residents deserve responsive leadership. He said he’d answer e-mails and return phone calls promptly. He’s running because he believes the council needs to represent the priorities of its residents. If elected, he would seek common sense solutions to neighborhood concerns.

He called himself a voice for sensible priorities – such as public safety, protecting the local transportation system, and maintaining essential infrastructure.

Opening Statement: Higgins

Higgins introduced herself as a current councilmember representing Ward 4. Since the time she was elected to the council, her priorities have always included a balanced budget, she said, which absolutely allows the city to provide core services.

Other priorities indicated by Higgins included maintaining infrastructure, maintaining strong reserves and an excellent bond rating, preserving parkland, and working with neighbors on various issues. She’d worked on stormwater issues, traffic calming, and had prevented football parking in Allmendinger Park, Higgins said. She’d worked on issues that arise between residents and students.

Higgins said she wants to continue to work to make Ann Arbor a vibrant and livable city. She wants to work with residents in collaboration going forward, looking at how Ann Arbor can be moved forward.

Downtown, Development

Several questions involved downtown development and a vision for the future of Ann Arbor.

Downtown, Development: City-Owned Land

Please tell the voters what land the city owns in the downtown area and how you would favor using it for the greatest good. What ideas are out there or are commitments already made? And specifically, what use would you support for the Library Lane lot?

The five city-owned sites that were the focus of the Connecting William Street project are indicated in blue.

By way of additional background, the DDA this year completed a city council-directed planning project, called Connecting William Street (CWS), which included the Library Lane lot as well as the former Y Lot. The CWS project was undertaken by the DDA based on a directive from the city council given at its April 4, 2011 meeting.

The intent was to make recommendations for possible future development, in a cohesive way, on five city-owned sites: (1) the Kline lot (on the east side of Ashley, north of William), (2) the lot next to Palio restaurant (northeast corner of Main & William), (3) the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure, (4) the former YMCA lot (on William between Fourth and Fifth), and (5) the top of the Library Lane underground parking garage on South Fifth, north of the downtown library.

In January 2013, the DDA gave a presentation to the council on its Connecting William Street recommendations. The council never took action on that proposal. However, at its March 5, 2013 meeting, the Ann Arbor planning commission voted to adopt the report as a resource document supporting the city’s master plan. Kirk Westphal, the commission’s chair, also served on an advisory board for the Connecting William Street effort. He is running unopposed in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary for Ward 2.

For a summary of Chronicle coverage of CWS and Y lot issues, see “Planning Group Strategizes on Downtown.”

Downtown, Development: City-Owned Land – Higgins

Higgins began by saying that the city council had worked with the DDA to look at what needs to be done in the downtown. The city owns several lots in the midtown area, she said. The Kline lot is also under consideration, she added. The city has just contracted with a real estate person to look at the Y lot and at what can be done with that, she said.

She felt there’s still a community conversation that is happening about what to do with those properties – and she didn’t think that decisions about that should be driven by the council. Higgins thought that decisions about those properties should be driven by the community. She was not aware of any decisions that have been made, she said. She’s not supporting any particular decision, she said, because it’s still an ongoing conversation.

For the top of the Library Lane lot, she’d heard all different types of suggestions that had been made, and all of them have merit, she contended. The community had not yet coalesced around one idea that is right for Ann Arbor, she concluded.

Downtown, Development: City-Owned Land – Eaton

The city owns a variety of properties downtown, Eaton began, saying that each one of them is unique. As a unique feature of the old Y lot, he pointed out that it’s a property that the city purchased and still owes money on. So he thought that property should be treated differently, saying that the city should try to sell that as soon as it can, so that the debt can be paid off. Eaton cautioned that it’s important to make sure that the zoning attached to the property is definite enough so that there is not a big drawn-out fight over how to use it, once somebody does buy it. But Eaton said he doesn’t think the city should micromanage what happens to it: The property should be put on the market and the market should decide what happens to that.

The other properties that the city doesn’t owe any money on are really public assets, Eaton said. And the city should be careful how those properties are used or disposed of. He believed a close look should be taken at developing downtown parks, and at creating downtown performance centers – things that actually serve the community, rather than simply selling those properties for a price.

Downtown, Development: DDA

Who or what is the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and what is the financial interrelationship between the DDA and the city of Ann Arbor? Do you favor continuing it or changing it somehow? And if so, what would you like to do?

By way of additional background, the DDA does not levy taxes on its own authority, but rather captures taxes of other taxing entities – the city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Community College and the Ann Arbor District Library. The DDA does not capture the full amount of those entities’ taxes, but rather only on the initial increment between the baseline value of a property and the increase in value due to new construction and improvements. That is, the DDA does not capture taxes on an increase that’s due to inflation.

Chapter 7 of the city code already regulates the DDA’s tax increment finance (TIF). The DDA has chosen to interpret the Chapter 7 language in a way that does not recognize the cap on TIF revenues that is set forth in the code. That led to a proposal by some councilmembers earlier this year to revise the ordinance so that the DDA’s alternate interpretation is clearly ruled out. The council gave the ordinance change initial approval on April 1, 2013. But later, on May 6, 2013, the council chose to postpone the vote until Sept. 3, the council’s first meeting that month.

Downtown, Development: DDA – Eaton

The Downtown Development Authority was created under a state statute, Eaton said, that allows cities to “skim” tax funds off of a downtown area for improving the downtown.

Jack Eaton.

The statute was originally intended to help avoid decaying Midwestern downtowns. Ann Arbor’s DDA has been quite successful, he said, pointing out that Ann Arbor doesn’t have a decaying downtown.

Eaton allowed that the DDA does important work for the city.

When the city of Ann Arbor originally conceived of having a downtown development authority, Eaton pointed out, the city’s ordinance [Chapter 7] included limiting the rate of growth of the DDA TIF capture, but now “we’ve lost our way from that.”

Now that so much building is going on in the downtown area, the DDA is increasing its revenues at a rapid rate, Eaton. He thought it’s important to look at how quickly those revenues increase.

Downtown, Development: DDA – Higgins

The DDA is always changing, Higgins said.

Marcia Higgins eyed the hat from which she was asked to draw a slip of paper to determine the sequence of speaking turns.

The DDA was created in the 1980s, at a time when downtown Ann Arbor was decaying. A complete flight of things out of downtown and out to the suburbs had taken place, she said, noting that this was when Briarwood Mall was built.

And Ann Arbor’s downtown was looking pretty bad. The DDA took the initiative and has rebuilt the downtown, Higgins said.

Over the last 20 years, the downtown has changed significantly several different times. That is a part of change, Higgins said.

The DDA does a great job, she said. The issue that has come before the council now is a funding issue, she explained.

Higgins contended that the city had spent a lot of time in an economic downturn to lay a platform for the growth of the downtown area – and some of that is now happening. And it’s not just apartment buildings being built, Higgins said. Companies are coming back to downtown because that’s where they want to be.

So the city council right now is tackling the issue: What is the correct funding formula? A DDA-council committee had been appointed to review that question and come back with a solution, she concluded.

Downtown, Development: Vision of Ann Arbor

Many of today’s Ann Arbor citizens say they don’t recognize their city anymore, with the high-rises, zoning changes, and widely varying architecture. Are we trying for a complete makeover? So how would you or did you as a councilmember vote regarding building moratoriums, height restrictions, dedication of historical districts, and architectural oversight?

By way of additional background, on May 13, 2013, the city council approved a contentious development proposal at 413 E. Huron – a 14-story, 216-apartment building at the northeast corner of Huron and Division streets.

The council had contemplated imposing a moratorium on downtown site plans, but on March 18, 2013 opted not to do so. Instead, the council gave direction to the city planning commission to review the city’s D1 zoning. The specific scope of planning commission work was outlined in an April 1, 2013 council resolution. Before that, on March 4, 2013 the council also reconvened its design review task force to take another look at the design review process. Currently, design review is mandatory, but compliance by developers with review board recommendations is voluntary.

Downtown, Development: Vision of Ann Arbor – Higgins

Higgins described the A2D2 downtown rezoning overhaul as a large project to decide on a vision for Ann Arbor, which had lasted several years. It was a collaboration of residents from across the city over several years and resulted in a community decision to increase density in the downtown. And until the community tells her otherwise, Higgins said, she’d continue to support that.

Where problems had arisen, she said, is in those areas where downtown zoning butts up against near-downtown neighborhoods. That’s now being reviewed, Higgins pointed out, by the planning commission. A consultant has been hired to look at areas where residential areas butt up against tall buildings, Higgins said, calling it a legitimate concern. As far as the proposed moratorium, she said, a platform had been set for what the community wanted to do in the downtown – and she wanted to continue with that platform.

Five buildings went through with complete approval, she said, and for one where there were issues, citizens had told the council there were issues. Higgins pointed to her work on the downtown design guidelines, which are used to guide architectural aspects of development.

Downtown, Development: Vision of Ann Arbor – Eaton

Eaton began by saying he felt there are competing visions for the city. He felt some of the city’s leaders envision making “radical changes to our town,” changing the character of downtown dramatically and perhaps even making Ann Arbor a “mini-metropolis.” Eaton said he’s not sure that everyone supports that.

He allowed that Ann Arbor can sustain some core density. But when the city was considering the A2D2 downtown zoning, he and others had warned that the zoning needed to provide buffers between the core density and the nearby neighborhoods – but the council had failed to do so.

Eaton analyzed the fight over 413 E. Huron as the product of a failure to address what’s included in the city’s master plan – buffer zones between density and nearby neighborhoods. Density has also been extended out into the neighborhoods, Eaton said – so now a four-story massive apartment building and multi-use project will be located at the former Georgetown Mall site, in the middle of a residential block. Eaton wasn’t sure that project is an appropriate use of density. [The project Eaton was describing is Packard Square, which recently received approval of a revision to its brownfield plan.]

Downtown, Development: Who Are We Attracting?

The mayor and others want to work to make Ann Arbor a more attractive home for young professionals. Are we doing as much to promote a good, accessible life for retired professionals as well as for our disabled fellow citizens?

Downtown, Development: Who Are We Attracting? – Eaton

Eaton began by saying it was his understanding that when the zoning in downtown was revised, the idea was to try to attract not just young professionals but also empty-nesters, and he guessed that includes the disability community as well. Eaton felt that the revised zoning had failed on both counts.

The massive building that’s happened in the downtown area has been student housing, he said – not for young professionals, not for empty-nesters, not for any just “normal residents” of town. He believed that the downtown rezoning efforts have really seriously failed – and it’s important to go back and address what it would take to make the downtown area more inviting for non-student groups.

Downtown, Development: Who Are We Attracting? – Higgins

Responding to Eaton’s assertion that the revised A2D2 zoning had failed, Higgins said, “I don’t believe it’s failed.” Many retirees come to Ann Arbor, and empty-nesters want to live downtown. They have many places to choose from, she said – pointing out there are wonderful lofts above historic buildings, and that’s where they live. They also live in Sloan Plaza, she added. The new building that will be built at 413 E. Huron has a mix of 60% one- and two-bedroom apartments. That development could also be a place for retirees to live, Higgins ventured.

As more density is being built in the downtown, Higgins said, in the near-downtown neighborhoods homes are starting to be turned back to single-family occupancy. It’s not just about young professionals who want to live downtown and it’s not just about students, Higgins said. Instead, she said, it’s about being inclusive so that we have the right mix of housing for everyone who wants to be in Ann Arbor.

Downtown, Development: Realizing Vision

Looking ahead 10-20 years, explain one or more projects you would like to initiate or support now to make your Ann Arbor vision realizable.

Downtown, Development: Realizing Vision – Eaton

Eaton thought the city really needs to focus on the core functions of local government. Primarily, he thought it’s the city’s responsibility now to set the foundation with infrastructure – so that 10 or 20 years from now, residents won’t continue to have the kind of bad roads that the city has now, and won’t continue to have the kind of street flooding that allows people to kayak in the street. Future generations should be able to build on what is done today, Eaton said, concluding that there’s a fundamental duty to take responsibility for problems today.

Downtown, Development: Realizing Vision – Higgins

Higgins began by quipping that she hopes she’s around in 15 or 20 years to see what it looks like. She said the city is “tackling” several issues – like transportation, what the downtown looks like, and preserving neighborhoods. She described those issues as including initiatives that have been underway for the past decade – and “we’re now starting to see fruits of that,” she said.

Responding to Eaton’s remarks about infrastructure, she contended that the city is focusing on infrastructure, saying the city has rebuilt five bridges in the past 10 years, put in miles of roads, replaced sewer, water lines, water mains and sewer pipes. Sidewalks have been replaced. That had been done in the context of a terrible economic downturn, Higgins said, adding that it’s important to ensure that the city has a balanced budget. A balanced budget is the most important thing, Higgins said, because what the city wants to do is always going to be determined by how much money the city has.

Affordable Housing

In your opinion, what progress has been made by the city to assure the availability of affordable housing? Could there be an exchange or regulations requiring developers of high-priced private dorms to provide some low-cost housing in exchange for the ability to develop it? Or will we just wait until these pricey student residences become outdated or unnecessary so they can be repurposed?

Affordable Housing: Eaton

Eaton said he thought the city has really fallen short on the entire area of affordable housing. When the old YMCA building was torn down, and its single-resident occupancy units for low-income people were eliminated, nothing was done to replace it, Eaton said.

He expressed concern about whether the city was maintaining the amount of affordable housing it had in the past. As an example, he gave an Avalon Housing project on Pauline Boulevard that demolished affordable housing and replaced it with fewer units. More needs to be done for affordable housing, Eaton said.

He also said more precision is required in the definition of affordable housing. He posed a series of questions: Is affordable housing for the very, very poor? Is it for the working poor? Or is it for middle-class people who can’t afford to live in this town? Without more clearly defining what is meant by affordable housing, Eaton felt it would be difficult to address the housing problem.

Affordable Housing: Higgins

Higgins began by saying she supports affordable housing. She wished the city had more general fund dollars to commit to affordable housing. The city has moved away from planned unit developments (PUDs), which had an affordable housing component. That involved a developer paying money into the city’s affordable housing trust fund, or providing a certain amount of affordable units within the housing itself. Now, more “by-right” development is taking place, instead of through PUDs, so that funding source has disappeared, she said.

The council is working with the Ann Arbor housing commission on ways to increase housing, Higgins said, and the city is working with other not-for-profits that provide affordable housing. She gave as an example Avalon Housing’s Carrot Way project on the northeast side of town. Higgins described the affordable housing the city has as not necessarily in the best shape. She said that the city needs to focus on what it already has, saying it needs to be housing for people who are going to want to live there and are going to be safe there, constructed with quality materials.

Transportation

Candidates were asked two questions on transportation issues at opposite ends of the spectrum: (1) a possible high-capacity transit system that’s currently being studied; and (2) a relatively new crosswalk law regulating conditions under which motorists must stop for pedestrians.

Transportation: The Connector

Regarding the connector study, plans are underway to bring light rail transportation into the city of Ann Arbor. Please use your minute to tell voters, especially in your ward, how you feel about any of the options – station location, possible routing, service priorities, cost-sharing on the planning.

By way of additional background, the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is currently conducting an alternatives analysis study for possible high-capacity transit in the corridor running from US-23 and Plymouth southward along Plymouth to State Street, then further south to I-94. The alternatives analysis phase will result in a preferred choice of transit mode (e.g., bus rapid transit, light rail, etc.) and identification of stations and stops.

Area of study for the connector. (Image links to study website.)

A previous study established the feasibility of operating some kind of high-capacity transit in that corridor. A key finding of the feasibility study was that the demand for high-capacity transit is clear in the “core” of the corridor – primarily between the University of Michigan’s north campus, medical facilities and central campus.

The demand was found to be less intense on the corridor’s “shoulders.” That basic finding is now evident in the color shading on the draft route alignment map for the current phase of the study, which indicates the density of trips.

At a public engagement session held on June 18 at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, it was announced that the alternative of an elevated guideway system is no longer among the mix of options that the consultant is considering. A final report on a locally preferred alternative is expected for this phase of the study sometime in the winter of 2014.

The funding for the planning work associated with both phases of the study was subjected to wrangling among the funding partners – the city, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, the University of Michigan and the AAATA.

Transportation: The Connector – Higgins

Higgins began by saying that she was very excited to see that Florida didn’t want some federal funding that could now be brought into Michigan to consider funding “light rail.” [Higgins was alluding to federal funding for high-speed commuter rail for inter-city service. But the connector, as a new service that could be built within the city limits, is not that kind of project. The rest of the response from Higgins didn't address the connector project per se, but rather concerned commuter rail into and out of the city of Ann Arbor, with the associated controversies of building a new station – at the Fuller Park location – or expanding the existing Amtrak station to serve east-west commuter rail.]

Higgins said that “light rail” is not just about commuters, but rather is about people who want to go to a lot of places for entertainment, for example. It’s a way to connect, she said, and Michigan is behind the curve. As far as where the station could be or should be located, Higgins didn’t really have a preference about where it is. She just thought the best location needs to be decided and then the city should move forward with that. A new station could very well be an expansion of the existing station, she said. If a new station were to be located somewhere, there’d be a community dialogue on where it should be.

Transportation: The Connector – Eaton

Eaton began by first sketching out what the connector is. The connector study is actually a study about moving a large number of people within the city, he explained – from the northeast corner of town, down to the University of Michigan campus and perhaps even out South State Street. The connector project is separate and apart from the desire to have commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Livingston County or to Wayne County, Eaton said. The connector, Eaton said, would primarily benefit the University Michigan – in that it would be moving a lot of students between central and north campus.

Eaton pointed out that Ann Arbor has a transit authority in Ann Arbor with a dedicated millage. It should be the AAATA’s responsibility to work with the University of Michigan on the connector project, he said, and he was opposed to using Ann Arbor general fund money for that transportation study. There are a lot of other core, essential services that should be using its general fund, he concluded.

Transportation: Crosswalk Law

Please comment on the effectiveness and enforcement of the pedestrian crossing laws in Ann Arbor. Is there money available and is it being spent to ensure maintenance of the striping and the electric signaling? In your opinion, how are pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists responding? Is further education and communication needed?

Background on the legislative history of Ann Arbor’s crosswalk ordinance includes a tweak given final approval at the council’s Dec. 19, 2011 meeting.

Chronicle file photo of Seventh & Washington in Ann Arbor looking northwest. The crosswalk includes an island in the middle of the street as well as a “local law” sign, indicating motorists are to stop, not just yield.

The language given final approval by the council reads in relevant part: “… the driver of a vehicle shall stop before entering a crosswalk and yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian stopped at the curb, curb line or ramp leading to a crosswalk and to every pedestrian within a crosswalk, when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.”

That revision came after a modification the council made 18 months earlier on July 19, 2010 – to include an expansion of the conditions under which motorists must take action to accommodate pedestrians. Specifically, the 2010 amendments required accommodation of pedestrians not just “within a crosswalk” but also “approaching or within a crosswalk.” The modification approved on Dec. 19 was intended to address a perceived ambiguity of the word “approaching.”

Besides the “approaching” phrase, the 2010 amendments also included two other key elements. The 2010 amendments included a requirement that motorists “stop” and not merely “slow as to yield.” The proposal to change the language to “stop” – for the sake of clarity – was made at the council table by Marcia Higgins.

Transportation: Crosswalk Law – Eaton

Eaton began by saying that recently the city passed a pedestrian ordinance that’s quite different from the local law in most communities in Michigan. Ann Arbor has a lot of people coming to live for shorter periods of time – to do business or attend school. He didn’t think that Ann Arbor’s law on pedestrian safety should be that much different from the rest of the state.

Eaton indicated that the state’s allocation of Act 51 money to the city might be available to use on sidewalks and pedestrian safety in greater proportions than it’s been used in the past. He would support more signals, and filling in more of the city’s sidewalk gaps to make pedestrians safer in town.

Transportation: Crosswalk Law – Higgins

Higgins thought the city’s current crosswalk ordinance language is a little confusing for a lot of people, saying that they don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to do. She described the council’s action as tackling an issue of safety very quickly, saying that not all the kinks have been worked out. Different alternatives had been considered to allow pedestrians to cross streets more safely, she said. As an example, she cited solar-powered flashing signals that work to ensure that people can get entirely across some of the major streets.

About “road diets,” she said that the city is still trying to figure out the best approach, noting that there is still some work to do on that. About sidewalks, she said the recent voter-approved sidewalk millage is being used to work on the sidewalk gaps in the city. [The sidewalk millage is actually only available for repair of existing sidewalks, not for construction of new sidewalks.]

University-City Relations

Many university cities have established anchor institution relationships, the hallmark of which is connecting the campus with city life and community-building. What are the some of the ways you believe that Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan can nurture and grow programs that use common anchor institution strategies – among them local purchasing, investment practices, neighborhood partnerships, and city revenue generation, such as payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOTs.

By way of additional background, the city and the University of Michigan recently came up against a point of friction over a right-of-way occupancy agreement in connection with the university’s desire to run conduit under Tappan Street. The council took action at its July 15, 2013 meeting to direct renegotiation of the template used by the city and the university to handle that kind of agreement.

The friction stemmed from a vote taken at the council’s May 13, 2013 meeting, which failed to achieve an eight-vote majority. The purpose of the conduits is to connect a new emergency generator to the Lawyers Club buildings at 551 S. State St. The Lawyers Club and the generator are located on opposite sides of the street. The university considers the transaction to be a conveyance of an interest in land. The city doesn’t see it that way, but the council was asked to treat the agreement as if it were a conveyance of an interest in land – which triggered the requirement of an eight-vote majority.

Other recent council conversation about university-city relations includes coordinating with the university about a partial closure of Main Street on football Saturdays. A public meeting is scheduled for July 24 at 6 p.m. at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library to explain how the logistics will work.

University-City Relations – Eaton

Eaton thought Ann Arbor needs to work significantly harder to cooperate with the University of Michigan, saying it’s the main institution and one of the largest employers in town. Eaton said the city does not have a good working relationship with the university. He thought that one of the ways the city could cooperate with the University of Michigan is by installing infrastructure and utilities on a schedule that is compatible with the building projects that the university has.

He also felt the city could cooperate with the University of Michigan in seeking alternative energy generation and use. He concluded that he believed there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to set up better cooperation between the city and the university, and he would support such efforts if he were elected to the council.

University-City Relations – Higgins

Higgins pointed out that the city already has a relationship with the university at the staff level. For the projects that the university is working on, city staff are providing support, she said, and vice versa. Monthly meetings are held where staff from the two institutions talk about what’s coming up, where the city and the university can collaborate on different issues – and she thought that approach is working well.

She described additional friction that can happen, when the university chooses to undertake major projects that affect the nearby neighborhoods. The city has been working for the past couple of years with the university so that when the university rolls out a project, the city can alert those neighborhoods so that a conversation can be started with the residents about how they will be impacted. Higgins said she thinks that is working very well, and it’s something the city will continue to work on.

Citizen Participation

The League of Women Voters exists to promote active citizen participation in government. Please direct your answer to an interested Ann Arbor resident. Tell her or him what steps to take to become actively involved in our city, through the neighborhoods, the council, the commissions, etc. What kind of advice would you give?

Citizen Participation – Higgins

Higgins said the city is always looking for volunteers. It’s one of the conversations the city council has had: How do we let people know where we need help? She pointed out that people can apply online to serve on boards and commissions. People active in their neighborhoods are very important, and the city looks to those neighborhoods to give direction on how neighborhoods can be helped, she said.

The city now has a citizen participation ordinance that requires a developer to have a meeting with citizens in the early stages of proposing a project, so citizens can have input on what they think about the project, she said. That all becomes part of the public record and it moves through to the planning commission, and it helps with decision-making, she said. Higgins concluded by saying that residents’ voices are very important.

Citizen Participation – Eaton

Eaton took the question as an opportunity to praise the League of Women Voters, by saying he’d suggest that a resident of Ann Arbor consider joining the League of Women Voters and becoming active through LWV, which he described as a superb organization. He also suggested as an alternative becoming active in a political party of a resident’s choosing.

Eaton stated that he’d personally been active in many neighborhood organizations and helped form coalitions of neighborhoods. That was an excellent way to become involved in local politics, he felt, because the interaction between neighborhoods and elected representatives is “really where a lot happens in this town.” He hoped to work to open up availability on boards and commissions, contending that it seems like the same people are repeatedly appointed to the same boards and commissions again and again, term after term. Eaton wanted to open up the boards to more residents and encourage more residents to participate.

Flooding

What plans does or should the city have to prevent or abate street flooding in the city? What do we need? Can we afford it? What interim measures can we work on first?

Malletts Creek “smart map” showing the study area.

Additional background includes a study currently being conducted by the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner focusing on the Upper Malletts Creek area – located in Ward 4. The study was authorized by the Ann Arbor city council at its Oct. 15, 2012 meeting. The $200,000 cost of the study is to be paid for with city funds already held by the county water resources commissioner’s office. [County web page on Upper Mallets Creek study]

The staff memo accompanying the council’s Oct. 15, 2012 resolution mentioned the heavy rains on March 15, 2012, which resulted in street flooding in that part of the city. The city council heard complaints from the public at its meetings after the flooding. A map of historical flooding in the city shows that respondents to a survey conducted in the mid-1990s reported they’d experienced street flooding in the same areas that the flooding occurred in the spring of 2012. That map was part of a 1997 study conducted by Black & Veatch under contract with the city.

The city is also conducting a city-wide study of stormwater issues. [City web page on stormwater model calibration]

A third related study involves monitoring of the sanitary sewer system during wet weather. [City web page on wet weather sanitary sewer flows] That study is meant to measure the effectiveness of the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program, which was partially suspended in city council action taken on Sept. 17, 2012. The developer offset mitigation portion of the program continues – as recent projects like 413 E. Huron (now approved) and the Glendale condominium project (currently postponed by the city planning commission) include required footing drain disconnection credits from developers.

The city of Ann Arbor has separate sanitary and stormwater conveyance systems. However, during construction of new developments before 1980, footing drains – permeable pipes buried around the perimeter of a foundation, roughly at the depth of a basement floor – were frequently connected directly to the sanitary sewer pipes. Those connections were convenient to make, because the footing drains and the sanitary sewers are buried at roughly the same depth.

During very heavy rains, that configuration leads to a volume of stormwater flow into the sanitary sewer system that it’s not designed to handle. That can cause sewage backups as well as possible discharges of untreated sewage into the Huron River. It was such discharges that led to the creation of the city’s FDD program in the early 2000s. Another relatively small volume of such discharge was caused by heavy rains last month.

Flooding: Higgins

Higgins stated that Ann Arbor has experienced flooding for years. There are new tools that can be considered, and the city has several different projects underway right now. To move forward just for the sake of moving forward quickly could exacerbate the problem – if it’s not the right solution. So time was being taken to study the issue. Higgins noted that the city is working with the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner [Evan Pratt] and using his expertise to deal with overland water flow.

Higgins also mentioned the city’s footing drain disconnection program, which she characterized as “a big question.” That program is being reevaluated, she said, noting that there is a moratorium in Ward 4 dealing with that. For Ann Arbor streets that were designed a decade ago or more, a decision was made that as storm sewers reach capacity, that water would be held in the streets. Not everybody understands that, Higgins said, so when you see a street flooding, it is actually supposed to do that. But because of the increased frequency of heavy rains, she added, the flooding is going overland, and that is what the city is dealing with now.

Flooding: Eaton

Eaton began by stating that two of the city’s main watersheds – Malletts Creek and Allen Creek – are beyond capacity. There’s continual talk about planning for growth, Eaton said, but he contended that there’s not capacity to handle the stormwater that the city is already experiencing.

He called for approaching the problem in a variety of different ways. He called for using pervious paving materials that allow stormwater to soak into the ground at the site rather than just moving it downstream. The city needs to increase the capacity to move water through Malletts Creek and Allen Creek to the Huron River, Eaton said. And the city needs to set up retention and detention ponds in neighborhoods to delay flow into the downtown areas, he said.

In 1997, Eaton said, the city did a major stormwater study. But the city had simply failed to follow up on any of the recommendations, Eaton contended. Now, 15 years later, the city is repeating the process of studying the problem that had already been ignored. He called for moving in a more expedient way.

Closing

Each candidate was given two minutes for a closing statement.

Closing: Higgins

Higgins thanked the LWV and CTN for hosting the event. During her years serving on the council, her constant focus has been on building the city’s infrastructure, she said. She’d kept an eye toward the future while respecting the past, and she thought the city needs to continue to do that. The city has a great budget, she said, and it’s balanced every year – the city was not raising taxes, but was providing services. On the question of whether additional police officers and firefighters could be added, Higgins said, “We just did.” She said that three more police officers had been added, saying that “We have beat cops that we didn’t have before.” But she stressed that it’s a matter of how those positions are funded. It’s easy to say, “just give us more,” Higgins said, but there has to be a funding mechanism. [Three Four additional firefighters were authorized in the FY 2014 budget compared with the FY 2013 budget. However, the number of authorized sworn police officers has remained the same. The council has passed a resolution asking the DDA to consider allocating funding for three downtown beat cops, but the DDA has not yet acted on that request.]

The city’s parks and recreation facilities are a tremendous asset, she said. Every week the city wins awards for livability. The city’s budget is the envy of Michigan, Higgins said. She called it a great decision to partner with the county and the University of Michigan to found Ann Arbor SPARK – and that has helped the city provide an economic platform to bring companies to the city, which diversifies the city’s tax base. Everyone had learned a very hard lesson when the largest taxpayer and employer [Pfizer] had left the city, Higgins said. So she thought the city was doing very well.

She supports transportation, Higgins said, calling it a core service that has been offered in Ann Arbor. In founding the AATA, Ann Arbor had been way ahead of the game and it’s been a “treasure,” Higgins said. She felt that expansion of the AATA could take place, as long as it’s not at the city taxpayers’ cost.

Higgins concluded by drawing a contrast between herself and Eaton. She said that this election offers a choice, indicating that she was a candidate who would work to ensure and approach the future with efficient, open and transparent government, by listening to residents and colleagues, and making Ann Arbor the envy of every other city in the state. Change is coming, Higgins said, and she would continue to engage with all residents as the city strives to find the best solutions and thoughtfully prepare for this change. She indicated the choice was between her approach and “candidates who only say no and fear any change of any kind.”

Closing: Eaton

Eaton thanked the LWV for holding the event. He called Ann Arbor a special town.

Jack Eaton at the 4th of July parade this year.

There’s an opportunity to protect and preserve what is great about Ann Arbor while working to solve problems as they arise. This election provides a clear choice for voters, Eaton said. If elected to the council, he’d provide responsive representation. He’d answer constituent e-mails, and return phone calls, and meet with neighborhood groups. He would release regular e-mail updates. More importantly, Eaton said, he’d work with residents to help solve problems. He’d represent common sense priorities of the Ward 4 voters.

In speaking with Ward 4 voters, he’d heard that residents want the city council to focus on core services. He intended to work to rebuild the city’s safety services. The city’s police and fire departments should be staffed to meet nationally recognized standards, he said, contending that they don’t currently meet those staffing standards.

If elected, he’d work with other councilmembers to improve the city’s infrastructure. Long-term flooding problems need to be addressed, he said, saying that the city can’t afford further delay. Road repair funds need to be spent to maintain high-quality roads, Eaton said, not for ambitious planning and development.

Recent elections have added new responsive members to the council, he contended. He’d like to join those representatives and help bring common sense to city budget decisions. He asked people to take the time to vote on Tuesday, Aug. 6. He asked for support to represent voters’ interests and priorities.

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From left: Julie Grand (Ward 3 challenger), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3 incumbent), Jack Eaton (Ward 4 challenger), Mike Anglin (Ward 5 incumbent), Kirk Westphal (Ward 2 candidate), Sabra Briere (Ward 1 incumbent).

In the Aug. 6 Democratic primary, only two wards offer contested races. In Ward 3, Democratic voters will choose between incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand. Ward 4 voters will have a choice between incumbent Marcia Higgins and Jack Eaton. Higgins was reported to have been sick and was unable to attend.

The format of the event eventually allowed other candidates who are unopposed in the Democratic primary to participate: Mike Anglin (Ward 5 incumbent), Sabra Briere (Ward 1 incumbent), and Kirk Westphal, who’s challenging incumbent Jane Lumm in Ward 2. Lumm, who was elected to the council as an independent, was in the audience at the forum but didn’t participate. The event was held at the Ann Arbor Community Center on North Main Street. The Chronicle’s coverage is presented in a multiple-part series, based on common threads that formed directly in response to questions posed to the candidates, or that cut across multiple responses.

One question posed to candidates explicitly involved transportation: What do we do to implement an effective transportation plan for Ann Arbor that would decrease congestion and encourage alternative modes of travel? But transportation fit into a broader set of themes at the forum that could be collected under the notion of “connection” – connectedness of citizens not just to physical locations, but to their local government.

Candidates had clearly prepared to talk about the topic of transportation generally. Jack Eaton criticized last year’s demised countywide planning effort, based on the fact that other communities were not asked to defray the costs of that planning. At the same time he called for better maintenance of roads, partly out of concern for bicyclist safety. He also called for more frequent bus service during extended hours – but cautioned that he was focused on spending Ann Arbor’s local transit millage money on transit in Ann Arbor.

As far as millages go, Mike Anglin was clear that he would vote for a possible new millage resulting from the admission of Ypsilanti to the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. However, Anglin was emphatic that he did not support trains, but rather only buses – with a focus on moving people around inside the city.

Julie Grand said she was glad that the possibility of adding rail service was being studied, and that by council resolution, the question of possibly using the Fuller Road site for a new train station would go to the voters. She pointed out that the park advisory commission, on which she serves, focuses on the potential for non-motorized connections when it considers parcels to acquire as parkland. She called transit a regional issue, but said that ultimately we need to focus on transit within the community.

Stephen Kunselman was specific with a suggestion of how to return a focus to the city’s own transportation needs: Remove the city’s transportation program manager, Eli Cooper, from the AATA board – so that Cooper could focus on issues like sidewalk gaps and bicycle lanes. Kunselman also stated that he would be proposing that the city council rescind its memorandum of understanding with the University of Michigan to build a parking structure as part of the Fuller Road Station project.

Although UM has withdrawn from participation in that project under the MOU, Kunselman said he wanted to “kill it.” That way, he said, the conversation could turn away from using the designated parkland at the Fuller Road Station site as a new train station, and could instead be focused on the site across the tracks from the existing Amtrak station.

Sabra Briere ventured that the community did not have a consensus about the basic question of what kind of transportation system is best for Ann Arbor – one that was geared primarily to commuters or one that was designed mainly for city residents as a replacement for personal automobiles.

Kirk Westphal told the audience that he’d chosen a house to buy in Ann Arbor based on its proximity to a bus line. He ventured that the transportation system needs to be robust enough to attract people out of their cars, and that to be financial viable, a certain amount of density is required. It’s important to support development near transit lines to provide that density, he said.

In addition to the question about connecting people to physical locations (i.e., transportation), candidates at the forum responded to a question about connecting people to local government. The question was specific to involving youth in local government. But candidates also delivered a range of comments throughout the forum related to the theme of connecting residents to government.

Among the specific suggestions was one from Westphal, who floated the idea of a “citizens academy” for general government along the lines of Ann Arbor’s citizens police, courts and fire academy.

Part 1 of this series focused on the candidates’ concept of and connection to Ann Arbor, while Part 2 looked at their personal styles of engagement and views of how the council interacts. Other themes from the forum will be presented in subsequent reports. Chronicle election coverage is tagged with “2013 primary election.”

Transportation: Non-Motorized, Safety

Non-motorized connections were part of the forum conversation, even when the topic was not explicitly about transportation. Sabra Briere told the audience that when she was first elected to the council, she’d asked why voters hadn’t been asked to approve a millage to fund sidewalk repair. [The city previously took the approach of requiring owners of property adjacent to a sidewalk to pay for repairs, when the city's inspection determined that a slab needed replacement or repair.] The answer she got was: Nobody would vote for a millage for this. So she was pleased that the request of the voters had been made and that the city was now fixing the sidewalks, and the cost is not being assessed to individuals.

Briere also said she was really pleased that the city is finally beginning to tackle sidewalk gaps. That’s a “weird issue to care about,” she allowed. But Briere reported that in her part of the city, there are lots of places where there’s no safe way to walk anywhere except in the middle of the street.

Jack Eaton also addressed non-motorized transportation. The infrastructure needs to be improved so that the pavement is good enough to ride a bicycle on, Eaton said. Potholes and the horrible surfaces that drivers complain about are even worse for bicyclists and pedestrians, he noted. Eaton also suggested improving the markings on roads and bicycle lanes so that they are clearly maintained – so that bicyclists feel secure in their bike lane.

Julie Grand told the audience that one of her interests during her service on the park advisory commission and in work on the PROS (parks and recreation open space) plan has been in connections for non-motorized use. When PAC prioritizes which parcels of land to acquire or when the city is planning for a new park, the potential for creating non-motorized connections is an important consideration. The North Main Huron River task force, on which she serves, had focused on the city-owned 721 N. Main property for its potential to make non-motorized connections. She ventured that if the city wants people to use bicycles for transportation on roads, then the city needs to encourage people to use their bikes in a recreational setting. It becomes more feasible for that person to think about using a bicycle to get to work, if they’re accustomed to riding a bicycle for fun, she said.

Not in the context of the question about transportation, but nevertheless related to that theme, were remarks from Mike Anglin about a stretch of road in Ward 5 along Seventh Street, between Pauline and Liberty. The downhill stretch results in excessive speeds, he said. So he was looking forward to supporting the efforts of a resident who recently began documenting the issue and who has set up a Facebook page: SOS (Safety on Seventh St.) Ann Arbor.

Anglin was critical of “traffic calming” as a policy that could address safety needs. “For me, it’s really hard to let [traffic calming] policy dictate safety in our community,” he said. Anglin characterized traffic calming as making the road narrower so that the driver gets nervous and says, “I’m going to have to slow down, because I may have an accident and ruin my car here.” Personally, Anglin said, he thinks a stop sign does a really good job at slowing down traffic.

We have control of the streets, Anglin said, and it’s important that we look at the things we have control of – and that we work to do things for the people who live here.

Transportation: Regional versus Local

Jack Eaton observed that transportation is really a regional question. About Ann Arbor’s local millage, he felt recently too much of it had been spent planning transit for communities outside of the city – who are not interested in participating in transit. One of the ways that you plan for regional transit is you make those other communities pay their share of the planning costs, Eaton said – because it shows that they are interested in participating when the plan is done. Rather than spending millions of dollars on a countywide system that dissipates due to lack of interest, he wanted to focus on improving the service that we have. We need to increase the frequency of buses, he said, and the buses need to run later in the evening.

As far as regional transportation is concerned, Ann Arbor needs to seek financial participation at the planning stage, he said, before service is expanded to Chelsea or Canton or Saline. Eaton said he’d be careful with the money that is collected for Ann Arbor’s local transit system. He would focus on improving what Ann Arbor has – showing how well it works for Ann Arbor – to make it an attraction to live inside the city of Ann Arbor.

Kirk Westphal noted that transportation is part-and-parcel of any kind of urban planning theory – in the functioning of the city and region as well. It is said that nobody buys or builds next to a bus line, he allowed, but he and his wife bought their house because it was on a bus line. Westphal said he uses public transit or bicycles every day.

Westphal called transit an equity issue that ties into issues of congestion. Coming from New York, he allowed that his view of congestion is a little different from that of people here. He quipped that a lot of cities in Michigan would like to have a problem with congestion. But transit has to develop along with density – and transit doesn’t work sustainably without density, he stressed. So density has to be part of that conversation. He indicated that roads also need attention and that road repair and transportation need to be discussed as a whole. Transportation service has to be robust enough to attract people out of their cars, he said. And it’s important to support development near transit lines, in order to make it a sustainable financial endeavor.

Julie Grand described transit as ultimately “for a region,” but as a city there’s only so much control that Ann Arbor has. The only regional transit decisions that the Ann Arbor city council can make involve reaching out to other communities, she said. Ultimately, the city should focus on transit needs within its community. Grand called for diversification of transit options. The park-and-ride system has been very successful for a lot of people, she said, and she would like to see more of that. At the point she delivered her remarks, Grand noted that no one had yet brought up the potential for trains – which Grand knew is a hot button issue – but she said she was really glad that the issue is being studied, and that it’s going to go to the voters.

Grand called for diversity in transportation but allowed that we need to recognize the limitations in the priorities of the communities around us – even though the approach should ideally be regional.

Sabra Briere ventured that we have a difference of opinion as a community about how transportation should work. Some people think public transportation should be our substitute for owning a car – that we should be able to go to the doctor, go to the grocery, go to the library, without having to own a car. And that means a lot of neighborhood service, Briere concluded.

Other people think that the transportation system should be the means for people who are driving their cars into town to go to work, Briere continued. People coming to work should actually be able to take the bus or the train or some other form of mass transit. She felt there was not a consensus about those two viewpoints – not in the community, not on the AATA board, and not in the public meetings she had attended on the topic.

There is a real tension back and forth about whether it’s this or that kind of transportation system, Briere said. In order to provide services for commuters, you might not be able to afford to provide neighborhood service. To provide neighborhood services, should you ignore the commuters?

Briere pointed out that Ann Arbor’s population has grown for the first time in over 20 years. She observed that a lot more cars are clogging up Ann Arbor’s streets and parking spaces. Briere reported hearing a complaint just recently that somebody couldn’t get to an event because there was no parking available downtown. She hears all the time that people don’t want to go downtown because the parking is so difficult. But she also hears people say it had not been necessary to build more parking downtown. The fact that the community has these very different, polarized opinions about transportation shows that this is not a simple problem, Briere concluded. She ventured that it’s not within our control to decide if the trains will come, or if there will be regional transportation all around Ann Arbor all the way to Detroit.

What is in our control is the possibility that Ann Arbor residents could be asked to vote for another millage, Briere pointed out – in order to provide decent transportation within the urban core. [That additional millage would be requested in the context of Ypsilanti's admission into the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The millage would be requested by the AATA itself.]

Transportation: Rail Service

Mike Anglin’s remarks were focused in large part on criticism of possible rail service. He blamed the fact that land designated as parkland along Fuller Road actually had the zoning classification of PL (public land) as allowing for the possibility that a train station could be proposed for that site.

The most economical way “to push people around the city” is on buses, Anglin contended. Buses are flexible and are much less expensive than trains. “If you think you can afford a train, you’re going to be really surprised how much that costs,” Anglin cautioned. While the majority of the cost of a bus system goes toward bus driver salaries, Anglin said, most of those salaries remain in the community, because the bus drivers work in the community and then spend their money in the community. “I’m a big supporter of the buses; I am not a supporter of the trains,” Anglin said. Amtrak should run the trains, Anglin said, and the city shouldn’t start getting into a business it knows nothing about.

Commenting on the AATA’s AirRide service between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport, Anglin allowed that it’s starting to gain popularity. But there are people who still take their cars to the airport, he said.

Anglin stressed that the city should focus on the essentials – fixing roads, and providing police and fire protection. He ventured that it was more important to plant trees and fix roads – once the basics are covered, only then is it appropriate to look beyond that. He wasn’t saying: Don’t have a vision. So he supported buses. He noted that the council had just approved a change to the articles of incorporation to include Ypsilanti in the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. But he cautioned that “It’s going to cost you money, though.” Voters would be asked to approve a millage, Anglin said, “and I will vote for the millage for the buses.” He would not, however, vote for a train, saying that the area doesn’t have the population density necessary to support a train.

Following Anglin was Stephen Kunselman, who echoed Anglin’s sentiments, noting that Anglin had said everything Kunselman had wanted to say. The discussion of Fuller Road Station had taken up too much of the transportation discussion, Kunselman said: “And we need to actually kill it.” If he wins the Democratic primary in August, he plans to bring forward a resolution to rescind the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that made Fuller Road Station a possibility. The MOU doesn’t have an expiration date, Kunselman said.

Kunselman called the idea of a 99-year lease to the University of Michigan in connection with the Fuller Road Station concept “a clear effort to evade the city charter requirement on the sale of parkland,” which requires a popular vote. Eliminating Fuller Road Station from the conversation would allow focus to be returned to the transportation needs of the community – transportation to get people to their jobs, to their homes, and to their recreational activities. As a planner, Kunselman continued, he understands the importance of a plan – as a document and as a vision. In that plan, he said, the city should be talking about park-and-ride, van pool, border-to-border trails, airport service, University Michigan, Amtrak, and a train station.

Kunselman then expressed support for locating any new train station directly across from the existing Amtrak station. He contended it would be out of the flood plain, based on looking at the huge drop-off down to the Huron River. But he wanted Fuller Road Station to be pushed aside so that the dialogue about a new train station can be more open and transparent.

Kunselman ventured that the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is going to be more robust, now that Ypsilanti will have board representation.

Sidewalks and bike lanes are all things the city council is supporting, Kunselman said. And the city has a staff person who’s assigned to plan for those things. [Kunselman didn't name the person, but Eli Cooper is the city's transportation program manager, who also serves on the board of the AATA. Kunselman voted against confirmation of Cooper's appointment to the board.]

But Cooper couldn’t do his job as the city transportation program manager, because he was appointed to the AATA, Kunselman contended. That had led to the countywide transit effort that “flopped,” Kunselman said. “That failed – because it didn’t have the people behind it.” He called the countywide planning effort a classic example of “poker politics.” So Kunselman called for removing Cooper from the AATA – noting that Cooper doesn’t live in the city, and doesn’t “have an egg in the nest.” That would get Cooper focused on the city’s transportation planning, Kunselman concluded.

Connection: People to Services

Julie Grand said when she’s out in the community, she hears people talking about safety, about water problems and things that she can’t address – like their schools. She felt that one issue related to providing core services to the neighborhoods is that people are feeling very disconnected from their government.

She didn’t know that every road could be paved, or that all the other problems could be fixed. But one thing she felt she could do was to provide responsive communication. She described herself as “a problem solver,” saying that a resident could come to her and that she could immediately connect them to the person in the city who can address the concern. She told the audience that she’s trying to reach those people who are feeling disconnected, so that their voices are heard, and so that there’s a good sense of what those needs are and of how to meet those needs.

Connection: Youth Involvement

The specific question posed to candidates about connecting residents to local government was this: How do you plan within your ward to stimulate an increase in youth interest and participation in local government?

Grand suggested that one way you get young people involved in the community is “you take them very seriously,” and you understand their strengths. One of the things that made her want to stay in this community was an admission interview she’d done with a young woman years ago, who served on the board of a not-for-profit. And that experience made her think: This is where I want to raise my kids; this is a place where we involve youth on our boards and we involve them in politics. She felt that more of that should be done.

Grand thought that encouraging youth to volunteer, getting them to take leadership positions, taking their voices seriously – that is the way that you get them involved in the community. You don’t just give them some envelopes to stuff. Rather, you really allow them to be a part of policy decisions and allow their voices to be heard. The youth of the community are just as capable of making decisions and they know what is effective, she concluded.

Jack Eaton allowed he didn’t have an easy answer to the question of youth involvement. He pointed out there are “gradients of youth.” If you look at the college students who live here just for a few years, it’s particularly difficult to get them interested in local issues, Eaton said. He attends meetings of the College Democrats in hopes of figuring out what matters to them, but he’s not sure that they have burning local issues. He said he would continue to do outreach and participate in their organization to see what they’re concerned about and try to incorporate it into what he’s doing as a councilmember.

For younger people who actually live in the community, Eaton said, in his neighborhood there’s an organization that takes care of a local natural area preserve [Dicken Woods]. The organization gets youth volunteers to come to the woods and help chip the trails or pick up trash or to clean up. It’s good to involve students in a civic task that has a schedule, because a structured environment like that helps them feel like they have actually accomplished something, Eaton said, and they come back year after year. So he’d encourage various neighborhood organizations to be seen as a mechanism to reach out to schools to encourage youth involvement.

Stephen Kunselman said the No. 1 way to try to encourage youth involvement is to lead by example. In his campaigns, his kids have been involved, and their friends have been involved, and the kids of his friends have been involved. He cited Yousef Rabhi as an example – and pointed out Rabhi’s mother in the audience. Rabhi had helped him in his campaigns in years past, Kunselman said. Rabhi had learned from that experience and then ran his own campaign, Kunselman noted. And now Rabhi is chair of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners. That is how to engage the youth, Kunselman said. [When Kunselman concluded his speaking turn, moderator Mike Henry  quipped: "We call that the 'Yousef card' because we all love Yousef!"]

Kunselman also mentioned that recently he’d attended the Portfolio Day at Scarlett Middle School, where he’d sat down with kids and asked about their aspirations, and told them a little bit about himself. He tried to encourage them to remember every vote counts, every person’s voice is important, that you make the difference and that you should participate. [The "every vote counts" point could have been made specifically with respect to Yousef Rabhi's first campaign – as he prevailed by a single vote.]

At that Scarlett Middle School event, Kunselman had heard from two girls that they wanted to work in the foreign service. That means that youth have aspirations, Kunselman said, and we need to listen to those aspirations and encourage them. But we also have to recognize that out of a community of 116,000 people, there are 11 elected officials on the city council and it’s very difficult to get there, Kunselman said.

Connection: General Participation

The specific question about youth involvement wasn’t posed to the candidates who don’t have contested races in the primary. But some of them commented on the general issue of participation and involvement.

Kirk Westphal observed that he currently chairs the city planning commission – and he’s served on the commission since 2006. It’s been an extremely rewarding volunteer opportunity. He tries to say that as many times as he can, to try to get more people participating on boards and commissions.

Westphal felt that creating stronger links between local government and neighborhood associations could result in encouraging more people to serve on boards and commissions. He observed that for many boards and commissions, the application files aren’t filled with a lot of resumes. He ventured that it was important to get more people running for the city council.

A lot of cities have citizens academies, he noted. And the city of Ann Arbor’s safety services area provides such an academy, focused on police and fire services. Westphal suggested that a citizens academy of some kind could introduce people to how local government works. That could bear fruit in the long run, he thought.

On the general topic of participation in local government, Mike Anglin observed: “Our turnout in a primary election is devastatingly low. It’s embarrassingly low. And our community cannot be proud of that at all.”

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From left: Julie Grand (Ward 3 challenger), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3 incumbent), Jack Eaton (Ward 4 challenger), Mike Anglin (Ward 5 incumbent), Kirk Westphal (Ward 2 candidate), Sabra Briere (Ward 1 incumbent).

In the Aug. 6 Democratic primary, only two wards offer contested races. In Ward 3, Democratic voters will choose between incumbent Stephen Kunselman and Julie Grand. Ward 4 voters will have a choice between incumbent Marcia Higgins and Jack Eaton. Higgins was reported to have been sick and was unable to attend.

The format of the event eventually allowed other candidates who are unopposed in the Democratic primary to participate: Mike Anglin (Ward 5 incumbent), Sabra Briere (Ward 1 incumbent), and Kirk Westphal, who’s challenging incumbent Jane Lumm in Ward 2. Lumm, who was elected to the council as an independent, was in the audience at the forum but didn’t participate. The event was held at the Ann Arbor Community Center on North Main Street. The Chronicle’s coverage is presented in a multiple-part series, based on common threads that formed directly in response to questions posed to the candidates, or that cut across multiple responses.

In their introductory remarks and in the course of responding to other questions, some of the candidates described their concept of and connection to Ann Arbor – how they came to live here, and how they conceive of the place. Other themes from the forum will be presented in subsequent parts of this series. Other Chronicle coverage is tagged with “2013 primary election.”

In her introductory remarks, Julie Grand told the audience she’d come to Ann Arbor 17 years ago. Hers might be a familiar story, she said: She came to attend graduate school, and fell in love with the university. Then, a few months later, she fell in love with a person. And over time she fell in love with the community, she continued. And it was that love of the community that made her and her husband choose to raise their family here.

So she settled in and became gradually more and more involved in the community. Eventually she began teaching health policy studies at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. So she’s running for city council because “I believe that we are an extraordinary community. And as an extraordinary community, we are worthy of having representatives that present thoughtful leadership and responsive communication to you.”

Stephen Kunselman began by noting that he grew up in Ann Arbor, which he thought everybody knew. He graduated in the same class as Ingrid Ault from Pioneer High School in 1981. [The allusion wasn't random. Ault was sitting in the front row of the audience. And before the forum started, she had updated the audience about the activity of a downtown park subcommittee of the city's park advisory commission, on which she serves and which Grand has chaired. Also, Ault had contested the 2011 Ward 3 Democratic primary, which Kunselman won.] Kunselman said he’d had a great time living in Ann Arbor all his life.

Later in the forum, Kunselman observed that having grown up in Ann Arbor, he was aware of all the amenities the city provided in the past – but he allowed that it wasn’t possible to provide all those things now.

Kunselman, who holds a masters degree in urban planning, rejected the idea that Ann Arbor should aspire to be more than what it is: a college town. “We can think of Ann Arbor as a great metropolis … but as an urban planner, all I see us as is a college town, a midwestern college town that empties out for four months out of the year in the summer. And that’s why we all love living here – because then the students are gone and we’ve got lots of room to park downtown!” The line drew applause from the audience.

Commenting on the possibility of a hotel/conference center in downtown Ann Arbor, Kunselman said the idea that a hotel is going to bring conferences in November or February or March is ludicrous. How many people are going to come to Ann Arbor in the middle of the winter and hang out with gray skies and sit out on the sidewalk? That’s not going to happen, he said. “So let’s stop pretending we are some metropolis and that we’re going to compete with Chicago or all these other big conference-type facilities,” Kunselman cautioned. It’s not going to happen and we need to focus on what we can accomplish: staying with the city’s core services, and letting the private sector take care of its business.

Jack Eaton described his connection to Ann Arbor through his neighborhood association. “I became involved in local politics through my neighborhood organization. I’ve led a number of efforts in my neighborhood, and have helped other neighborhoods organize.” [He was an organizer of the A2 Neighborhood Alliance.] He stated: “I believe that Ann Arbor is a special town and we [have the] obligation of taking good care of it and working on the small problems. It doesn’t require radical changes to our zoning or our town to keep what is special about it.”

Sabra Briere said: “What makes Ann Arbor special is why we are all here. … I’m here because of the people who live here. I am here because of the different ideas that they bring to my dining room table and talk to me about, and because I am made richer by those contacts.”

Kirk Westphal had described in his opening remarks how he had moved with his wife to Ann Arbor in 2004. In his closing remarks, he told the audience how they came to move to Ann Arbor. When they were thinking about making a change from New York City, they’d approached it like “some of those people you read about” who figured out where they want to live first, and then went about trying to make a life there. And Ann Arbor was at the top of his short list, Westphal said. He admitted he was “kind of obsessed” with the top-10 lists that you read about in magazines – in which Ann Arbor is frequently included.

Ann Arbor was attractive, because of what he’d read about it, Westphal said, including its progressive values – and the fact that it was Democratic “was noticed.” The fact that so much culture is here for a city this size was very important. Ann Arbor has exceeded his expectations, he said.

Westphal thinks this is a really exciting time for Ann Arbor. It seems that Ann Arbor is increasingly being mentioned in the same breath as some larger cities across the country – as a place that people who have other choices can locate their business and move to. He continued: “I think that we can set our sights even higher. It will never be Chicago nor should we ever strive to be a large city …”

But Westphal felt that he’d been able to offer some interesting perspectives in his service on the Ann Arbor planning commission. The city must plan for the people who are here now, and serve the people who are here, he said. But a city only thrives when we think about the next generation and what is motivating people to make it a great place to be. He’d played the role on the planning commission of an outsider, and was always thinking about: Why did I move here?

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Vresics is a University of Michigan student who is affiliated with the Mixed Use Party. The Mixed Use Party stresses land-use and zoning as key to environmental preservation and legal equality. The website for the party indicates the desire to “create a new zoning code, abolish tax increment financing, legalize victimless crimes, and look for other ways to improve the city.”

So far Vresics is the only potential challenger to Briere, who pulled petitions in February but has not yet filed the required 100 valid signatures. Briere, who was first elected in 2007, has included zoning and land-use issues as part of her focus during her time on the council. Since November 2012, she has served as the city council appointee to the city planning commission.

Also this week, two candidates have filed petitions in other ward races for the Aug. 6, 2013 Democratic primary election. Ward 4 incumbent Marcia Higgins and first-time candidate Julie Grand, who’s running in Ward 3, both filed more than the required 100 petitions on April 29, which were subsequently validated by the city clerk’s office this week.

Ward 3 incumbent Stephen Kunselman, who will be challenged by Grand, had filed valid petitions on March 8.

Several other candidates have pulled petitions, but not yet filed them with the city clerk. Those include Jack Eaton in Ward 4, Kirk Westphal in Ward 2, and Ward 5 incumbent Mike Anglin. Westphal is likely to face incumbent Ward 2 councilmember Jane Lumm, who was elected in 2011 as an independent.

The deadline to submit petitions for the August primary – with at least 100 valid signatures – is May 14. The deadline for filing petitions in non-primary races is Aug. 7.