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

Arts Alliance executive director Deb Polich. (Photos by Dave Askins.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ann Arbor Mayor

Three of the four Democrats running for Ann Arbor mayor attended the July 23 forum: Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen and Christopher Taylor. Not attending the 8:30 a.m. event was Stephen Kunselman. All candidates completed the Arts Alliance survey. [.pdf of Briere survey response] [.pdf of Kunselman survey response] [.pdf of Petersen survey response] [.pdf of Taylor survey response]

There are no Republicans in this race. In November, one independent candidate – Bryan Kelly – will face the winner of the Democratic primary. Kelly attended the Arts Alliance forum, but did not complete the survey.

Ann Arbor Mayor: Opening Statement – Sabra Briere

Sabra Briere said it had been interesting to sit in the audience and listen to what other candidates had to say, as well as being “part of the show.”

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate Sabra Briere.

Art is both passive and active, she said. One person can create a score, a play or a piece of visual art. Some people can work with that one person – as a crew, as a band, as a cast – to create something bigger. But many people enjoy art in a passive way, by going to a lecture or a gallery. She’d like to see more people in the second type of group, rather than the passive group.

There’s no doubt that public art, private art and creativity all create an opportunity for economic development, and that’s important, she said. But what’s more important to her is community development. “I want to see people engaged in creativity, because the more people who are engaged in this, the greater the opportunity they have to enrich their lives.” Being a passive audience is good, but being a participant in art is better, she said.

A decade ago, an artist envisioned a bright yellow line across an uneven surface, Briere recalled. And dozens of community members showed up at The Arb to plant over 10,000 daffodils. It was work, and it was wet, she said. “But it was an act of anticipation.” There wasn’t immediate gratification – you had to spend months waiting for those daffodils to bloom. She’d bet that many of the people who planted those daffodils go back every year to see how that line has changed. They go back to see where it’s gotten fuzzy, because the daffodils have spread, and where it’s nearly disappeared because it was too shady. “This is what I want to see happen in our community – more community building, strengthening our relationships with each other.”

Ann Arbor Mayor: Opening Statement – Bryan Kelly

Bryan Kelly told the audience that this was the first time he’s addressed an audience as a mayoral candidate. He’s a novelist, having studied writing at the University of Michigan.

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate (November general election) Bryan Kelly.

“I can say firsthand that being an artist is the toughest damn job in the world. I’d rather run for mayor than keep writing novels.” He joked that he might drop out of the race and move to Ypsilanti to vote for Tyrone Bridges, because he liked everything that Bridges had to say. [Bridges, an Ypsilanti mayoral candidate, spoke earlier in the event.]

Kelly liked the idea of an art auction, saying that’s a reasonable application of what the city government can do. There’s a long history of scholarship that calls into question whether the public sector should support the arts, he said, based on the idea that the public would be subsidizing one artist over another.

“And it’s not always the case that politicians are the best determiners of what is good art,” he said. “I think the public is, and the people are.” He said he might have some uncomfortable responses to questions that were posed at this forum.

He said that “art begins with the individual and not with funding. You can have all the funding in the world, but if you don’t have artists, you don’t have art.”

Ann Arbor Mayor: Opening Statement – Sally Petersen

Sally Petersen began by talking about her family’s commitment to art. She and her husband, Tim Petersen, have supported FestiFools since it started, she said – “Mark Tucker had us at ‘hello.’” Her husband is a board member of the University Musical Society, and she’s a past board member of the Ann Arbor Art Center, and she’s about to begin her third term on the board of the Neutral Zone, a nonprofit for teens.

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate Sally Petersen.

Petersen had three points. The first related to economic development. When she started on city council, she quickly learned that even though the council had made economic development a budget priority, the city has no economic development staff and only makes a $75,000 allocation to Ann Arbor SPARK for job creation.

And SPARK is very focused on technology jobs, she noted. As mayor, Petersen would focus on job creation in all sectors that do well in Ann Arbor, including arts and culture. She reported that the Americans for the Arts have said that nationally, 4.4% of the companies in the country are in the arts and creative sector. In Washtenaw County, that number is higher – at 5.3%, she said. But nationally, 2.1% of jobs are in that sector, compared to only 1.8% in Washtenaw County. So there’s room to grow here in terms of jobs in the arts sector, she said.

Her second point related to public-private partnerships. Grand Rapids has ArtPrize. So Ann Arbor gets compared to Grand Rapids all the time, she noted, but it’s important to remember that ArtPrize is privately funded. She spent the first five years of her business career in Columbus, Indiana, working for Cummins Engine, which made significant investments in public art in that community. [As one example of public art in that southern Indiana city of about 45,000 people is the sculpture by Henry Moore that stands in front of the public library, which was designed by I.M. Pei.] In Ann Arbor, there’s Sonic Lunch that’s supported by the Bank of Ann Arbor, she said. Neutral Zone’s annual Live on Washington event has lots of private-sector donations. “To me, it feels like the appetite for public expression of art through private donations is pretty healthy in Ann Arbor. We just need to leverage that more as the economy improves.”

Finally, Petersen said it’s important to keep a pulse on the public attitude toward art. The city’s Percent for Art program didn’t resonate with the majority of citizens in Ann Arbor, she said, “and we saw that in 2012 when the public art millage failed.” She said she had supported that millage. As the economy improves, if the city leverages public-private partnerships and creates more jobs in the arts, “we can change the public attitudes towards art so that perhaps in the future, a millage will actually work.”

Petersen concluded by reminding the audience of Ann Arbor Art Center’s motto: “Where creativity and community meet.” This inclusive nature about art is what she’d promote as mayor, Petersen said.

Ann Arbor Mayor: Opening Statement – Christopher Taylor

Art and the arts are important to him as an individual, Christopher Taylor said. Ever since his seventh grade teacher realized that he could carry a tune, arts have been a part of his daily life. He attended the University of Michigan on a music scholarship, and he has a degree in vocal performance. “And like of course many aspiring opera singers, I’m now a lawyer,” he joked. He works at the law firm of Hooper Hathaway on Main Street in Ann Arbor.

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate Christopher Taylor.

He noted that the arts play an important role in economic development, as others have mentioned. Several candidates have also mentioned the importance of the arts to children, and it’s true that the arts couldn’t be more effective in “helping raise good little people.” But he said he wanted to expand on something that Briere had mentioned – the role of arts in the community. The creation of art by the people of Ann Arbor is important to people’s quality of life and sense of being and place, he said, and to their engagement with one another.

With “all profound respect” to the city’s professional arts organizations like the Arts Alliance, Michigan Theater and UMS, Taylor said, people’s day-to-day lives are most profoundly affected by things like the Water Hill Music Fest, the Burns Park Players and Thurston Community Players. These are events where people come together with common purpose to create something that’s meaningful and personal, that creates connections among neighbors, Taylor said.

They create lifelong friendships, and a “third place” where people can come when they’re not at work or home. As mayor, he’d love to help propagate and expand these kinds of things. If he were mayor, people in the arts would know that they had a true friend and ally and advocate in the mayor’s office, he said. “What you needed, what you could dream of, what you can imagine a mayor could do – ask, and I’ll do everything I can to get it done.”

Ann Arbor Mayor Q&A: What is your position on public art in Ann Arbor? What elements are necessary to make a public art program successful?

Bryan Kelly: Public art in Ann Arbor could be better, he said. Some of it makes him scratch his head. As a novelist, “I don’t understand physical art….it needs to have words on it.” But if a painting or other type of physical art has words on it, he added, “it usually undermines its purpose.”

Sabra Briere: Briere said she supports public art in Ann Arbor in a lot of different ways. She supports art that’s a physical manifestation – a sculpture or fountain – but she also supports public art that’s a performance. That includes band performances, plays in The Arb and West Park, and “the mimes that occasionally show up at my table.” Art challenges her and makes her think, “and thinking is always a wonderful thing.”

A successful public art program comes from a combination of resources at the governmental level, and creativity bubbling up from the people, Briere said. She supports opening city hall to temporary exhibits of art, and opening up the city parks to temporary exhibits of art. Other ideas include holding a plein air painting contest for amateurs in the park, or closing Main Street for a play to be performed. “I think you can do lots of creative things with art in public, without it becoming something where the public feels bad art is forced on them.” As mayor, she’d do her best to make sure many of these things happen, and she’s open to other creative ideas that include a small amount of financial or staff support, opening up the creative world to a large number of people. She noted that there’s never been a single piece of art displayed in public that someone doesn’t think is bad.

Christopher Taylor: “I support public art – full stop.” It’s important for the city to invest in and advocate for the arts, he said. Public art programs are most successful when residents believe – and when it is factually true – that their other needs are being addressed, he added. “Being satisfied? Who’s ever satisfied? But when the city is making an earnest and consistent effort, that is appreciated and understood by the residents.” This is what allows a public art program to thrive in a political culture and political environment, he said.

The city failed in its initial effort to support public art through the Percent for Art program, Taylor said. It was insufficiently resourced from the staff side, and the public art commission was given a set of tasks with insufficient tools, he said, so it didn’t work out. Integrating public art design into city capital projects on a project-by-project basis is the best way to move forward. If elected mayor, his votes will reflect the fact that he believes public art to be a value. If a new play structure in a park will cost X without art and enhanced design, but will cost X plus Y – “where Y is reasonable” – with art or expanded design, then he’d support that.

Sally Petersen: Regarding her attitude toward public art, it’s really about priorities, Petersen said. “I’m still kind of shrugging my shoulders over a discussion we had at the council table on Monday night.” The council voted 8-2 to inquire about acquiring two more pieces of property for the parks system. She reported that she and mayor John Hieftje were on the losing side. There are 158 parks – does the city need two more? She characterized one property as swampland, and the other parcel as unbuildable. So the question is about priorities.

The city has only $57,000 allocated for community events, and she’d rather double that budget so that the city could support events like FestiFools. The economic development allocation is only for $75,000 – and that’s for technology jobs, she noted. [That amount is for the contract the city has with Ann Arbor SPARK.] She’d like to double that as well, so that the city could support job creation in other sectors, including the creative sector. “So again, it’s a matter of priorities,” she said.

Ann Arbor Mayor Q&A: What’s your favorite public art in Ann Arbor?

Bryan Kelly: There’s some decent graffiti in town – under the train bridge at Argo Pond, for example.

Sabra Briere: Her favorite piece of public art is the sculpture in Hanover Square, at the corner of Packard and Division. It’s a set of cascading books. [The piece by Ronald Bauer is titled "Arbor Sapientiae."] Briere said she likes it when it’s wet – it makes noise when it’s raining, and it’s fascinating to see what the artist did. “A lot of people don’t get it, but being a book person, I like it.” Her second favorite piece of public art is on the University of Michigan campus – a fountain at the Kellogg Eye Center that was locally designed.

Christopher Taylor: He works on Main Street and has affection for the artwork on the Fourth & Washington parking structure. [The structure includes "Urban Configurations" by Irina Koukhanova and untitled stoneware panels by Barron Naegel and Yiu-Keung Lee.] Taylor said he loves the “big sculpture with the swing” in front of the UM Museum of Art. [Mark di Suvero's "Shang."] His kids love the sound of it and love interacting with it.

Sally Petersen: Her definition of art is broad, and she’s a huge fan of FestiFools. “It is where community and creativity meet,” she said, so that’s her favorite expression of art in Ann Arbor. She values its inclusive nature. Petersen said she also likes art that’s functional, like the mosaic tile on the Fourth & Washington parking structure [a mural by Michael Hall]. She also spends a lot of time running through Gallup Park, and there’s a playground with a climbing structure in the shape of a frog. Art that’s functional makes a lot of sense to her, Petersen said.

Ann Arbor Mayor Q&A: Comment on the notion that Ann Arbor is being surpassed by other Michigan communities as a creative destination in Michigan.

Sally Petersen: Grand Rapids is probably one of those communities that has surpassed Ann Arbor, Petersen said. They have a lot of private funding for the arts. That city also has a city income tax, she noted. In Ann Arbor, about 68,000 people come into the city each day for work, she said, so the population of Ann Arbor increases by a third during the workweek. If Ann Arbor had an income tax, the state sets the level, she said – a half percent for out-of-towners, and one percent for people who live and work here. For Ann Arbor residents, the current city operations millage would be eliminated, she noted.

When the city looked at a possible income tax in 2009, the net gain was $12 million. Petersen thought the first priority would be repairing the roads, but it might free up other areas of the budget to invest in the arts. “It’s kind of a crazy thing to say – I’m running for mayor, and I want to consider a city income tax? What a crazy thing to run on! But at the same time, it lessens the tax burden for all of Ann Arbor.” It would shift part of the tax burden onto people who are coming from out of town, who are also using the city’s resources, she said.

Sabra Briere: Ann Arbor is best known for performance art – music and vocal art – and is less known for visual art, she said. In the past five years, a lot of people have asked why the city needs to put money into visual art, she added, because the university does that already. As a mechanism for becoming economically healthier, other communities are turning to art and to the expression of the human soul – while Ann Arbor is getting just a little bit more pragmatic and saying “Just fix the roads.” In order to be healthy, to be a growing, vibrant, exciting community, Ann Arbor needs to do both, Briere said. We need to figure out what an expression of the city’s artistic soul may be, she added, and she’d like to see that expression as a community that works together to create art.

Christopher Taylor: Taylor said he didn’t think it was necessarily true that other communities are surpassing Ann Arbor. Grand Rapids receives a great deal of notoriety for ArtPrize. “If any of the local billionaires in the audience are interested helping out in this regard, I think we could certainly move the bar a little bit on that one,” he joked. But it’s true that there’s a competitive environment, he said, and Ann Arbor needs to move forward and be better at what it does, and to advocate for the creative sector.

He’d like to see the community propagate and support organizations that want to put on events throughout the city, whether it’s in neighborhoods or downtown. The city has a role there. Also, the city owns a lot of land, including some land that city officials are considering selling. Taylor said he’d be interested in entertaining the possibility of workspace for artists, where appropriate, if a practical proposal is brought forward. It’s a community value, and would help move any misconception about Ann Arbor’s friendliness for arts to the side, he said.

Bryan Kelly: “This is easy,” Kelly said. “Over my dead body. I’d dare any city to be more artistic.” Being more artistic comes down to the individuals that a city attracts, and he takes very seriously the part of the city charter that defines the mayor as the ceremonial head of the city. That’s part of the reason why he was attracted to run for mayor. He intends to be symbolic, as a candidate “who has not found success in their creative life,” but who is able to apply his talents to running for mayor and share a commonality with the artistic experience. “And I’m not going to Grand Rapids to buy any art,” he quipped. “I’ll buy from a neighbor first.”

Ann Arbor Mayor Q&A: It sounds as if candidates don’t see a significant role for city government funding for the arts via the city’s general fund. Why is that?

Bryan Kelly: The public arts millage wasn’t approved by voters, he noted. And as Briere had pointed out, there will always be people who hate a public presentation of art. So what the city is dealing with is the fallout from the millage. Personally, Kelly said, he’s dealing with the question of whether the public sphere should take the primary role in supporting the arts – or should it be individuals and the private sector.

Christopher Taylor: Taylor said he’s very much in favor of public support of art. At the council table, he said, he’s been a strong supporter for funding public art, and he’s supporting the new public art program that integrates art into enhanced design of city capital projects. The city needs to expand its support of community events, and many of those events are arts-based. The city provides support to the original Street Art Fair, he said, through a direct subsidy. The city also supports the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Taylor said. He didn’t know whether the city has a role at this point in directly supporting performing arts organizations. The city needs to continue to support the infrastructure and underlying environment where these programs can prosper, he said.

Sabra Briere: Briere noted that she, Petersen and Taylor had all helped rewrite the public art ordinance and removed the Percent for Art concept. Now, the ordinance includes the concept of “baking in” art into capital improvement projects. That allows the city to designate some types of capital improvement to be enhanced by more architectural design, or including art in the design of the project from the beginning – not slapped on as an afterthought. “If you don’t hear a dedication to spending money on public art, it’s not that we aren’t dedicated,” she said. It’s something they might not talk about explicitly because they’ve already thought about it and committed to supporting public art. “We give money to cultural events, though not enough. But we all care about public art.”

Sally Petersen: Petersen addressed the issue of why the city’s general fund doesn’t have a larger line item for public art. “I think it comes back to the current appetite for public dollars for public art.” For a variety of reasons, the Percent for Art approach didn’t work in Ann Arbor, she said. The councilmembers who are running for mayor worked on a task force to transition the program to become part of capital improvements, and to crowdfund public art projects as well, she noted. She thinks there’s an appetite for crowdfunding from the private sector for public art. “I think we need to see some examples of positive art – positive public art that’s privately funded.” If the private sector gets on board, that might “water the soil” for the public coming forward. She’d like to see another try at a public art millage. The time might not be now, but it might be four years from now, she said. “If we can rely on private-sector partners first, maybe we can sow the seeds for that in the future.”

Ann Arbor City Council

Four candidates for Ann Arbor city council attended the July 23 forum: Don Adams, Kirk Westphal, Julie Grand and Chuck Warpehoski.

Ann Arbor City Council: Opening Statements – Don Adams

Don Adams is running for a seat in Ward 1 currently held by Sumi Kailasapathy, who is seeking re-election. Both are Democrats. Kailasapathy did not attend the forum, but did complete the candidate survey. [.pdf of Kailasapathy survey response] Adams did not turn in the survey.

Ann Arbor Ward 1 city council candidate Don Adams.

Adams said that if elected, he’d like to see the council work with the creative sector more to improve art. Art is something that’s close to his heart. The council can help attract and retain talent to the city. Artists can bring a vibrant community together. Some people say it would attract young talent, but Adams noted that older people love art as well. He pointed out that Debbie Dingell, in her remarks earlier in the forum, had mentioned the STEM (science technology engineering math) approach to education. At Northside Elementary, which his two daughters attend, the program is STEAM – adding art into the mix.

Adams also talked about how art can work with rehab. He’s on the board of directors at the Eisenhower Center, where they work with people who have traumatic brain injuries, including veterans. There’s a music therapist who works with the patients and gets good results, he said. They had an art therapist student too, but she recently finished her degree and moved on. At their Manchester campus, there’s an art therapy program with ceramics, drawing and painting, and a woodshop. Art and rehab is something he holds dear to his heart.

In conclusion, Adams noted that his seven-year-old daughter’s artwork was hung at the Ann Arbor District Library. “So she is now officially a published artist.”

Ann Arbor City Council: Opening Statements – Kirk Westphal

Kirk Westphal is running against Nancy Kaplan in Ward 2. There’s no incumbent in this race. Both candidates are Democrats, and no Republicans are running this year. Kaplan did not attend the forum, but both candidates completed the Arts Alliance survey. [.pdf of Westphal survey response] [.pdf of Kaplan survey response]

Ann Arbor Ward 2 city council candidate Kirk Westphal.

When his family talks about the arts, Westphal said, his wife literally and figuratively steals the show – she was a Broadway music director who’s now a professor with the University of Michigan musical theater department. He encouraged people to attend the department’s productions, saying “it’s the best value ticket in town.”

Westphal told the audience that he’s an urban planner. His job includes creating educational documentaries about cities and different aspects of urban life. His latest one is based in Ann Arbor, called “Ride ‘Round A2.” It focuses on bus and bike commuting.

The role of the creative sector in this community is absolutely about art objects and entertainment venues, Westphal said. But in the bigger picture, it has to do with creative problem-solving and creativity in different industries. It’s a core competency in today’s economy – whether you’re an artist or an engineer or an architect, creative problem-solving is important, and the arts play a major role in that.

Last year, the Knight Foundation completed a major study, interviewing more than 40,000 people over a three-year period in small to mid-sized cities nationwide. The purpose was to find out what the drivers are for growing people’s affection for their community, he said – what makes people love a city and stay there. The three major drivers were the city’s aesthetics, its social offerings, and its openness. “Now if the creative industry can’t tackle these items, I don’t know who can.”

So how can Ann Arbor leverage and strengthen the talent and organizations that the city has now? First, the city needs an arts and culture master plan, Westphal said. Unless the community can describe what it wants and where – and come up with something that can be measured, documented, and inventoried – it’s much less likely to happen. Creating a master plan would be a great opportunity to talk about what the community values. Another strategy is to empower people to make creativity happen now, he said. There are tens of thousands of people in this community who voted to tax themselves to make public art happen, he noted. [This was a reference to those who voted for the unsuccessful 2012 millage proposal.] “So where are they now, and where’s their money?” Let them envision where they’d like to invest and then let them build it, he said.

This is a conversation that needs to keep happening – and not just during an election, Westphal said. As a city councilmember, he’d help facilitate an ongoing dialogue with the community and artists.

[Regarding the master plan, five years ago the Arts Alliance had developed a cultural master plan for Washtenaw County, with customized "working plans" for several local population centers, including Ann Arbor. Deb Polich, the Arts Alliance executive director, reported that "we're ready to dust it off" and refresh it next spring.]

Ann Arbor City Council: Opening Statements – Julie Grand

Julie Grand is one of three Democrats running for Ward 3 city council. There is no incumbent for this seat. Other candidates are Samuel McMullen and Bob Dascola, who did not attend the forum or complete the Arts Alliance survey. [.pdf of Grand survey response]

Ann Arbor Ward 3 city council candidate Julie Grand.

As a parent, Grand sees how her own kids get out their emotions through art – “even if it’s sometimes an X over my face when they don’t like what they hear.” She shared a personal anecdote that she said reflected the community’s relationship with art. She was a dancer from kindergarten through college, and taught dance in high school. Her last performances were in Philadelphia. When she came to Ann Arbor for grad school, she thought she’d keep dancing. She went to the dance department and was told that she wasn’t in the right kind of shape. “So since I was too fat to dance, I stopped.” Grand said she wasn’t trying to engender sympathy, but wanted to point out that it takes a lot of courage to participate in the creative sector. “You have to be willing to put yourself out there to an often anonymous and unkind public.” It’s really easy to abandon a focus on the arts and turn to other priorities, she said.

Similarly, it takes a lot of courage to stand up for public funding of the arts, Grand said. There’s that unkind and anonymous public out there, who would rather see the city spend its money elsewhere. It’s really easy to use the small amount of funding that’s spent on arts as a scapegoat, instead of coming up with real solutions to things like roads and sewers, “which have nothing to do with the arts.”

Grand said she didn’t want to preach to the choir, but from her perspective, the city council can take several actions to help bring the community back to an appreciation and support of the arts. Residents want projects that are smaller in scale, she said, so that’s important. The city also needs to have projects that are unrestricted in theme. “The site should dictate the art, not the funding source.” Residents also really want to support local artists, Grand said. The city needs to do a better job of reaching out to the creative sector. She’d also like to see more opportunities for temporary art that can provide exposure for lots of local artists. The city should promote and provide funding for festivals so that everyone in the community can get exposure to the arts. It contributes to the unique character of this community. Ann Arborites also want to see projects that are accessible, Grand said – not just in the downtown, but in parks, libraries, along the Huron River and elsewhere. The city needs to think about public-private partnerships, as well as partnerships with educational institutions and nonprofits.

Grand pointed out that John Kotarski, vice chair of the city’s public art commission, was in the audience. He has lots of wonderful ideas, she said. Six months was not enough time for the art commission to “turn that process around,” and she’d like to see it reversed. [Responding to a follow-up query from The Chronicle, Grand said she was referring to the defunding of public art and lack of staff support for the public art commission.]

Ann Arbor City Council: Opening Statements – Chuck Warpehoski

Democrat Chuck Warpehoski is running for a second term representing Ward 5. [.pdf of Warpehoski survey response] Leon Bryson will appear on the Ward 5 Democratic primary ballot, but is not campaigning and announced his intent to withdraw from that race.

Warpehoski delivered his statement in verse:

I’m a politician
I’m not a poet
And here with the Arts Alliance
I don’t wanna blow it

When I think of about the role of arts
Here in our city
It’s about more than just trying
to make things pretty

While we wring our hands 
talking about economic health
the creative sector's a source
of true community wealth

As we rebuild
this great Great Lakes state
we can't do the old things
we have to innovate

And create places
where people want to be
sounds like a job for the arts
if you ask me

Nobody chooses a city
about our sewer drains
Or the miles and miles of
new water mains

Those are important
we have to get them right
but curb and gutter work
doesn’t bring anybody delight

And the kids, man, the kids
Tyrone said it – the kids
corporate culture has them tuning out
watching YouTube vids

Better to nurture
Their creative expression
that's a much more healthy
fulfilling lifelong obsession

You don’t just have to receive
and passively watch
You can create – to do so
is our most fundamental human trait

The arts here in town
They have some challenges
That’s no lie
Studio rents are too damn high

Maybe you wait tables
and do art on the side
I want Ann Arbor to be a place
where you can reside

So whether you sculpt
or dance or sing
We need more 
and affordable workforce housing

So what can you expect
If I'm re-elected?
Funding for the arts
will be protected

From Top of the Park
to FoolMoon in the dark
or that great new mural
Down in Allmendinger Park

But there’s a limit
To what the government can do
That’s why to succeed 
We need all of you

You keep creating
We’ll keep debating
Let’s hope the outcome
invigorating

Hey, I’m a politician
I’m not a poet
But Ann Arbor is art town
I want you to know it.

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Ann Arbor City Council Q&A: The public art commission is taking a hiatus as the program goes through some restructuring. What message do you have for the art commission and the broader arts community in terms of next steps for the program?

Chuck Warpehoski: There was a fight to get funding to hire an arts administrator to help move to the next stage, he said. The city had put a lot of responsibility on the public art commission without giving them the support they need.

Ann Arbor Ward 5 city council incumbent Chuck Warpehoski.

Now, the city has lined up funds to get a professional arts coordinator to provide that support. “Where that’s gonna go? I don’t know – we’re still figuring that out.” But having institutional support will be vital, he said.

The public art commission has done great work, but if residents want this to be a priority for the city, they need to be involved, and encourage their friends and neighbors to get involved too. That’s important to build support for the arts, he noted, “because the fight to get the funding for the arts administrator was a real fight, and without your support, it’s going to get harder and harder.”

Kirk Westphal: Westphal said he’d echo Warpehoski’s sentiments. “This is a bottom-up fight for culture in our community. We cannot just offload it onto our politicians and our commissioners.” People need to communicate with their elected leaders about what they want. People love Ann Arbor for the culture it has, and “we have to keep infusing it with more.” It takes being proactive action from the bottom up – from citizens asking for it. We need to support the existing institutions and public art commissioners, “and we need more people under the tent.” There are a lot of different tastes in town, and different tolerances for how the city spends money – “so let’s get those ideas together, and expand the people in charge of this process.”

Julie Grand: With due respect to the councilmembers who worked on restructuring the Percent for Art program, Grand said, the public art commission had some really innovative ideas and she was profoundly disappointed when their funding and staff support was taken away. This process can’t happen in six months, she said. The commission was looking to incorporate best practices, and to go through a stronger community input process – which she supports whenever the city is dealing with complex issues. “We can’t expect that private donors are just going to fall out of the sky,” she said. It takes time to build those relationships. She’d be in favor of allowing the public art commission to do its work, and would like to be supportive of their recommendations.

Don Adams: Adams agreed with the other candidates, telling the creative sector that “you’ll always have a seat at my table.” He’s willing to work with the arts community to see how they can make things better. It won’t happy overnight, he said, but he’s willing to work on it.

Ypsilanti Mayor

Tyrone Bridges was the only Democratic mayoral candidate for the city of Ypsilanti who attended the July 23 forum. The other candidates are Amanda Edmonds and Peter Murdock. None of the candidates filled out the Arts Alliance survey. There are no Republicans in this race.

Ypsilanti Mayor: Opening Statement

Tyrone Bridges told the audience that he’s a 45-year-old single parent who’s been an artist for many years.

Tyrone Bridges is running for mayor of Ypsilanti. He brought a piece of artwork drawn by his son.

It started in the late 1970s when he was a breakdance artist. He joked that if there was more room, “I’d cut a little rug for you.” As an African American growing up in a home with abuse, he used art to escape. “Art was the closest thing that I had as a friend,” he said. Most people didn’t think he had artistic abilities, “but I can pretty much draw anything I can see.” God gives us artist ability and energy, he said.

As a single parent with a 15-year-old child, Bridges said he taught his son how to draw. His son was selected out of a group of 40 students to present his art to the public for an auction, he reported.

He’d brought the drawing to the July 23 forum, and showed it to the audience – a colorful Celtic knot. “My son took colors and made beauty.” This is what makes Washtenaw County powerful, he said – our colorful community, and our ability to share beauty. “We are some beautiful people created by God,” he said. He thanked God for giving him the ability to show his child how to be creative instead of being destructive.

As mayor of Ypsilanti, he’d work with the Arts Alliance on a countywide art competition for all students.

Ypsilanti Mayor Q&A: What’s your favorite piece of public art in Ypsilanti?

Bridges said he didn’t have a favorite piece of public art, but he always creates art in his spare time. God is always reaching down for you when you fall, just like parents picking up their children when they fall, he said. “Our communities should reach down and pick up our youth.” As mayor, Bridges said he would inspire more youth to be creative instead of destructive.

Ypsilanti Mayor Q&A: What would be your top public policy change as mayor, to support the creative sector?

Bridges said he didn’t know much about the policies in Ypsilanti, but as mayor, he’d have leverage to do some things. He’d love to bring all artists in the county together. In Ypsilanti, he’d like to do an art challenge for students. The city could do fundraisers and find matching grants, he said. Elected officials need to eliminate the word “can’t” from their vocabulary.

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners

Five candidates for the Washtenaw County board of commissioners attended the July 23 forum: Felicia Brabec, Wilma Gold-Jones, Ruth Ann Jamnick, Andy LaBarre and Yousef Rabhi.

Washtenaw County Commissioners: Opening Statements – Felicia Brabec

Felicia Brabec, a Democrat from Pittsfield Township, is the incumbent representing District 4 on the county board. She is unchallenged in the primary, and faces Republican Stanley Watson on Nov. 4. [.pdf of Brabec survey response] Watson did not attend the forum or complete the Arts Alliance survey.

Democrat Felicia Brabec, a Democrat from Pittsfield Township, is the incumbent representing District 4 on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners.

Brabec said she’s lucky that she grew up as an arts lover because of her parents. Her mom was an educator, and during many summers there was always one day a week when her family would go on excursions – to places like museums or concerts. Brabec and her husband try to encourage an appreciation of arts in their own children. She brought her son to the forum, and on the way over he asked what she planned to talk about. She reminded him of how they look for Sluggo and Philomena – characters by chalk artist David Zinn. “That’s part of our family culture,” she said.

At the county, there are some opportunities to support arts and culture. They can hang work by local artists and children in the county buildings, she said. The county also runs camps for kids, and being able to support arts education is a way to make a difference. It’s an important connection to make between arts and the community. Brabec also mentioned the revenue raised by levying a countywide Act 88 millage – a portion of that is used to invest in cultural preservation. She would continue to support that endeavor. The county also partners with local municipalities, she noted. District 4 includes Pittsfield Township, which recently installed its first public art piece at the township hall. She encouraged people to come out and see it.

Brabec concluded by reading a quote attributed to John F. Kennedy: “If arts is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” Her hope is to support all local artists, to see where our community can go.

Washtenaw County Commissioners: Opening Statements – Wilma Gold-Jones

Wilma Gold-Jones is one of four Democrats running for District 5, which covers Augusta Township and part of Ypsilanti Township south of I-94.

Wilma Gold-Jones is one of four Democrats running for District 5, which covers Augusta Township and part of Ypsilanti Township south of I-94.

Other Democratic candidates are Ruth Ann Jamnick, Victor Dobrin and Keith Jason. The winner of the primary will face Republican Timothy King in November. The current commissioner from that district, Democrat Rolland Sizemore Jr., is not seeking re-election. Gold-Jones did not complete the Arts Alliance survey.

Art is an educational tool, Gold-Jones said. Kids learn their creativity in school and are energized when they’re allowed to express themselves – through poetry, dance, music or other artistic ways. When she was a child, as an African American, she learned about her rich cultural heritage.

Learning about other cultures helps to dissipate fears and teaches people to appreciate each other. She said she’s not an artist, but she loves to dance.

Music is her way of expressing herself. She also likes to go to festivals and other arts and cultural events.

Washtenaw County Commissioners: Opening Statements – Ruth Ann Jamnick

Ruth Ann Jamnick is another Democrat running for the District 5 seat. [.pdf of Jamnick survey response]

Ruth Ann Jamnick is another Democrat running for the District 5 seat.

Jamnick began by saying she was born and raised in Ypsilanti, but graduated from St. Thomas school in Ann Arbor. In Ypsilanti Township, there’s a company called Sensitile that asked for a tax abatement to refurbish an old building. They do unique lighting for businesses and homes, she said. The township gave them a tax abatement, she reported.

So that’s one way that government can support businesses that are oriented “in a little bit of a different nuance than what most people think is art.”

Jamnick said she was probably the least “artist-type person” in the room. “My doodles are squares.” She’s been a volunteer for various organizations over the years, including the Heritage Festival and the Festival of Lights.

She would work with leaders in other communities to preserve historic buildings. In Augusta Township, for example, there are two hamlets that could be helped, she said. Funding is still tight, but she’s heartened that the state might be bringing back some deductions for the state income tax.

Washtenaw County Commissioners: Opening Statements – Andy LaBarre

Incumbent Democrat Andy LaBarre is running for a second two-year term to represent District 7 in Ann Arbor. [.pdf of LaBarre survey response] He’s unopposed in the primary, and faces Republican Joe Miriani in November. Miriani did not attend the forum or complete the Arts Alliance survey.

Incumbent Democrat Andy LaBarre is running for a second two-year term on the county board to represent District 7 in Ann Arbor.

LaBarre reported that on Monday night he was weeding his garden, and his mom came over to help. “As moms are wont to do, she was telling me a lot of things.” One of those things was a report that friends are coming to visit from London. His mom is meeting them in Chicago and on their way back to Ann Arbor, they’ll be stopping in Grand Rapids for an art festival. She told him that periodic interaction with the arts “recharges my soul.” And it does, he said. Brabec had done a good job in describing some of the ways that the county can support the arts, and he agrees with those. Sometimes people describe art as frivolous or not a basic function of government. “My pledge is that you’re not going to hear that from me.”

There are times when public money has to be spent on other things, but art itself is never a frivolous use of money or a waste of money. It connects you to who you are as a community, he said. To be honest, he added, the most he can do is to be open and receptive to ideas on how to expand the access to arts, and “how we can recharge souls.” That’s the job – don’t denigrate art, and try to promote it when they can, and be receptive to ways in which the arts affect people’s lives.

Washtenaw County Commissioners: Opening Statements – Yousef Rabhi

Yousef Rabhi is the incumbent Democrat in District 8, who current serves as chair of the county board of commissioners. The Ann Arbor resident is unopposed in the primary, and faces Republican Jeffrey Gallatin in November. Neither Rabhi nor Gallatin completed the Arts Alliance survey.

Ann Arbor resident Yousef Rabhi is the incumbent Democrat in District 8, who currently serves as chair of the county board of commissioners.

Rabhi said that for him, the definition of art is “the organic expression of the human spirit.” He feels that it’s essential to who we are as humans, and to who we are as a community. The founding of this country included the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, he noted. “What is the pursuit of happiness if you don’t have art?” So as a fundamental value for government, for communities and for our very being, he said, the importance of art should go without saying. He agreed with the things that Brabec and LaBarre had highlighted, but he wanted to highlight a couple of things that deserve “a little bit more watering of the roots.”

The county invests in the Washtenaw Area Teens for Tomorrow and other youth alliances, he said, to facilitate artistic expression like music, painting and sculpture. Every year, there’s a showcase of youth art and it’s a phenomenal event, he said. Access to art is an important thing, and investment is needed. Art shouldn’t be just for the wealthy – it should be for everyone. That’s why the investments on the east side of the county are important, Rabhi said.

Everyone should be able to be an artist, if that’s their calling. Part of this is a public campaign, he added, to convince the public that art is important. People should be reminded that everyone is an artist, and the role of government should be to create a community canvas where everyone can paint their expression of the human spirit.

Washtenaw County Commissioners Q&A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a countywide arts millage. Would you support it?

Yousef Rabhi: Rabhi joked that he always likes to talk about taxes. More revenue for art is a good thing. However, when thinking about a millage, it’s something the community has to support. A lot of effort and money would be spent on getting it passed, and that’s a challenge. “But if an arts millage is the way we want to go, then fine. I think that being strategic is important.” Rabhi said he’d advocate more strongly for finding new ways of funding local government in general, including art. “We’re being pinched at every corner.” It’s ridiculous that property taxes are the only way to fund local government in Michigan, and it’s limiting the ability to provide even basic services. Options might be a local sales tax, or a tax on special events – but those changes would need to happen at the state level, he noted. It’s important that state legislators understand that local government can’t continue by relying solely on millages.

Andy LaBarre: He wouldn’t support putting a countywide public art millage on the ballot in the next two to four years. He didn’t think it would pass, and it would be detrimental to efforts to pass possible millages for public safety or human services. But if it were on the ballot, “I’d vote for it,” he said. If the community wants to fund art locally, they need to look at what other tools exist or ask for new tools. He wished he would say that he absolutely supports a public arts millage, “but I think the ‘No’ crowd and the anti-government crowd is still strong.”

Ruth Ann Jamnick: She’d support a public arts millage, with the caveat that there should be a very clear distribution of funds. The county would need to tell people in each community how they’d get a share, and how it could be spent. Every community would want to know what’s going to come to their community, in terms of funding to enhance their quality of life. Ann Arbor is obviously the cultural center of Washtenaw County, she said, but outside of that, people would want to know what their community would get. So they’d need to be very careful about that.

Wilma Gold-Jones: She agreed with LaBarre about the need to convince the public that an arts millage would be for the greater good, when funding in general is very tight. Most creative energy comes through the schools, and through grants that leverage county funds. With that approach, it spills over into the community, she said. Gold-Jones agreed with Jamnick that each community would want to know what its share would be, and what it could fund. It’s important to look at this possibility and do their homework ahead of time, to make sure such a millage would provide the community with the best bang for their buck.

Felicia Brabec: Theoretically, she’d be in favor of an arts millage. However, she’d balance that with the reality of the county’s situation now. Other issues are on the table, including public safety and human services. It was helpful to hear some of the data in ArtServe’s Creative State report, Brabec said, but there are some other pressing needs. She’d try to balance those and ask constituents what they want. But in general, she agreed with Rabhi that more funding tools are needed.

Dexter Township Supervisor

Only one candidate from the townships attended the Arts Alliance forum – Democrat Michael Kundak-Cowall, who’s running for Dexter Township supervisor. [.pdf of Kundak-Cowall survey response] He is unchallenged in the primary, and in November will face the winner of the Republican primary – either Mark Wojno or Harley Rider. They did not attend the forum or complete the Arts Alliance survey.

Dexter Township Supervisor: Opening Statement

Michael Kundak-Cowall described Dexter Township “solidly rural,” located between Chelsea and Dexter but not including the village of Dexter.

Dexter Township supervisor candidate Michael Kundak-Cowall.

It has a population of about 6,000. The township budget currently has no money appropriated for the arts, he said. However, the township is home to a significant number of artists. Why? “First off, it’s just plain beautiful out there.” The township is at the edge of the Pinckney State Recreation Area, and there are several parks in the area. The infrastructure includes broadband access through Charter Communications, he noted. His neighbor is an oil painter, and the vocal music director for the Chelsea School District lives nearby.

To bring in more people, the township needs to improve its quality of life, Kundak-Cowall said. The township is on the edge of Detroit Edison’s energy grid, he said, so when power goes out, the township is usually among the last to get its power back. The vast majority of roads are unpaved, so whenever it rains there’s massive erosion and flooding, which sometimes makes the dirt roads impassable. A new substation is being built, which hopefully will improve the reliability of power, he said. The township is also doing what it can to help improve the roads, so you won’t have to renavigate the back roads when “part of the road is just kind of mysteriously washed away.”

So by spending less time taking care of your generator and less time trying to make sure the wheels of your car haven’t fallen off because of hitting a pothole, Kundak-Cowall said, you have more time to do what you want to do – whether it’s making art, or spending time with local artists.

Dexter Township Supervisor Q&A: As supervisor, are there concrete ways to support the local artists living in Dexter Township?

The township is currently running a budget surplus of about $200,000, Kundak-Cowall said. Some of that could be used for appropriations and grants, if the rest of the board agrees. That would be the most direct form. Right now the township hall is being renovated, and he’d appreciate art contributions for that. Most galleries in the area are in Dexter and Chelsea, outside of the township. The township appreciates all artists who contribute to the community, he said.

State Level Candidates

Three candidates at the state level attended the July 23 forum: Shari Pollesch, Gretchen Driskell and Jeff Irwin.

State Level Candidates: Opening Statement – Shari Pollesch

Democrat Shari Pollesch is running for a state Senate seat in District 22. The Livingston County resident is unchallenged in the August primary, and faces incumbent Republican Joe Hune on Nov. 4. Hune did not attend the July 23 forum.

Democrat Shari Pollesch is running for a state Senate seat in District 22.

The district covers Livingston County and western Washtenaw County, including the townships of Lyndon, Dexter, Webster, Northfield, Sylvan, Lima, Scio, Sharon, Freedom, Lodi, Manchester, Bridgewater, and Saline, as well as the villages of Dexter and Manchester, and the city of Chelsea. [.pdf of Pollesch survey responses] [.pdf of Hune survey responses]

Pollesch said she’s a strong believer in the arts in terms of education. Especially for at-risk kids, it’s one of the ways to keep them energized and interested in their education. She serves on the board of the Livingston County Concert Band, and they’ve talked about whether millages should be levied to help with the arts.

Any community that’s thriving is doing so in part because it has a thriving arts culture, she said. It’s the hallmark for quality of life. If elected, Pollesch said she’d support the arts and will continue to participate in the arts. “I’m much better at enjoying the arts than participation,” she joked, “but they let me play every week anyway.”

State Level Candidates: Opening Statement – Gretchen Driskell

Gretchen Driskell, a Saline resident, is the incumbent Democrat state Representative for District 52. She is unopposed in the Aug. 5 primary, and faces Republican John Hochstetler of Manchester in November.

Democrat Gretchen Driskell, state Representative for District 52, is seeking re-election.

Hochstetler did not attend the Arts Alliance forum or complete the candidate survey. District 52 covers the northern and western portions of Washtenaw County, including: the townships of Bridgewater, Dexter, Freedom, Lima, Lodi, Lyndon, Manchester, Northfield, Salem, Saline, Sharon, Sylvan and Webster; the cities of Chelsea and Saline; and portions of the city of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township and Scio Township. [.pdf of Driskell survey responses]

Driskell noted that she’s a freshman legislator and a former mayor of Saline. While serving as mayor, she started an arts & culture committee. She’s lived in this area for 26 years, and has served on various board and commissions that recognize the importance of arts and culture, including the economic importance. The creative sector attracts and retains people, she said. In the state legislature, she’s been working on two initiatives related to the arts. One is a bipartisan talent task force, and ArtServe had spoken to the group. It’s important to educate legislature about the importance of arts and culture. “There seems to be a huge disconnect,” she said, so that’s one thing she’s been working on.

The other effort Driskell cited is to increase investment in public education. Several school systems in District 52 are struggling, she noted, so more funding is needed. “Because as we all know, when education gets cut, they cut the things that they think are the soft things, which I strongly disagree with.”

State Level Candidates: Opening Statement – Jeff Irwin

Democrat Jeff Irwin is the incumbent state Representative for District 53, which covers the city of Ann Arbor. He is unopposed in the primary and will run against John Spisak in November. Neither Irwin or Spisak completed the Arts Alliance candidate survey.

District 53 state representative Jeff Irwin, an Ann Arbor Democrat, is seeking re-election.

Irwin focused on three priorities: money, marketing and education. He said that Driskell had done a good job identifying pressures on the education system. Ann Arbor has felt its fair share of those cuts, though the situation isn’t as bad here as elsewhere. The Lansing public schools cut all of their elementary school art teachers, he said, due to a lack of funding. The state needs to do a better job so that schools can focus on things like arts and culture that inspire kids to learn.

The second piece is marketing. The state spends a lot of money marketing economic development, Irwin said, but very little money marketing the economic development opportunities around the creative sector. If the Michigan Economic Development Corp. spent 10% of what they spent on marketing golf, and instead used that to market theaters and galleries, “I think our citizens would know a lot more about the excellent cultural offerings we have here in Michigan, and I think we’d get more bang for our buck.”

The final priority is money. At the end of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration and the depths of Michigan’s economic recession in 2008-2009, funding for the Michigan Council for the Arts was “beaten down to zero,” Irwin said. There’s been more support for the council in the past couple of state budgets, and if that trend continues, the funding will return to its former level and hopefully beyond, he said.

State Level Candidates Q&A: How would you make an argument for resources to support arts and culture, given that there are so many other pressing needs – from roads to education to social services?

Shari Pollesch: Arts and a thriving cultural community is the hallmark of our lifestyle, Pollesch said. “We can improve the roads – and god knows we need to improve the roads,” she added, “but people want more than roads.” We need to find a way to fund roads and education and the arts – it’s all one equation. “I would argue to find funding for all of it.” A millage might be one approach. She noted that other candidates – including Debbie Dingell and Jeff Irwin – touched on the fact that we don’t do a good job of promoting the arts as the reason why we’re living here, she said. “If we do a better job of selling these great amenities in our communities, people would be willing to fund it, if they know that the funding is being used responsibly.”

Gretchen Driskell: Part of attracting and retaining talent is quality of life, Driskell said, and that includes arts and culture at the top of the list. It’s important to educate state legislators about what quality of life means and how Michigan compares to other states, and why it’s an important investment at the state level. A recent report came out by Michigan Future Inc. that’s focused on prosperity, and compares Michigan to Minnesota. It specifically examines state policies, Driskell reported, and is very enlightening. The report looks at how investments are made for the public good – and arts and culture is a public good, she said. It’s an investment in quality of life, and helps attract and retain talent.

Jeff Irwin: When he advocates for these things in Lansing, he focuses mostly on what Driskell described – partially because that’s what Gov. Rick Snyder is saying and it’s an opportunity to work together and get something done. The argument for talent and economic development is a strong one. Irwin said he also makes arguments based on leveraging and proportionality. These types of investments bring a lot of bang for your buck. It’s something that people love and want to support in their community, so sometimes just a little public investment can be the foundation that private giving and volunteering can be built on. The argument of proportionality relates to spending in other areas, like education and roads. The state spends $15 billion each year on schools, and a little over $3 billion a year on roads – while the Michigan Council for the Arts struggles to reach $10 million in funding. Even if that funding were to increase by 50% or 100% to arts and cultural organizations, “it still would be pushing even a percent of what we’re putting into some of these bigger priorities.”

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Extract from Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority records of attendance at committee meetings. Scanned by The Chronicle.

A piece of legislation that would “modernize” Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act moved out of the House Oversight Committee.

Progress on that legislation will be interesting to track as the bill possibly makes its way into state law. [.pdf of HB 4001]

For now, I’d like to focus on just one clause of the proposed legislation. And I’d like to connect that to some otherwise unrelated dots, one of which is an upcoming Ann Arbor city council vote.

That vote – on an appointment to the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority – will take place either at the council’s next meeting on Nov. 18 or possibly at its following meeting on Dec. 2.

I’ll work backwards from the upcoming council decision.

Every year the post-election council votes, soon after being seated, to confirm membership of its own internal committees – and to make council appointments to other boards and commissions. That includes an appointment to the DDA board. Under city ordinance and state statute, the city administrator or the mayor can serve on the Ann Arbor DDA board. [1] For the period of John Hieftje’s long tenure as mayor, it’s been Hieftje, not the city administrator, who has filled that slot on the DDA board.

Some councilmembers might be looking for a objective, performance-based (i.e., non-political) reason to appoint city administrator Steve Powers to the DDA board, instead of Hieftje. Poor attendance by Hieftje at committee meetings over the last two years would be a possible candidate for that reason.

That’s because, according to the DDA’s bylaws, continuing membership on the DDA board is contingent on active board service. According to the bylaws, an objective measure of active service on the board includes 70% attendance at one of the board’s two standing committee meetings. [2] [.pdf of DDA bylaws as revised 2010]

And attendance records of those committee meetings for the past two fiscal years (from July 2011 to the present) do not reflect at least 70% attendance by Hieftje. In fact they don’t appear to indicate attendance by Hieftje at any of the committee meetings for that period. [3]

The connection to Michigan’s FOIA is the attendance records. The DDA produced those attendance records to The Chronicle in response to a request made under Michigan’s existing FOIA. Evaluating those attendance records was somewhat challenging, because they were kept as handwritten notes in less-than-model penmanship. [4]

The DDA responded to our request under the FOIA by making paper copies of the paper originals. That meets the minimum requirement of the state statute to produce copies of records. However, it does not meet the reasonable expectation for operation of a modern office – one that is equipped with a multi-purpose business machine that will scan to a .pdf file just as easily as it will make a paper copy.

The advantages of digital copies in the form of a .pdf file – compared to paper copies – are, I think, self-evident. So in responding to requests made under the FOIA, the DDA should be using the scanning functionality of its office machine and providing digital copies to requestors. The Chronicle should not need to use its time and resources to scan those documents as an extra, unnecessary step in the process. [.pdf of DDA committee attendance records, scanned by The Chronicle]

But Michigan’s current FOIA does not provide an explicit way to force a public body to use digital technology to copy records when responding to requests made under the FOIA.

And that’s the connection to the final dot. The “modernized” version of Michigan’s FOIA that moved out of committee last week includes this clause: “The requestor may stipulate that the requested records be provided on digital media, electronically mailed, or otherwise electronically provided to him or her in lieu of paper copies.”

According to a Sarah Schillio, legislative director for Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-53) of Ann Arbor, it was Irwin’s work with other representatives that resulted in the added language allowing requestors to stipulate digital copies.

To Jeff and the other legislators who helped insert that language: Thank you – I hope that clause stays in a version that is enacted into law.

Notes

[1] Questions have been raised about this issue, but based on a 8-page analysis by the Ann Arbor city attorney’s office, either the mayor or the city administrator can serve on the Ann Arbor DDA board.

[2] We can leave aside the question of whether this makes sense to include in the organization’s bylaws. But it’s worth noting that the DDA board itself does not have the power to remove one of its own members. By state statute, removal of a DDA board member (for cause) is a power reserved for the city council – after the member to be removed has been given an opportunity to be heard. It’s a decision that can be appealed to the circuit court.

[3] Of the DDA current board membership, an initial assessment of the attendance records by The Chronicle seems to indicate that only Hieftje and probably Russ Collins fall short of the 70% attendance threshold. The handwriting in the attendance records was in some cases challenging to decipher with some names running off the edge of the photocopied page.

[4] The most recent committee notes, however – included in the board’s information packet for its Nov. 6 meeting and recorded after The Chronicle’s request for attendance records – were typed out. So in the future, it should be easier to track compliance of DDA board members with the attendance requirement in the bylaws. [.pdf of October 2013 committee meeting minutes]

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Sec. 4A
(1) A county or a municipality may withdraw from an authority within 1 year after creation of that authority under this act by a resolution of withdrawal approved by a majority vote of the members elected to and serving on the governing body of that county or municipality.
(2) A county or a municipality may withdraw from an authority at any time after 1 year after creation of that authority under this act by a resolution of withdrawal approved by a 2/3 vote of the members elected to and serving on the governing body of that county or municipality.

The wording of the bill indicates that the opt-out option is available to more than just the four counties that are members of the RTA – Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland. Any municipality in that four-county region would appear to be able to opt out.

The Ann Arbor city council had passed a resolution shortly after the original enactment of the RTA bill, objecting to the inclusion of Washtenaw County. That council resolution echoed sentiments of a resolution approved shortly before that by the Washtenaw County board. And a resolution of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board, approved in February 2012, had supported the concept of an RTA, but conditioned that support on the coordination of new funding so that existing levels of transportation services provided by the AATA are maintained.

Rep. Jeff Irwin, whose 53rd District includes most of Ann Arbor, had opposed the RTA legislation. However, he does not support the idea incorporated into the current draft of HB 4637, which has been referred to the transportation committee. In an email to The Chronicle, responding to a query, Irwin wrote: “I don’t have a good sense of whether this will move.” But for his own part, he continued:

I don’t support this idea. The Swiss cheese model of public transit authorities is contrary to best practices and is intuitively a problem for the provider. SMART currently operates on the Swiss cheese model, driving through communities like Livonia and failing to serve citizens in communities like Canton. In short, the Balkanization of SE Michigan is a limitation, not a feature, of Michigan’s governance model. This bill moves further in that direction. Even though I opposed the RTA bill last winter because of the rail exclusion language and the mismatch of AATA with DDOT/SMART, I still want to have a functional system in SE Michigan. This bill will make that even more difficult.

The bill, which was introduced on Feb. 15 by state Senate majority leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), states: “An individual serving as a graduate student research assistant or in an equivalent position and any individual whose position does not have sufficient indicia of an employment relationship is not a public employee entitled to representation or collective bargaining rights under this act.” It was proposed in response to efforts at the University of Michigan to allow GSRAs to vote on whether to unionize.

At a special meeting convened on Feb. 21, UM regents had voted 6-2 on a resolution to formally oppose the bill, with the board’s two Republican regents voting against the resolution. [See Chronicle coverage: "GSRA Bill: Regents Debate Opposition"] Under that direction from the majority of the regents, Cynthia Wilbanks, UM’s vice president for government relations, has testified against the bill at recent committee hearings in both the House and Senate. UM regent Andy Richner, a Republican, was among those testifying in favor of passage.

The bill was moved quickly through the legislature in order to enact the law before an anticipated mid-March ruling by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission on whether to grant GSRAs the status of employees. Hearings have been held before administrative law judge Julia Stern, who was expected to make a recommendation to MERC on the issue later in March.

The bill will now be sent back to the state Senate for final approval, then to Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature.

Warren outpolled rivals Pam Byrnes and Thomas Partridge with 55.58%  – or 13,113 votes – in the race for state Senate District 18. Byrnes came in with 40.43% (9,539 votes), with Partridge at 3.85% (908 votes). The district covers the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and the townships of Ann Arbor, Augusta, Dexter, Freedom, Lima, Lyndon, Northfield, Salem, Scio, Sharon, Superior, Sylvan, Webster and Ypsilanti. It’s currently represented by Liz Brater, who is term-limited.

Irwin’s race was even closer – he won his race against Ned Staebler with just 51% of the votes cast and, if elected in November, will be representing District 53 in the state House. Irwin brought in 5,051 votes compared to Staebler’s 4,845. The district, currently represented by Warren, takes in Ann Arbor and parts of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Scio townships.

In the governor’s race, Rick Snyder of Ann Arbor – who carried the field statewide for the Republican nomination – did well in Washtenaw County, getting 49% of the votes in the GOP primary. Democrat Virg Bernero beat Andy Dillon with 65% of the votes in Washtenaw County – he won the statewide nomination as well.

In November, Warren will face the winner of the state Senate Republican primary, John Hochstetler, who beat rival Gary Wellings with 59% of the votes (7,973). For the state House race in District 53, Irwin will go up against Republican Chase Ingersoll, who was unopposed in the primary.

The breakdown by precinct for the state House race:

Precinct         Irwin         Staebler
Ann Arbor 1-1      12            11
Ann Arbor 1-2       9	          1
Ann Arbor 1-3      26            10
Ann Arbor 1-4     114            72
Ann Arbor 1-5     197           110
Ann Arbor 1-6      73            60
Ann Arbor 1-7       8            13
Ann Arbor 1-8     156            99
Ann Arbor 1-10    217           142
Ann Arbor 2-2       2             1
Ann Arbor 2-3      48            34
Ann Arbor 2-4     142           215
Ann Arbor 3-1      20             4
Ann Arbor 3-2      59            28
Ann Arbor 3-3     267           366
Ann Arbor 3-4     176           174
Ann Arbor 3-5      70            68
Ann Arbor 3-6     112            86
Ann Arbor 3-7     168           185
Ann Arbor 3-8     219           136
Ann Arbor 3-9      97           149
Ann Arbor 4-1       8             4
Ann Arbor 4-2      24            19
Ann Arbor 4-3      73           145
Ann Arbor 4-4     182           211
Ann Arbor 4-5      81           126
Ann Arbor 4-6     152           176
Ann Arbor 4-7     171           258
Ann Arbor 4-8      63            79
Ann Arbor 4-9     162           201
Ann Arbor 5-1      38            29
Ann Arbor 5-2     225           205
Ann Arbor 5-3     122           108
Ann Arbor 5-4     319           195
Ann Arbor 5-5     155           129
Ann Arbor 5-6     169           183
Ann Arbor 5-7      55            44
Ann Arbor 5-8      90           113
Ann Arbor 5-9     228           182
Ann Arbor 5-10    161           156
Ann Arbor 5-11    365           301
Ann Arbor Twp 1     3             2
Ann Arbor Twp 2    10             1

Total           5,051         4,845

-

The breakdown by precinct for the state Senate race:

Precinct               Byrnes Partridge Warren

A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 1     11     0      12
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 2      3     0       6
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 3      7     1      30
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 4     57     8     124
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 5     71     3     239
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 6     21     3     115
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 7      8     1      15
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 8    140     8     246
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 9    203     5     120
A2 City, Ward 1, Pct 10   110     9     266
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 1     50     1      35
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 2      2     1       2
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 3     24     1      52
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 4    110     8     234
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 5    180     5     132
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 6    202     7     137
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 7    210     4     109
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 8    180     2      85
A2 City, Ward 2, Pct 9    166     5     115
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 1      1     0      23
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 2     29     0      64
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 3    161     9     456
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 4     93     3     258
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 5     42    10      90
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 6     55     7     143
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 7     79     5     274
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 8     81     6     262
A2 City, Ward 3, Pct 9     70    20     161
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 1      1     0       7
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 2      9     0      35
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 3     61     3     159
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 4    108     9     278
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 5     50     8     157
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 6    104    10     229
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 7    142    13     282
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 8     62    11      82
A2 City, Ward 4, Pct 9    126    13     227
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 1     16     1      53
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 2    100     5     344
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 3     60     8     175
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 4    102     6     420
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 5     84     9     210
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 6     79    11     271
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 7     35     2      69
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 8     61     5     146
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 9     83    11     330
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 10    90     7     222
A2 City, Ward 5, Pct 11   134    17     526
Ann Arbor Twp, Pct 1       87     2      55
Ann Arbor Twp, Pct 2      114     3     101
Augusta Twp, Pct 1         88    14     102
Augusta Twp, Pct 2         37    14      76
Augusta Twp, Pct 3         86    38     107
City of Chelsea, Pct 1    195     3      60
City of Chelsea, Pct 2    129     7      21
Dexter Twp, Pct 1         100     4      41
Dexter Twp, Pct 2         110     1      39
Dexter Twp, Pct 3          63     1      30
Freedom Twp, Pct 1         82     2      28
Lima Twp, Pct 1           109     3      37
Lyndon Twp, Pct 1         151    10      44
Northfield Twp, Pct 1     102     3      48
Northfield Twp, Pct 2      91     9      37
Northfield Twp, Pct 3      41     5      25
Pitts Chrt Twp, Pct 5       1     0       2
Pitts Chrt Twp, Pct 7       2     0       0
Salem Twp, Pct 1           17     9      54
Salem Twp, Pct 2           26    17      67
Salem Twp, Pct 3           26     5      31
Scio Twp, Pct 1           114     2      57
Scio Twp, Pct 2            64     2      26
Scio Twp, Pct 3            98     1      77
Scio Twp, Pct 4           126     1      72
Scio Twp, Pct 5            72     5      35
Scio Twp, Pct 6            63     3      38
Scio Twp, Pct 7           122     3      72
Scio Twp, Pct 8           125     0     119
Scio Twp, Pct 9           101     5      92
Sharon Twp, Pct 1          93     5      16
Superior Twp, Pct 1        87     4      61
Superior Twp, Pct 2       126    19     137
Superior Twp, Pct 3        99    14      67
Superior Twp, Pct 4        69    18      57
Superior Twp, Pct 5        90     9     107
Sylvan Twp, Pct 1         156     7      29
Webster Twp, Pct 1        118     3      55
Webster Twp, Pct 2         61     1      23
Webster Twp, Pct 3         58     6      29
Ypsi City, Ward 1, Pct 1   73    24     107
Ypsi City, Ward 1, Pct 2   81    15     128
Ypsi City, Ward 1, Pct 3   46    10      48
Ypsi City, Ward 2, Pct 1   98     6     153
Ypsi City, Ward 2, Pct 2   85    11     174
Ypsi City, Ward 2, Pct 3   66     4     182
Ypsi City, Ward 2, Pct 4   11     2      11
Ypsi City, Ward 3, Pct 1   16     1      20
Ypsi City, Ward 3, Pct 2   79     6     159
Ypsi City, Ward 3, Pct 3  113    24     174
Ypsi Twp, Pct 1            45     7      57
Ypsi Twp, Pct 2            57    17     101
Ypsi Twp, Pct 3            45    12      62
Ypsi Twp, Pct 4            60     8      95
Ypsi Twp, Pct 5            38     6      33
Ypsi Twp, Pct 6            19     4      24
Ypsi Twp, Pct 7            36    11      49
Ypsi Twp, Pct 8            31     8      56
Ypsi Twp, Pct 9            73     7      93
Ypsi Twp, Pct 10           37     5      48
Ypsi Twp, Pct 11           58    18      44
Ypsi Twp, Pct 12           33    11      29
Ypsi Twp, Pct 13           56     7      76
Ypsi Twp, Pct 14           78    17      97
Ypsi Twp, Pct 15           26     3      30
Ypsi Twp, Pct 16           18     2      16
Ypsi Twp, Pct 17           98    10     157
Ypsi Twp, Pct 18           34     2      69
Ypsi Twp, Pct 19           60    10      94
Ypsi Twp, Pct 20           60     9      73
Ypsi Twp, AVCB 1          291    60     245
Ypsi Twp, AVCB 2          246    32     208
                        9,539   908  13,113

Left to right: Rebekah Warren, Thomas Partridge, Pam Byrnes

Warren and Byrnes currently represent the 53rd and 52nd districts of the House, respectively. Partridge may be familiar to Chronicle readers as a frequent speaker during public commentary at the meetings of various public bodies. Partridge’s remarks are recorded in more than 50 Chronicle meeting reports since the publication’s launch in September 2008.

Each of the three candidates sought to differentiate themselves. Byrnes stressed the fact that her entire work career before being elected to the House had been in Washtenaw County, where she’d gotten to know the specific concerns related to the area, thus contrasting herself with Warren, whose whole career has been in Lansing. For her part, Warren cast her work in Lansing as a positive, saying that it allowed her to actually get things done.

Partridge, who laid claim to being the most senior of the candidates, staked out a position as a reform candidate, and reflected back on the 1960s when he’d financed his college education at Michigan State University – by selling a prize-winning Angus steer.

Audience questions written on cards were administered to the candidates by Jim Leonard of The Ann Arbor Observer. The order of the remarks as presented here reflects the same relative order as they were made at the candidate forum.

Opening Statements

Each candidate was given the opportunity to make introductory remarks.

Thomas Partridge

Thomas Partridge’s Opening Statement

Thomas Partridge introduced himself as a proud father of two University of Michigan alumni, and a grandfather. He called himself a reform candidate.

He asked the audience to support his platform for reform of the Michigan legislature and of the attitudes of people in Washtenaw County. He said he “rejected out of hand” the attitudes of people who come to public meetings with divisiveness on their minds.

We need to reach a consensus behind a reform agenda, he said, to rewrite the constitution. He called for a Michigan Senate based not on geography and land area, but on population.

He called for affordable, countywide public transportation, affordable health care, job creation, and access to education.

Pam Byrnes’ Opening Statement

Byrnes began her opening statement by asking people in the audience to vote for her. She said she believes she’s the most qualified candidate, with the experience, accessibility and ability to get things done in Lansing.

Pam Byrnes

She pointed out that she has lived and worked in Washtenaw County for more than 35 years – working her way through law school at the University of Michigan as a single mom, running a law practice as an advocate for children, families and victims of domestic violence, teaching at Eastern Michigan University and being appointed as the county’s first female road commissioner, among other things.

She said she’s been involved in a variety of community groups, serving on boards and in other leadership roles. She also founded the Western Washtenaw Democratic Club, and was its first chair.

Her daughter was born and raised here, she noted, and her grandsons were born here. [The two boys attended the forum and sat in the audience with Byrnes' husband, Kent Brown.]

Her entire work experience, before being elected as state representative for District 54 in 2004, had been in Washtenaw County, she said. In contrast, she added, Warren’s entire career has been in Lansing. [Prior to being elected as state representative for District 53, Warren served as chief of staff to Democratic state representatives Mary Schroer and Hubert Price, and later was executive director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan.]

This race is about who can best serve the interests of all of Washtenaw County, she said – who can move Michigan onto sound financial footing, and who can advocate for efficient, effective and responsible government. “I am that candidate,” she said, “and my record proves it.”

Rebekah Warren’s Opening Statement

Warren introduced herself as the District 53 state House representative since January 2007. By way of biography, Warren said she’d come to Ann Arbor 20 years ago to attend the University of Michigan, had met her husband [Conan Smith, chair of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party and a county commissioner] and bought a home in Ann Arbor.

Rebekah Warren

She’d been working for the last 20 years to make the community a good place to work and live. She’d spent seven years “in the trenches” in the pro-choice movement, she said, as the executive director of MARAL, a pro-choice nonprofit. She also cited 10 years of experience in Lansing working as a staff member and legislator, working alongside legislators like Lana Pollack, Alma Wheeler Smith, and Mary Schroer, all of whom endorse her candidacy for the Senate, she said.

She’s represented Ann Arbor in the state House for four years and had worked on a number of issues critical to Ann Arbor’s future. She’s served as chair of the Great Lakes and Environment Committee, co-chair of the Legislative Biotechnology caucus. As chair of the Great Lakes committee, she said, she’d worked on legislation like the Great Lakes Compact – legislation that regulates diversion of water from the Great Lakes. She also reported she’d worked on a bi-partisan plan to maintain the Wetlands Protection Act – a 30-year old piece of legislation – which keeps responsibility for Michigan’s wetland in the state of Michigan. There’d been an effort to shift responsibility for wetlands to the federal government, which she’d worked against.

She’d also worked on legislation to increase funding for the state parks system, by creating a new funding mechanism, she said. She also said she was working on legislation to enact a ban on all drilling in Lake Michigan.

It’s been a challenging budget environment during her time in the House, she said, and she is proud to have worked on policies that will move the state towards a brighter and strong future – diversifying our economy, protecting our natural resources, and strengthening our schools.

She cited her service to the local community through her chairship of Ann Arbor’s community development executive committee, the SOS Community Services board and a member of the St. Andrews Episcopal Church.

Economy

Question: How would you help Michigan transition to the new economy, and what legislation have you supported to reach that goal?

Pam Byrnes on the Economy

To move Michigan forward, Byrnes said, the state needs jobs to diversity the economy. There were warning signs in the 1960s that the state needed to diversify away from its reliance on the auto industry, she said, but that didn’t happen. Now, Michigan is facing serious hardships, and needs to focus on creating jobs.

Byrnes then cited a raft of legislation that she has supported aimed at spurring economic growth:

• Enabling the Michigan Dept. of Transportation to pursue partnerships to build a second bridge across the Detroit River, connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. A second span would improve trade routes into Canada, she said.
• Collaborating on legislation that would support the Detroit Region Aerotropolis, by putting Renaissance Zones around Willow Run and Detroit Metro airports.
• Introducing legislation to expand the 21st Century Jobs Fund to include funding for information technology jobs.
• Introducing the Cottage Food Bill, which will exempt small businesses in the food industry from certain licensing and inspection requirements. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is planning to sign the bill on Monday at an event in Ypsilanti.
• Working to increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard. [Act 295 of 2008]

Thomas Partridge on the Economy

Partridge called on the leaders of Michigan companies, like William Clay Ford of the Ford Motor Co., to reverse the downward trend of the Michigan economy by reversing his company’s operating strategy of downsizing and eliminating jobs. Ford should use his experience and his company’s resources to help create jobs and help create new businesses, Partridge said.

As an economic stimulus for the entire state, Partridge called on legislators to act out of fairness and to improve statewide public transportation, particularly in Washtenaw County. Alluding to Warren’s remarks about her work in the legislature, Partridge said that any legislator concerned about the environment and wetlands should also have as a priority to develop a countywide transportation system that would become a regional transportation system for southeast Michigan.

Partridge called it “unconscionable” that in 2010 it was not possible to get on the bus and travel easily from Ann Arbor to Detroit and from Detroit throughout the state of Michigan.

Rebekah Warren on the Economy

Warren said that one of the best things we can do is to diversify our economy. That could be done by using Michigan’s existing strength, she said, which is manufacturing. Michigan has talented workers who are accustomed to working hard, she said, and we need to bring manufacturing into the 21st century.

As an example of that, she pointed to the renewable portfolio standard [Act 295 of 2008], which she’d worked on and help get signed into law – it requires a set percentage of the energy in the state to be generated a renewable way. Because that market for renewable energy had been created, she said, two automobile manufacturing plants had been converted to facilities for building wind turbine gearboxes.

She pointed to agriculture as one of the three largest segments of the Michigan economy, but Michigan had never been active in cranberry bogs. The wetland legislation that Warren said she has helped pass has a provision that requires identification of acreage suitable for construction of such bogs. She said it would create 383 permanent jobs as well as 1,000 construction jobs, generating $30 million annually.

Warren allowed that the idea to build a second bridge across the Detroit River and the aerotropolis that Byrnes had mentioned would help development, but Warren said they had not yet become law. The bills she had worked on, said Warren, had been signed into law and people had been put back to work because of the work she’d done.

Funding for Stadium Bridges

Question: If elected, when can Ann Arbor expect to get state funding to replace the Stadium bridges?

Thomas Partridge on Funding for Stadium Bridges

Partridge said that the Stadium bridges situation epitomizes the situation in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and the entire 18th District of the state Senate – we put off funding needs, like repairing roads and bridges. He suggested that the Ann Arbor city council should sell bonds to rebuild the Stadium bridges immediately.

The University of Michigan football stadium expansion should have never been a priority, Partridge said, while Michigan is in a deep recession. He called for putting people and family first, as well as creating jobs for them. Referring to Warren’s mention of cranberry bogs, he said that cranberry bogs were fine, but dairy farmers, beef farmers, and grain farmers needed support as well.

We need safe roads and bridges throughout the state, he concluded.

Rebekah Warren on Funding for Stadium Bridges

Warren began by saying that the state has committed some funding – there are three different pots of money available to help the city, she said. The simple answer is that the state will be able to help some, but the state no longer has the kind of resources it once did when, for example, it had helped fund the Broadway bridges reconstruction.

She also noted that the budget that the state legislature had passed this year had included a significant decrease in revenue sharing – though she noted she had not supported that budget. That means that the city of Ann Arbor had less money available to spend locally.

One of Warren’s biggest concerns is the old formula that is used, which does not meet the transportation needs of local communities. The state formula says that the most you can spend on public transit is 10%. We need to align that with the needs of local communities, she said, and figure out how to put more resources into our infrastructure, because that’s an integral part of the state’s economy.

Pam Byrnes on Funding for Stadium Bridges

The state needs to raise its gas tax and vehicle registration fees, said Byrnes, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. She sponsored legislation that would raise those fees, she said, providing more revenue for the transportation fund. That’s the only way that Ann Arbor has a chance of getting money for the bridges, she said. [Legislation that Byrnes co-sponsored earlier this year, but which has not been enacted, would raise the gas tax from 19 cents to 23 cents per gallon this year, and then to 27 cents in 2013. ]

Byrnes pointed out that Warren had voted to “plug a hole in the general fund” by transferring money out of the transportation fund – a move which Byrnes voted against, she said.

Safe roads and transportation infrastructure are key to a strong economy, Byrnes said. Without it, tourists won’t be able to get to Michigan’s beaches, and businesses won’t want to locate here.

Education

Question: What have you done or will you do to fix the state’s educational system?

Rebekah Warren on Education

Warren noted that the three basic duties that the legislature are required to address are: public health, public safety, and public education. Of those, she said, public education is the most important because it is “the great equalizer.”

One of the challenges in Michigan, she said, is the lack of a good pre-kindergarten program. So she’s been working with her House colleagues, she said, on legislation that calls for universal pre-kindergarten and early-childhood education that would be supported by the School Aid Fund.

She stated that as a State rep she’d never once voted for a cut to education at any level, from early childhood through higher education. In the ’70s and ’80s, Warren explained, the state paid 70% of the cost of public universities and colleges. Now, the state pays only 30%, which she said is pricing out a whole group of potential students. The state needs to figure out a way to fund higher education, because it takes more than a high school education to succeed.

Pam Byrnes on Education

Michigan needs to provide more funding for education, Byrnes said, and she supports expanding the sales tax, which is the main revenue source for the School Aid Fund. She acknowledged that some people in the audience were shaking their heads, and it wasn’t an easy decision. But the tax structure is antiquated, she said, shaped more for a manufacturing economy than a service economy. Expanding the sales tax on services would provide additional revenue for schools.

Unfortunately, she said, Republicans have taken a “no tax” approach without providing viable alternative solutions. “Somebody has to play the grownup,” she said and make sure we keep the state going – we can’t just vote no on the budget. [She was was apparently alluding to Warren's no vote on the state's budget.]

Another educational issue that Byrnes cited was the significant unfunded liabilities that the state faces in the future – referring to underfunded programs of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. MPSERS manages a pension fund and retirement benefits fund for the state’s public school employees.

She also said it was important to fully fund the Great Start Readiness Program, noting that it was a program that got its start at the HighScope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti.

Thomas Partridge on Education

Partridge stated that he was a member of the Michigan State University student government back in 1964, and had addressed the Senate appropriations committee, calling on that committee to reverse the plan of the Senate under George W. Romney to reduce funding for higher education. He’d called on the legislature to put education first.

Even after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, Partridge said, we have a discriminatory education system, without equal opportunity. We need constitutional amendments to overhaul the tax structure and to restore education funding to what it should be.

Constitutional Convention

Question: Do you favor a constitutional convention? What would you want to change in the constitution, and why?

Rebekah Warren on a Constitutional Convention

Warren acknowledged that there are different sides to the issue. In her view, she said, Michigan has seen some “pretty awful” changes to the constitution, citing the ballot initiative on same-sex marriage, term-limit laws, and an affirmative action ballot proposal. Those are issues that might be addressed at a convention, she said. There are tax changes – like a graduated income tax – that can only be addressed through constitutional changes.

However, Warren said she was not for holding a convention, pointing out that the experience in other states had shown that things could be made even worse. She said there was the risk of the influence of money from outside the state affecting the outcome, which she said had been the case with the campaign led by Ward Connerly [from California] for the constitutional amendment that disallowed affirmative action in college admissions. She said she was “a little nervous” about the idea of opening up the constitution.

Thomas Partridge on a Constitutional Convention

Partridge began by saying that leaders need courage. He’s been a leader since being elected president of the student body of his high school, he said. He’s been an advocate for higher education since 1964, the same year that Lyndon Johnson addressed the University of Michigan graduates that year, announcing the Great Society program.

There’s no doubt that we need constitutional amendments on the ballot, Partridge said. We need accessible, affordable equal rights reforms for students, families, seniors, the disabled and the unemployed.

Pam Byrnes on a Constitutional Convention

Byrnes said she had concerns about opening the constitution. Noting that she had chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, Byrnes said that the state’s 15 public universities are constitutionally protected, with their own governing boards – and that needs to remain the case.

She supports repealing the ban on same-sex marriage, and looking at a graduated income tax. But Byrnes said she fears that extreme corporate spending would influence delegates at a constitutional convention and the outcome wouldn’t reflect the true wishes of the state. As an alternative, Byrnes said she’d prefer to deal with these issues directly, rather than opening a “Pandora’s Box.”

Fixing the Dysfunctional Legislature

Question: The Michigan legislature is ranked as the most dysfunctional in the nation, outside of California. What do you propose to fix that?

Pam Byrnes on Fixing the Dysfunctional Legislature

Byrnes said she considers herself to be a problem solver, bringing all parties to the table to find common ground and solutions. As an example, she cited the “Complete Street” legislation she sponsored, which requires that the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) consider all user groups – including bicyclists, pedestrians and the disabled – when planning road improvement projects. Stakeholders, including road agencies and the townships association – were opposed to making it a mandated part of the master planning process, she said. A compromise was reached to require consideration, she said.

Other examples of her efforts to work toward effective solutions were the East Delhi bridge – convincing the state to fund a restoration, rather than a replacement – and working to deal with the water levels at Four Mile Lake, in the Chelsea State Game Area.

Thomas Partridge on Fixing the Dysfunctional Legislature

There’s a gridlock in the legislature, Partridge said, and to fix that we need to elect new people, with new ideas and new concepts. He said he is the candidate who can provide leadership on those ideas which he has voiced and then seen other politicians take up. Unfortunately, he said, his ideas had not been taken up by the mayor of Ann Arbor and its city council, or by Byrnes and Warren.

Partridge described himself as a product of the higher education system of the 1960s and said that he rejects out of hand the idea that we can’t do things because other states had been unsuccessful.

Rebekah Warren on Fixing the Dysfunctional Legislature

Warren said that serving in the House starting in 2007 had been a fascinating experience. She said that she was one of two first-term women who’d “got a gavel” [chaired a committee] – on the Great Lakes and Environment Committee. She noted that relationships were important with people on the other side. When you get legislation through the House, you need somebody on the Senate side who can take it up and get the Senate to pass it.

Warren said it had been humbling to hear Phil Power say that some of the work she had done was some of the most important environmental initiatives that had been accomplished in several years.

Her experience leading a pro-choice nonprofit [MARAL] had given her experience dealing with one of the most contentious issues in politics today, she said. When she was named chair of the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee, she said that she though “Everyone loves parks, everyone loves the Great Lakes, we’re going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya … I had no idea how challenging it would be.”

But she said that she’d brought together the leaders of the major environmental protection organizations with the chambers of commerce, the manufacturers associations, and the farm bureaus to put together deals to protect inland lakes and streams and the Great Lakes and groundwater. She would continue in the Senate, she said, to work the same way she has done in the House – to negotiate with people and to hammer out the best compromise we can get, without compromising values.

Why You Should Vote for Me

Question: Why you, and not them?

Pam Byrnes on “Why Me?”

Byrnes reiterated many of the points made during her opening statement, noting that she has lived and worked in Washtenaw County for 25 years: “I know Washtenaw County.” She said she knows what it’s like to run a small business – to meet payroll and deal with the other issues that business owners face.

She’s worked with many groups in the county, from farmers and gravel pit owners to the large Asian community here, she said. She mentioned her law practice in Ypsilanti for 16 years, and noted that she helped facilitate extra funding for the Ypsilanti Freighthouse renovation.

Byrnes also cited her accessibility, saying she has held coffee hours and town halls on the budget for constituents.

Rebekah Warren on “Why Me?”

Warren began by saying that she was born and raised in Michigan – never lived anywhere else. She’s lived in Ann Arbor for 20 years and worked in Lansing for 17 years. She’s proud of that 17 years, she said, working for the people in this community and the people of the state. She said she works hard, takes her responsibility seriously and does not do it just for a job.

As the daughter of a minister and a nurse, she said, she always new that her work life would be about something bigger than her. She was not interested in going into the rat race to make someone else’s shareholders rich.

She said she was “no shrinking violet” and – apparently responding to Byrnes’ earlier remark that it was not enough to just vote no on a budget – said she was willing to be the lone no vote who will say, “this is not the right direction for the state.” That’s an important role, she said even if the vote does not prevail. She was proud to be able to come back to her district and say, “I’m representing your values.”

She concluded by saying she’s proud of the initiatives she’s worked on that have actually become law in the four years she’s served in the House and was looking forward putting her “hands in the dirt” over at the Senate.

Thomas Partridge on “Why Me?”

Partridge stated that we need new leadership in the Michigan legislature that can’t be provided by those currently serving there. He called on members of the Democratic party in the state to stand up and “be Democrats” the way that students in the 1960s did. He recalled how he’d stood up at public meetings in 2008 calling for the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate, and had later called for his election.

He would go to the legislature and be forthright, he said. We need Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature, he said.

Closing Statements

Each candidate gave a closing statement.

Thomas Partridge Sums Up

Partridge began by saying that we need reform and a new approach to society. Considering the meeting that day, he asked why it was not a meeting of the united Democratic Party of Washtenaw County in a venue that was wired for transmission in a variety of media. He asked why there were not more minorities who felt welcome at the meeting, and why there were no people there in wheelchairs or using walkers. He’d raised those questions starting in high school and college, he said.

He contended that the Washtenaw County board of commissioners and the Ann Arbor city council do not have democratic attitudes, even though they had Democratic majorities. We need a democratic-minded reformer, he said, and he is that candidate.

He told the audience that he’d financed most of his higher education through his earnings as a 4-H Club member. Specifically, it had been funded by the sale at statewide auction of a grand champion Angus steer in 1969. He’d received favorable press from that in a newspaper now owned by Advance Publications, an out-of-state company that now owns AnnArbor.com, he said. The newspaper account had described him as a student who’d overcome muscular dystrophy to become a high school leader, an college leader and an adult leader. He asked for voters’ support to become a state legislator.

Pam Byrnes Sums Up

In her closing remarks, Byrnes reiterated many of the points she made in her opening statement. The No. 1 priority for the state is to grow the economy, and to do that they need to generate jobs. She ticked through several ways that she’s already working to do that: legislation to support the Aerotropolis, “Complete Streets,” the cottage foods business, state roads and transportation, the second bridge across the Detroit River, expanding the 21st Century Jobs grants to include the IT industry, among other efforts.

Leaders must lead by example, she said. That’s why she voted to reduce pay for legislators by 10%, she said, and to dock their pay if they don’t show up for work.

Byrnes noted that she’s been endorsed by small business groups, tradespeople, and public safety organizations, among others. She encouraged the audience to visit her website, and wrapped up by saying she’d appreciate their vote on Aug. 3.

Rebekah Warren Sums Up

Warren began by thanking the Ann Arbor Democratic Party for hosting the event and the audience for listening.

It’s no secret, Warren said, that times are tough in Michigan– people are losing their homes, their jobs and their hope. But she said that Michigan is still a great place to live and we can get back on a path to prosperity. She called “reform” a buzz word of the day up in Lansing. In the current economic climate, we need to get the most out of every dollar we spend, but we also enact the right kind of reform. The wrong kind of reforms, she said, were those that are targeted for a 5 p.m. news headline but that have no structural effect on the budget. We need long-term solutions, she said.

She cited her record of strong bi-partisanship and shared solutions. She told the audience that they could count on her to find compromise solutions that do not compromise their values. She’s successfully negotiated legislation that has been signed into law by the governor, she said, with significant bi-partisan support. She’s encouraged by the progress that’s been made.

She said she’d continue to fight for health families, a clean environment and strong schools. She then ticked off a number of endorsements from educational and labor organizations and pointed people to her website.

Ann Arbor Chronicle publisher Mary Morgan contributed to this report.

Democratic candidates for the 53rd District state House seat at the June 12 Ann Arbor city Democratic Party forum: Jeff Irwin, left; and Ned Staebler, right. (Photos by the writer.)

The Democratic primary in the 53nd District of the Michigan House of Representatives is contested by Jeff Irwin and Ned Staebler. The 53nd House District covers the majority of the city of Ann Arbor, and parts of Scio and Pittsfield townships.

The seat is currently held by Rebekah Warren, who was elected to that position in 2006, and is eligible to seek re-election – but has chosen instead to run for the 18th District state Senate seat, currently held by term-limited Liz Brater. In Michigan, state senators are limited to two four-year terms, and state representatives are limited to three two-year terms.

This coverage of the June 12 candidate forum consists of the questions that candidates were asked, with answers given by the candidates in paraphrased form.

The order of the remarks as presented here reflects the same relative order as they were made at the candidate forum. For each question, the order was randomly chosen among all four candidates. The remarks of 52rd District candidates are presented separately: “Michigan Dems Primary: House 52nd District”

There were two questions asked that received answers with no elaboration: Both Irwin and Staebler are against term limits; Staebler is endorsed by the United Auto Workers.

Opening Remarks

Each candidate was given the opportunity to make some introductory remarks.

Jeff Irwin’s Introductory Remarks

Irwin began by citing his experience serving on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners for just over 10 years. [He currently represents District 11, covering parts of central and eastern Ann Arbor.] He said that experience has given him experience dealing with state programs on the local level – mental health, human services, public health, senior services, disability services. The county government, he noted, is responsible for managing and maintaining those state-level programs. Irwin stated that he is proud to have been an advocate for human services in Washtenaw County.

Jeff Irwin at the Ann Arbor city Democratic Party candidate forum on June 12, 2010.

As a county commissioner, he said he’s had to do the exact kind of work he is now asking voters to do for them on the state level going forward – balance a budget during tough economic times.

Overcoming the projected deficit in the Washtenaw County budget – $30 million over the course of this year and next – had been handled “without a tremendous amount of drama,” he said. The way they did it, he explained, was by focusing on the most important priorities first and by reducing cost in administration and overhead.

They’d worked with the unions to reduce costs throughout the organization, he said. They’d been able to preserve services and reduce the budget in a way that was responsible and still allowed the county to maintain its community priorities. That, he said, is exactly the kind of experience required up in Lansing, and that’s why he decided to run for Rebekah Warren’s seat when she announced that she would be seeking a state Senate seat.

He said he’s been honored to be a public servant in the community over the last 10 years and that he hopes he is able to continue to do the work that he loves.

He noted that in addition to his experience as a county commissioner, he spent a number of years working in Lansing as a legislative aide for Alma Wheeler Smith, who was a state senator at the time. He’d also worked with the League of Conservation Voters in various capacities, he said. When he first started out with the league, he said, his job was to go around the state meeting with environmental groups, helping them to organize more effectively to protect Michigan’s environment – air, water, “the beauty that is Michigan.”

He then became executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters – his job was to evaluate the state legislators, producing an annual environmental scorecard, and to advocate for better protection of Michigan’s environment.

He concluded by saying he has the right experience to serve during these tough times and hopes that he can continue to have the honor of serving the community up in Lansing.

Ned Staebler’s Introductory Remarks

Staebler began by telling the audience a bit about his background and why he was running for office. He described himself as coming from a family very deeply rooted in the community and in public service – his family had moved to Ann Arbor in 1831 and his great-grandfather was the mayor of Ann Arbor through the 1920s and 1930s. His grandfather and a handful of others, he said, had founded what is now known as the Michigan Democratic Party. His grandfather chaired that organization for a decade and served as a congressman.

Ned Staebler at the Ann Arbor city Democratic Party candidate forum on June 12, 2010.

Staebler said he has involved himself in politics since he was “knee-high” stuffing envelopes for Jimmy Carter and others. He said he did public service as a “family business” – spending every Wednesday when he was in high school at a halfway house in Detroit’s Cass Corridor tutoring reading and math skills with learning-disabled people. He said he’s been involved with numerous other public organizations throughout his life.

Staebler told the audience he went off to Harvard thinking that he would continue that tradition of family public service, studying American government there. But it was the early 1990s and it was Bush One versus Clinton – he said he remembered thinking, “Here are two guys who are totally out of touch.” Bush One didn’t know how much a gallon of milk cost and didn’t know about supermarket checkout scanners. Staebler said he wished he didn’t have to go the supermarket and allowed that his wife might say that he didn’t go often enough. And Clinton had very little real-world experience before being elected Arkansas attorney general.

Public service was a high calling, Staebler contended, and if you’re going into it, you ought to have an idea of how the impact of public policy affects real people. That was why he’d made a decision to go off and see the world and experience the world, get a job, pay some taxes, and try to figure out how government interacts with real people. So he went into the world of banking and finance, he said, spending a decade in Chicago and London learning how businesses work, why they grow and why they don’t grow. He woke up one morning 8-9 years later and said, “What am I doing? This was supposed to be a two-year gig where you learned how the world works, then go into public service.”

So he left his job and earned a master’s degree at the London School of Economics in comparative politics while teaching at a high school and coaching three sports. He moved back to Michigan and took a job at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He noted that his wife is a veterinarian in town.

At the MEDC, Staebler said he runs programs designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs to have access to capital they needed in order to grow. He stated that he’s been very active in the community, chairing the city’s Housing and Human Services Advisory Board. He was on the board of the League of Conservation Voters, was on the distribution committee of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and started his own nonprofit. Staebler said he was running for state rep for one simple reason: He wanted to make sure that for his three-year-old son, Michigan was the kind of place where his son’s generation could get a world-class education, find a job, raise a family and settle down.

Jobs

Question: What specific bills would you introduce in the legislature to create jobs?

Ned Staebler on Jobs

Staebler said it is something he has spent a lot of time working on as vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He has spent a lot of time working with businesses, he said, and he understands a lot of the challenges they have trying to grow.

The number one challenge they have, he said, is access to capital. In a lot of ways, he said, Michigan is fortunate. Although many people say that it’s been a real problem to be so heavily concentrated in the automotive industry, it meant that Michigan knew how to manufacture things – extrude plastic, bend metal, lay fiberglass. Unfortunately, he said, the things they make – like cars, boats, and furniture – have not been growth industries.

The good news, he said, is that there are a lot of industries that require the same core competencies that are growth industries: wind turbines, solar panels, advanced batteries, medical devices. All of those items require thousands and thousands of parts, he said, and the kind of advanced manufacturing capability that Michigan has. Michigan has 330 advanced research and development centers, a workforce that is incredibly well-trained, a university system that turns out mechanical and chemical engineers, and a community college system that is incredibly flexible at training.

So, how do we get businesses the capital that businesses need? Staebler asked. One of the problems is that they can’t go to a bank, because the collateral value has decreased so much – financing is usually accomplished through the property, plant, and equipment. If your property, plant and equipment are in Michigan and have been used for manufacturing, he said, then it’s been decreasing in value by up to 80% over the last five years. That’s why he helped create a program called the Michigan Supplier Diversification Fund, he said. That fund allows businesses to get loans and transition their businesses to growth industries. He worked with businesses and banks and realized that it was a $1-1.5 billion problem in Michigan alone. But he’d come up with $13 million in his budget, he said. That money has been used to create 4,500 jobs, he contended. He’d then gone through and found another $13 million, and they are now using that funding now.

The good news, said Staebler, is that the Obama administration has just sent to Capitol Hill legislation to create a $2 billion national program based on the model of transitioning to growth industries.

Jeff Irwin on Jobs

Irwin began by identifying different philosophies about how government can be involved in creating jobs. One of those philosophies, he said, is to invest directly in companies and corporations and hope that the benefit trickles down to “all us little people.” The other method, he said, is to invest in a broad foundation, to invest in people and places, to provide infrastructure and education and grow jobs in that way. From a philosophical perspective, Irwin said, he was in the second camp.

Giving a specific example, Irwin said he’d sat down with the CEO of a company that had come to Ann Arbor, Liebherr Aerospace in Pittsfield Township. Irwin said he asked, “Why are you looking at Ann Arbor?” Irwin reported that the reply was that the number one thing they were looking for was top quality talent. Liebherr had been attracted to the area because of the University of Michigan.

Irwin said that’s what Michigan needs to focus on. Michigan is one of only five states in the country that spends more on prisons than on higher education, he noted. And that is emblematic, he continued, of the wrong direction the state is headed. Michigan needs to re-invest in universities, it needs to be a place that produces top talent – that is how to bring meaningful jobs to the area, the kind of jobs people want.

But there are also other areas they could work on, Irwin said: green energy, clean energy, clean tech – everything from supporting green chemistry to supporting new energy projects like wind turbines. One specific thing is to increase the green portfolio standard.

Another thing he’s been working on lately is PACE legislation – Property Assessed Clean Energy. He reported that state Rep. Rebekah Warren has helped get the bill passed in the House and now he is working on getting it passed in the Senate. The bill would provide citizens with tools to invest in their homes to increase energy efficiency and to increase weatherization opportunities. It would save people money, reduce pollution and put people to work right away.

Tax Reform

Question: What is your position on tax reform to reduce or eliminate reliance on property and flat taxes and replace them with a graduated income tax? Will you please raise taxes for schools and human services?

Jeff Irwin on Taxes

Irwin said he would support a graduated or progressive income tax – it’s a great idea. Unfortunately, he said, that would require a revision to the constitution. So what he would work on immediately and directly, he said, is trying to structure the current flat tax in a way that benefits very low-income people. An earned income tax credit is an idea he thought could be explored.

On the question of schools and human service needs, Irwin said the state needs to find a way to raise the revenue to fund those areas. Revenue levels in Michigan, he said, have dropped to the levels we had at the early part of the decade – the general fund has dropped from $9 billion to $7 billion. That is crippling the state’s ability to invest in people and places. This has a cyclical effect, he continued – as the educational system’s quality is eroded, the state has less of an ability to attract businesses and jobs. Generally the approach should be to “broaden the base and lower the rate.” Ultimately the goal would be to implement a graduated income tax, so that people who earn more pay a greater percentage. There also needs to be a progressive approach to cutting within the state budget, he said. To ask employees making $30,000 a year to take the same kind of cut as someone making $100,000 a year is wrong and unfair, he said.

Ned Staebler on Taxes

Staebler also agreed with a graduated income tax – there are 38 states around the country that have one. So he didn’t think a good argument against it is that somehow rich people who live in the state would flee to a state without such a tax. They could already go to a state with no income tax at all, like Florida, he observed.

The Michigan League for Human Services, Staebler said, had a proposal that would cut taxes for 90% of people, but raise $600 million in much-needed revenue to pay for the type of investments in our future that we need. That makes a lot of sense from a progressive perspective, he said.

Staebler was less excited about expanding a sales tax to services, because generally speaking sales taxes are regressive, he said – people with lesser incomes need services, too. There was a shift in the economy from one that is 70% goods-based and 30% services-based to one that is 70% services-based and 30% goods-based. Given that shift, it might be necessary to begin thinking about taxing services. If that happened, he said, he would make sure that it was as fair as possible. A few years ago, when there was a sales tax on services for “about 20 minutes or so,” if your lobbyist was in the room at the time, then your service wasn’t taxed. It needs to be simple and fair, he said.

It’s also a question of what kind of investments we want to make – long-term investments in our future. If you cut $67 million out of your mental health budget, you just saved $67 million … until those people show up in emergency rooms and jails and shelter systems. You might spend $167 million taking care of them, Staebler cautioned.

Closing tax loopholes on businesses is another thing that needed to happen, Staebler said.

Education

Question: With many local school districts struggling to keep their doors open, do you favor legislation that would require multiple districts to consolidate, both through consolidating services and consolidating districts?

Ned Staebler on Consolidation in Education

As sales tax revenues have started to see a little bounce, the state is actually projecting that there’s going to be a little more in the School Aid Fund than originally anticipated, Staebler said. So he predicted that there would be a fight in the course of the next year – are people going to try to steal money from the schools in order to try to cover the overall budget? Education is a top priority for him, he said, and he is proud to have the endorsement of the Michigan Education Association and the Ann Arbor Education Association. He said he would not support raiding the School Aid Fund to balance the general fund budget.

To the question of consolidation, generally speaking Staebler thinks it makes sense that districts are made the “correct” size – sometimes that means consolidation and sometimes that means breaking them up. The academic literature, he said, shows that there is a “sweet spot” for district size before administration gets to be more burdensome than it needs to be. In the state of Michigan, he said, about 3% more than the national average is spent on school administration and that, for Staebler, is a real concern. With limited dollars it is important to make sure they are getting into the classroom instead of being used in administration.

As to privatization, Staebler characterized it as a “false choice” – almost every case where it has been tried, no savings have been found. Instead, what is found is lower wages and lower service levels, and less protection of workers. So he is not in favor of privatization, he said.

Jeff Irwin on Consolidation in Education

Irwin began by distinguishing between vision and outcome. The vision should be focusing dollars on students in classrooms. The desired outcome, he said, is graduation of smart, capable young people in the state of Michigan so that they can go on to be successful in their individual lives.

He suggested there is broad agreement that too much money is spent on administration, and there is an opportunity there. He said he tends to agree with the views of the other candidates with respect to privatization – he isn’t for it.

Irwin said that it is important to focus on the specific examples in Washtenaw County. Here in the Ann Arbor school system, there were 25-26,000 students. Over in Manchester, he said, they had 3,000 students. That seemed too small, he suggested. If you look at Lincoln, Willow Run and Ypsilanti school districts, they’re all struggling, he said. And  if you added them all up, together they’d have fewer students than Ann Arbor has in its district. So he supports the idea of trying to find out what the right number of students is to justify the administration and overhead – we do need to find that sweet spot. The state legislature’s role, then, is to incentivize decisions at the local level, he said.

Local districts need to be assisted when they made tangible efforts to consolidate, he said. The state should be in the business of helping school districts work together on busing, human resources, facilities management. That’s something that has been done at the county level, he said – working together with the county, the townships and the cities to say, Okay, nobody really cares which entity is monitoring the buildings and buying the technology.

Budget Experience

Question: What experience do you have managing and balancing budgets and closing budget deficits?

Jeff Irwin on Budgets

Irwin cited his more than 10 years of experience on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners balancing budgets. The general fund a few years ago was around $107 million and that had to be reduced to just under $100 million. In an environment where costs are rising – especially in the area of health care, costs for materials, pension costs – you have to find a way to fund the most important priorities first.

The county board had balanced Washtenaw County’s budget that way, Irwin said. He told the audience that they probably had not heard a lot of drama about it, because they did it the way they should do it at the state level – they’d led from the top. They started by working together with the cities and townships to reduce duplication and to eliminate waste between organizations. There are collaborations on community development, information technology, 911 dispatch – all of which are productive partnerships.

They’d also looked to administrative staff and asked them to reduce compensation, and they also reduced the board’s own budget by 15%, he explained. Then they’d gone to their labor unions and asked them to join in the effort. What happened, he said, was: It worked. The employees stepped up and said they didn’t want to see their brothers and sisters lose their jobs. When you lead from the top, and when you eliminate waste and invest in communication, then you can solve these problems with little drama, Irwin concluded.

Ned Staebler on Budgets

Staebler began by saying that he had a great deal of experience in balancing a budget and dealing with financial statements – he’d spent 10 years in the private sector, and the first couple of those years was balancing trading accounts every day. He is very familiar with balance sheets, he said. He’s been on the governing boards of numerous organizations, he said, and especially during these times of declining contributions, he understood there is a need to find a way to make cuts and become leaner and still provide services.

The last four years, Staebler said, he’s been running a number of programs at the state of Michigan, so he has a great deal of understanding of the types of challenges he would face. For one of those programs, in 2006 the budget was $400 million. This year, he reported, it was $28.5 million. So he understood, he said, how to shave things out of a budget and still accomplish the goals you have.

There were about $35-36 billion in tax credits that have been given out, and there is a misperception that all the credits are going to business, Staebler said. Most of that is actually going to citizens, he said – around $10 billion goes to the homestead credit, and around $10 billion is due to the fact that we don’t tax food, and about $9 billion is going to earned income tax credits and personal income tax exemption.

The part that goes to business, Staebler said, is about $1.9 billion. In that $1.9 billion there are certainly places they could look for savings, he said. For example, $37 million goes to the sellers of satellite dishes. He described how it was a credit that went back to 1974-75. Back then maybe you needed to do that to help get the satellite dish business going, but now there’s a DirectTV on every third house – that’s $37 million that we could spend on schools or human services, he suggested.

Michigan businesses are not taxed when they make phone calls overseas, but they are taxed when they call other Michigan businesses – that didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, and that was another $23 million. There was $12 million for companies that drill for oil in Michigan – when the price of gas was $1/gallon that might be okay, but at $4/gallon, Staebler didn’t think so.

Environment

Question: The proposed sulfide mines in the UP are threatening some of the most pristine areas of our state. What should be done to protect our state’s natural environment from this threat? What should be done to protect funding for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE)?

Ned Staebler on the Environment

Staebler indicated that he certainly supports fully funding the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and that the review process needs to be more stringent. He does not favor a policy whereby if you submit an application and there is no action within a certain amount of time, then you are automatically approved.

He also supports the idea that studies should be done to establish a need for power plants. There is not only a moral obligation to protect the natural bounty we been given, he said, there is also from a pragmatic perspective a need in the next 50-100 years to power our energy and our economy. Michigan is home to much of the world’s fresh water, he said, and it is therefore no surprise that the biggest industries in Michigan – manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism – are incredibly water intensive industries. That’s why the state needs to make sure we protect our water and make sure it stays clean.

Jeff Irwin on the Environment

Irwin said the environment is an issue he is passionate about and that he’s worked on for many years. He said that he’s actually fought the sulfide ore mining and he is very much against any authorization for spoiling the Upper Peninsula. He said that he is actually from the UP – there is nothing like what we have here in Michigan in all of the rest of the world, he said.

One hundred years ago, Irwin said, when the government was looking at the national park system, they had identified four possible national parks in Michigan – the three that we have, plus something called the Huron Mountain National Park. It was eventually squelched, but he said he would like to bring that idea back.

That national park would be right in the middle of the area where they were talking about doing sulfide mining, Irwin said. Everywhere else that sulfide mining has been done in the world, it has polluted the water table with sulfuric acid, Irwin told the audience. It would totally destroy an area that was once slated to become a national park. As a state legislator, he said, one of the things that he would do is to bring that idea back and establish the fourth national park in Michigan – the Huron Mountain National Park. It’s one of the most beautiful pristine wild areas in the United States, and a park would save it forever.

Another thing that we need to do, he said, is to get serious about pollution permits. We don’t do enough inspecting of polluters in Michigan, he said. The reason for that is, he said, that we generate the money to do the inspections off of the permits. We need to get serious about protecting our air and water in the state, which is critical to our economy, he concluded.

Right to Bear Arms

Question: How do you feel about legislating greater freedoms to bear arms in public, such as at the malls and at schools?

Ned Staebler on Gun Rights

Staebler began by saying that he is not a hunter and that he does not own a gun, but and he has not shot a lot of guns. He recognizes, however, that a lot of people do like to hunt, and they do it responsibly. He said that he is not advocating against their ability to do that. But he agreed that it is not appropriate to have guns in schools. He alluded to his three-year-old, who was running around in the back of the room, as the thing that was most important with respect to guns, namely, keeping them away from kids.

Jeff Irwin on Gun Rights

Irwin began by saying that he hunts with a camera. So while he does not have a lot of personal experience with guns, generally speaking he feels that it is not necessary to legislate an expansion of gun rights in Michigan.

Irwin said that when he was up working in the legislature and the CCW (concealed-carry weapons) law was passed, lawmakers had included an exemption for the legislature and for the courts. So the legislators who passed a very aggressive CCW law did not think it was a good idea for those folks to be able to have the right to carry those weapons in a concealed fashion in the legislative chambers or the courts. So if it’s not good enough for their workplace, Irwin said he doesn’t see why it’s good for our workplaces.

Campaign Finance

Question: Michigan law does not require corporations to publicly disclose contributions to political candidates and organizations or officials. Do you support that kind of disclosure?

Jeff Irwin on Campaign Finance

Irwin stated that transparency is the goal that he works on in the county government, and it is something that needs to be worked on with the state government. Who is supporting who needs to be disclosed aggressively, he stated.

Irwin said he is a big supporter of sunshine laws, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Open Meetings Act – all of those need to be strengthened. He said there are also other opportunities in election law to make some changes that would be productive for Michigan. He is a big believer in absentee voting on demand. It should be possible to vote early in person, he said.

Irwin also suggested that we should explore the idea of making election day a holiday in Michigan, so that the day can be focused on government and making important decisions.

When the term limit laws were implemented a few years ago, he said it meant that a lot of inexperienced people were put at the steering wheel of the state government. The problem is not that there were people who had been in office too long – it was voters who were not kicking out people who needed to be kicked out.

Irwin stressed the need to have a public that has all the tools possible to get involved and get informed and make their voting decisions with full consideration of the record, and who supported who. And part of that is transparency and opening up election laws, he said. He also suggested same-day registration as an idea worth exploring.

Staebler on Campaign Finance

Staebler began by stating that he is not a big fan of the influence of money in politics. He described it as a huge divisive factor in our polity and in our community, which erodes the equality for which we have fought for so long.

But money is a part of the “rules of the game” and he does not feel like candidates would unilaterally disarm. So candidates have to do what they have to do, he concluded. He does not feel like, however, that the First Amendment extended to corporations being able to give money to political candidates and advocate in that way. Corporations already have so many advantages that they do not need additional advantages. He felt like corporate dollars should be removed from the political process.

He agreed with the kinds of voting reforms that Irwin had discussed.

Constitutional Convention

Question: Do you think we should have a constitutional convention and why?

Ned Staebler on a Constitutional Convention

Staebler said there are a lot of things that are problematic about the state’s constitution. He said he would love to open up the constitution and talk about our income tax system. That would be fairly easy to do at a constitutional convention, he said.

But given the lack of leadership that he sees at the state level right now, and given the huge amount of division that we have right now, and considering the way that elections are trending for this year, and given term limits and the turnover of highly qualified people, he is concerned that a potential constitutional convention would not go very well.

It would cost a lot and we would end up with a document that would potentially be much worse. He concluded that he is not in favor of having a constitutional convention.

Jeff Irwin on a Constitutional Convention

Irwin allowed that it is a tough question because there are some significant opportunities and significant risks associated with a constitutional convention.

Irwin said that he is personally in favor of having a convention. There is a constitutional provision, he said, that stipulates that no more than 10% of gas tax revenues can be spent on public transportation. With that provision in the constitution, he said, Michigan will never be able to invest in transit the way that it’s necessary to revive our urban centers like Detroit. The state is way behind in mass transit, he said, and Michigan would be a much better state if we had rail and bus all working together. We would never have that as long as the constitution is written the way it is, he said.

There’s a possibility of a graduated income tax – Irwin stated that we need such a tax. There are things written into the constitution, he said, that are totally bigoted – Proposal B, for example, that limits the rights of gay people. He characterized it as a horrible thing that needs to be changed and something that can be changed at the constitutional convention.

He allowed that there could be some crackpot who comes along and says, Yes, let’s have a death penalty, let’s make it even more difficult for gay and lesbian couples. But he said that Michigan is already one of the more backward states with respect to gay and lesbian issues – it really couldn’t get much worse. With respect to abortion, he said, Michigan was a pre-Roe state, which means that if Roe v. Wade were overturned, abortion would be illegal in Michigan. Michigan couldn’t really get much more anti-choice or anti-gay, he said. And those are the big threats that he sees in any constitutional convention. He called for doing something bold to overturn some of the institutional barriers.

Funeral Regulations

Question: In Michigan, a death certificate must have a signature from a funeral director to be legal. This greatly increases the cost of funerals. Is this something that you would work against?

Jeff Irwin on Funeral Regulations

Philosophically speaking, Irwin said, he is a huge believer in individual rights – we should be letting people choose how they live and how they die and make their own decisions about how that’s handled. It’s not a decision that government should be making for people. The government should not be funneling people to certain services. So he concluded that the state should change that law.

Irwin said it should be made easier for people to choose various options – green burial, for example, or cremation. Government should be about empowering people to make their own decisions about their lives and their deaths. It should not stipulate what industry they should go to after they’re done, he concluded.

Ned Staebler on Funeral Regulations

Staebler stated that it is generally speaking important for individuals to be the ones who make their own decisions about those things. It’s unfortunate if cost becomes a pressing concern, when in that circumstance costs should not be a concern of a family who has lost a loved one.

But he said he also recognizes that there are some practical concerns there as well. He said he is willing to talk about the issue, but working on it would probably not be particularly high on his priority list, given some of the other issues that are going on in the state right now.

Crossing the Aisle

Question: What’s your perspective on how to work with the opposite party?

Jeff Irwin on Working with Republicans

Irwin stated that he’d had opportunity to work with the opposite party on any number of occasions. As a legislative aide, he learned that if you want to get something done, you have to know how to work with the opposite party.

At the local level, he said, he had worked very well with members of the opposite party on the county board of commissioners. You need to have an attitude when you go into it that you’re not trying to score points for your team, you’re trying to get something done for the state.

Irwin said that he would reach out his Republican colleagues and find out what things they agree on, then focus on those things. There are ideas that can be accomplished that are not necessarily partisan ideas, he suggested. An example of that, he said, was the PACE legislation. He thinks there is a good opportunity to get that bill passed – it is an environmental idea, an idea that is good for the economy, an idea that would save people money. It does not touch on any of the Republican hot button issues, he said. It is a way to help save energy, and at the same time put people in the trades to work, he said. It is not going to hurt any particular industry that was a big investor in the Republican Party.

Another area Irwin felt he might be able to work on with Republicans is the local food movement. If we want more local food that’s fresher and healthier, the Republicans happen to represent people who grow the food – let’s find opportunities to get that food into our schools, into our universities, into our prisons, and into our farmers markets, he concluded.

Staebler on Working with Republicans

Staebler described it as a question that he hears when knocking on doors all the time: How are you going to get this done? He allowed that it is a challenge, given that there is a Republican-controlled Senate.

Term limits he pointed to as an additional obstacle. But he stated that he is an optimist and things are getting better and they will continue to get better. The plus side to term limits, he said, is that some of the most ideological folks are termed out.

A lot of folks in the Senate will be coming over from the House and they will have had a chance to work together already. He pointed to a bipartisan freshman caucus that has been started, focused on outcomes. He characterized the first effort of that caucus as marginally successful, but it has gotten some conversations started. Because of term limits, those participants in the bipartisan freshmen caucus will, in many cases, be in leadership positions for the next term.

He allowed that it is important to focus on outcomes – everyone could agree that we want good schools, and healthy kids, and a good economy – but focus on process is very important, because that’s how you get those outcomes. A good model, he suggested, is what President Obama did with health care. After Massachusetts, when everybody said it was dead, Obama said it’s not dead, and this is the process we’re going to use: We’re going to get everybody in the room – Republicans and Democrats – and let’s work on the 200 things we all agree on. And they had gotten something done. It’s not perfect, but it’s something, Staebler concluded.

Right-to-Life and Pro-Choice

Question: Do you favor right-to-life or choice?

Ned Staebler on Abortion

Staebler began by stating that he is pro-choice. He said he’d always been a big supporter of Planned Parenthood, not only for their reproductive rights activity but also for all the other things they did.

Jeff Irwin on Abortion

Irwin stated that he is definitely pro-choice, and has a record of supporting Planned Parenthood through the county government. The county supports the prenatal care program, which is very important at the local level.

Up in Lansing, he said, a lot of the challenges are around access to choice. In many parts of the state, the situation is different from here – there is not access to choice. There are folks in Lansing who are trying to deny access to choice, passing more aggressive consent laws, instituting waiting periods and the like, Irwin cautioned.

He told the audience they can count on him when efforts are made in Lansing to restrict access to choice and make it more difficult to get the kind of medical care they are seeking – he would stand against those efforts.

The Senior Vote

Question: Research has shown that voters in primaries are 70% senior citizens. How are you planning for this?

Ned Staebler on Senior Voters

Staebler said that his campaign’s analysis confirms the trend of seniors voting. The average age in the voter file is 61, he said. But he said he has not changed his campaign or tailored things remarkably different. He still knocks on every door and asks people what issues ae important to them. He finds that many of the same issues that are important for younger families are also important to seniors. His door-to-door campaign is simply about explaining who he is, and what he is about, and why he is running.

Jeff Irwin on Senior Voters

One of the issues he hears frequently, Irwin said, is access to health care, and home care, and the ability to age in place. There are opportunities to keep someone in their home and provide care to someone in their home, he said, that are actually less expensive than going into a hospital or a nursing home-type facility.

The opportunities need to be expanded, Irwin said. It is also important, he said, to make sure that seniors have access to the community – it is important to have countywide transit. Seniors need to have demand-response transit available so that they can get to their doctors, he said, or come downtown and take advantage of the various cultural opportunities.

Consumer protection is also an important facet of the issue, Irwin said. Something he had learned as a county commissioner for 10 years, is that public officials don’t know everything and there are people out in the community who do have knowledge about the serious issues, and it is important to listen to them. Most of what he knows about senior issues, he said, came from working with his colleague on the county board, Barbara Bergman, and working with seniors themselves.

Followup question: Concerns are not the same across all age groups. There will soon be more seniors than elementary school kids. How does that affect what you plan to do about the budget?

Ned Staebler on Impact of Seniors on the Budget

As he has been knocking on doors, Staebler said he has certainly heard about the health care issue. He said that there is a perception that when the federal health care bill passed, everyone would have a federal health care plan. The reality is, he said, that there are now 50 health care plans, and every state will have to make a whole host of decisions over the next couple of years about what that will look like.

Especially for Medicaid will be the question of what is covered and how much is covered, Staebler said. There are a couple of different ways we could set up health care exchanges. Option one would look something like Medicare Part C, he explained, where if your plan meets certain standards, then it can get listed. As a result, you get 12,000 plans and you have to hire a consultant to walk you through which one is right for you.

Option two on the health care exchanges is more along the lines of what a corporation or the University of Michigan has, which is to go out to insurance companies and say, Okay, here are the criteria for the apples-to-apples comparisons that I want – show me what you’ve got. And then, for example, three plans would be chosen and offered to members. That’s something that a lot of time needs to be put into debating over the next couple of years, Staebler said.

Jeff Irwin on Impact of Seniors on the Budget

Based on his previous experience working for the legislature, Irwin said, there is no single industry that has more lobbying power than the insurance industry. They are tremendously powerful in the process in the legislature, he warned.

If he were given the opportunity to represent the community, Irwin said, they could count on him to look out for the public interest – not the corporate interests – as the debate on the health care exchanges unfolds. Insurance companies are very happy to collect premium payments, he said, but when it comes time for someone be paid on a legitimate claim, they make all sorts of excuses. It is one of the reasons he was motivated to get into politics, he said.

He stressed that it is important to realize the promise of the federal health care reform. He said he had wanted a single-payer system with the public option – that was not what we got. What we got was an opportunity to try to get it right in Michigan – to try to make sure that the options covered on the exchange have the widest range and the lowest cost possible.

Summary Statements

Each candidate gave a summary statement.

Jeff Irwin Sums Up

Irwin began his summary statement by saying that the choice of public servants is very important. He said he has been honored to serve the community for 10 years on the county board of commissioners and wants to use that experience to focus on Michigan’s most important priorities.

Education funding is a critical need right now, Irwin said. We’re currently underfunding a variety of educational programs and cutting support for universities and colleges, he warned. It’s a recipe for economic disaster, he said. The number one economic development priority that we have in the state is focusing on education funding – getting back on track with education.

The education issue should be addressed on the front end of the model instead of on the back end. In Washtenaw County there is an aggressive program to get people who were nonviolent offenders and not a threat to society back into the community. It’s been found that it is less expensive and more productive.

We also need to focus on the natural environment, Irwin said. Do we have clean air? Do we have clean water? People need to be able to get out into nature and enjoy the natural splendor at Michigan has, Irwin said.

Those are his top two priorities, Irwin said: education funding and environmental protection. He concluded by saying that he has the experience to get the job done up in Lansing.

Ned Staebler Sums Up

Michigan faces a lot of challenges right now and the audience asked a lot of good questions, Staebler said. There’s 14% unemployment and the budget situation is not looking so strong.

We’re underfunding our education system, and we’re not funding the DNRE the way we need to, Staebler continued. But, he stated, we can meet these challenges. We don’t have any other choice but to meet these challenges, he said.

At this stage in Michigan’s history, Staebler continued, we don’t need just more good representation. Good representation is reactive, he said. It’s about showing up and voting the right way, advocating for things and supporting things. What we need right now is proactive leadership, he said.

Leaders find a problem, figure out what is causing it, design a solution to solve it, and then get the resources they need to bring the solution to fruition, Staebler said. He stated that he has a 15-year track record in the private sector, the public sector, and the nonprofit sector of solving real problems. At this point in its history, Michigan needs more leaders, he concluded.

Democratic candidates for the 52rd District state House seat at the June 12 Ann Arbor city Democratic Party forum: Jeff Lee, left; and Christine Green, right. (Photos by the writer.)

The Democratic primary in the 52nd House District is contested by Christine Green and Jeff Lee. The district covers the better portion of western Washtenaw County and small parts of the city of Ann Arbor.

The 52nd District seat is currently held by Pam Byrnes, who was elected to that position in 2004 and is term-limited. She is running for state senate in District 18, a seat now held by Liz Brater, who is also term-limited. In Michigan, state senators are limited to two four-year terms, and state representatives are limited to three two-year terms.

This coverage of the June 12 candidate forum consists of the questions that candidates were asked, with answers given by the candidates in paraphrased form.

The order of the remarks as presented here reflects the same relative order as they were made at the candidate forum. For each question, the order was randomly chosen among all four candidates. The remarks of 53rd District candidates Jeff Irwin and Ned Staebler, which are occasionally referenced by Lee and Green, are presented separately: “Michigan Dems Primary: House 53rd District“

Two questions were asked that received answers with no elaboration: Both Lee and Green are against term limits; Green is endorsed by the United Auto Workers.

Opening Remarks

Each candidate was given the opportunity to make some introductory remarks.

Jeff Lee’s Introductory Remarks

Lee began by asking if he could be seen if he didn’t stand. As Lee began his remarks from a seated position, Eunice Burns – who was seated in the audience – told him he’d have to talk louder if he was going to sit.

Jeff Lee at the Ann Arbor city Democratic Party candidate forum on June 12, 2010.

Lee re-started by telling the audience he’d lived in the area for about 20 years, had attended the University of Michigan, and earned two degrees there. The last four years, he said, he’d spent working for the American Association of University Professors, working on higher education issues across the state.

Lee said Jeff Irwin had made a great point about the budget issues and how they need to approach it. The budget is the beginning of what the legislature does, not the end of it, Lee said. There are a lot of things that need to be done to fix the state, he said – too many people in the state are not working. The job of the legislature is to get things moving in the right direction, but Michigan seems to be “stuck in the mud.” He described the educational system as “good, but could be better.” The taxation system is “not good and needs to be better.” A lot of issues don’t get addressed because we’re worried about how to spend the money that we collect, he said.

Lee said he wants to go to Lansing because Michigan needs direction, needs to move forward. Instead of being last in economic growth year after year, when compared with other states, Michigan needs to set the groundwork so that it could be first in growth. Michigan should not be the state that people look at with a little bit of pity.

Lee allowed that he did not have the same experience that other people had – but it’s not about experience, it’s about ideas, he contended. It’s about what we can do moving forward, not what we’ve done in the past.

Christine Green’s Introductory Remarks

Green introduced herself by saying that she’d been practicing law in Ann Arbor for 25 years, working in the area of civil rights and employment. She said she often sees people who have lost their jobs or who are underemployed. There has been a really “ugly turn” in the last few years, she said. People are not getting replacement employment, they are losing their insurance and unemployment benefits, they’re losing their homes – they’re really suffering. Another thing she’s noticed is that while people are in this disadvantaged position, insurance companies are denying legitimate claims – she is seeing more and more of that and has heard more talk of that as she’s been door-to-door campaigning.

Christine Green at the Ann Arbor city Democratic Party candidate forum on June 12, 2010.

She is also seeing more people laboring under non-compete clauses – it is something common in this geographic area, because the high-tech industry is very big on non-compete clauses, she said. She sees people who are not able to make a living for two or three years because of those clauses.

Legislation is needed, she said, to address some of these problems. Her first priority is to create good-paying jobs for people of this area. She said she’d look everywhere for jobs – new industries need to be brought to the state like wind energy, biotechnology, and the life sciences. She said she’d be an advocate for embryonic stem cell research, for higher education, and for small business. She noted that her own law firm is a small business and is thus very tuned in to the problems that small businesspeople have. The state could do more for them – like tax credits that would allow them to provide health insurance for their employees.

We need to be better stewards of public money, and of our natural resources, she said. She noted that she serves on the Scio Township board, but that really she is a political outsider. People can tell what her values are from the things that she’s done – the kind of law she practices, her work with Planned Parenthood for many years, her work with the Michigan Environmental Council. She said she would incorporate those values in her work in Lansing.

Jobs

Question: What specific bills would you introduce in the legislature to create jobs?

Christine Green on Jobs

Green picked up on the ending remarks of Jeff Irwin, who had talked about PACE legislation (Property Assessed Clean Energy) as a way to put people to work on energy improvements to their homes, using a voluntary property assessment.

Green suggested amendments to the building code stipulating that buildings need to be more energy-efficient. That would stimulate the production of new products like new drywall and roofing, and create jobs. She said she is very much in favor of those kinds of policies – they have no direct cost but would stimulate growth and create jobs.

Another suggestion from Green was a low-carbon fuel standard – that would encourage fledgling industries in the creation of advanced batteries for hybrid and electric cars.

Investment in infrastructure is also important, Green said. Some businesses feel like it’s expensive to do business in Michigan because they have to frequently repair their equipment due to the poor quality roads. Infrastructure investment creates jobs, Green said, and makes the state more attractive to businesses. Incentives need to be a part of the equation, but should be evaluated in the context of the total amount of the state’s revenue. The incentives should also be evaluated by the standard of whether they really create jobs – if not, then they shouldn’t be continued.

Education needs to be supported as well, said Green. If education is cut and that causes a cut in people power, then that means those people are not working and putting money into the economy. Investing in education would create jobs, because it’s very labor intensive, she concluded.

Jeff Lee on Jobs

Lee said it is absolutely important to have a great educational system. If we’re going to attract and keep talent, it’s because people want to go to great schools. We also absolutely have to have great roads, he said. He cited a study out of Michigan State University that reported Michigan companies have to invest more in packing because our roads are so bad that products get damaged when shipped over the roads.

In terms of jobs, he said, the tax structure is set up in a way that people feel like they’re getting “nickeled and dimed to death.” What’s needed, he said, is stability, so that if someone wants to invest in Michigan they’d know what the tax burden is going to be in the next 3-5 years. He also called for greater transparency in the tax structure.

More specifically, he said that small businesses need to be helped through the regulatory maze so that they can get started or expand. Such businesses need to be able to focus on their business. They should not have to become experts in regulation and permitting – they should be able to focus on things like getting funding, developing customers and getting their business up and running.

Tax Reform

Question: What is your position on tax reform to reduce or eliminate reliance on property and flat taxes and replace them with a graduated income tax? Will you please raise taxes for schools and human services?

Christine Green on Taxes

Green agreed with other candidates that we should head towards a graduated income tax. Michigan is in the minority of states that do not have one, she said. She is more in favor of a sales tax on services, because she thinks there is a way to implement it while “blunting the regressive effect.” Instead of having a sales tax on services with certain exceptions, she suggested a sales tax on certain services, but leave everything else out. That would have to be done very carefully, she allowed, but there were ways to do it to blunt the regressive effect and generate additional revenue.

She said the state needs to look at the corporate tax – the 22% surtax. Regardless of how you feel about it, she said, there is a perception that it’s unfair and overly complicated. So that needs to be addressed. We have to bear in mind, she said, that the state is below the average in the taxes that we pay. Our taxes and our expenditures, she stressed, should reflect our values and she was not sure that is currently the case.

Jeff Lee on Taxes

Lee agreed with the remarks that other candidates had made. In the long term, going to a graduated income tax is the right move, he said. It would require a constitutional amendment or a constitutional convention to change. He said we need a broader and a simpler tax system, something that grows with the economy.

He also said that it’s important to prioritize our investments. It is important to be proactive in spending money – you can keep people from needing services by being proactive on the front end. We need to invest in the things that will grow Michigan, he said, not invest in things just because we’ve already been spending money on them. That means spending more money on education, more money on human services and helping people find jobs, instead of spending money just because that’s how it’s allotted.

Education

Question: With many local school districts struggling to keep their doors open, do you favor legislation that would require multiple districts to consolidate both through consolidating services and consolidating districts?

Christine Green on Consolidation in Education

Generally speaking, Green said, she does not favor consolidation of districts. However, she said, for services, she feels there are some services that can be provided regionally. School districts could get together, for example, and provide bus service. Generally, she thinks that voters want their schools to reflect their own concerns and that is best done on a very local level. People want their own school board, she said. They want access to their own school board and they want to say how their schools are run. And that is a good thing, she said.

Consolidation of services is a good thing, she said, but she does not necessarily think that privatization of those services is desirable.

Jeff Lee on Consolidation in Education

Lee noted that in some counties there is consolidation of food services and purchasing at the intermediate school district level. So there are some examples of school districts saving money by working together, he said. That could be improved. A lot of it, however, is up to the districts, he said.

Districts need to be able to make decisions that are in their best interests. Consolidation could work, but if the state forces school districts to merge, it might not be a natural fit, and it might not be in the best interests of the community. He said that the state should try to help schools consolidate if they decide it’s in their best interests. He is against privatizing, saying all that does is take the same people and give them jobs with lower wages and lower benefits.

Lee also stressed that it’s important for students to have the opportunity to take classes in a variety of different subjects.

Budget Experience

Question: What experience do you have managing and balancing budgets and closing budget deficits?

Christine Green on Budgets

Green began by noting that she’s run her own business for 25 years. She also noted that she is a Scio Township trustee, and balancing the budget is part of that responsibility. She has also been on the governing boards of several organizations in that capacity of managing budgets, she said. She has not had experience with deficits – due to good planning, she said.

There are a lot of places where money can be saved, she suggested. We are spending money keeping people in prison who are not a danger to society, such as sick people, and people who haven’t committed violent crimes but who can’t be paroled under current laws until they’ve served their minimum sentence, due to truth-in-sentencing laws. They could be cared for better in a different facility.

Another thing the state should do is continue with the plan to reduce legislative salaries by 5% and go even further – it is a small part of the budget, she said, but still important, given everyone’s suffering.

Jeff Lee on Budgets

Lee indicated that he agreed with Irwin’s remarks. He said he is on several nonprofit boards and that giving is down while the need is up. The group he works for cut the budget by about one-third and actually managed to provide more services, just by being efficient and making sure they aren’t doing anything they don’t need to do, and making sure the things they do, they do well. He said that could be translated to the state level.

The state needs to make sure they are getting their money’s worth out of the contracts they award, Lee said. They need to make sure that tax credits that are awarded are actually having the desired effect. He also called for simplification of the tax code. He said there are many areas that could be cut, and he stressed the need to be proactive – we can’t just throw people in prison and think that when they’re released they won’t rely on the government to provide for them. It’s important to make them functional members of society. More than anything else, we need to prioritize, he said, and put our money in the areas that will help us grow and not just do what we’ve been doing in the past.

Environment

Question: The proposed sulfide mines in the UP are threatening some of the most pristine areas of our state. What should be done to protect our state’s natural environment from this threat? What should be done to protect funding for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE)?

Christine Green on the Environment

Funding for the DNR, Green said, is extremely important. She didn’t think she could find anyone in the room who would be against protecting Michigan’s natural resources – that’s what makes Michigan what it is, she said. She supports full funding for the DNRE. She also supports strong review processes.

Green said that she knows there is some activity in Lansing trying to limit the review of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment for activities like drilling and mining. The state’s public service commission should be involved in some of the review processes as well. What can be done immediately, she said, is to make sure that the review process is very strong. With respect to new power plants, there needs to be a determination that there is actually a need for such plants. A good review process needs to be in place for all activities that could potentially harm our natural resources, she concluded.

Jeff Lee on the Environment

Lee indicated that he felt Christine Green was exactly right. He characterized it as a “no-brainer.” Michigan had unique natural resources in the Great Lakes and should protect them – it is not a political issue, but rather a quality of life issue, he said. We don’t want to throw our quality of life away just because we can make more money on a copper mine.

There needs to be a public review process, he said, and that process needs to reflect the values of the community. On the subject of green energy, he said that if you are interested in creating more green energy and sustainable energy – it doesn’t mean that if he said it was fine with him to have a wind turbine in his own backyard that it was okay to have one in your backyard. The decision-making process needs to be public, he said.

Right to Bear Arms

Question: How do you feel about legislating greater freedoms to bear arms in public, such as at the malls and at schools?

Jeff Lee on Gun Rights

Lee stated that he is not in favor of having more guns in schools – which he said should not be a surprise to anyone. He respects everyone’s right to carry a weapon, but if you are in a classroom and a student disagrees with a grade that you gave them, that’s not going to be a very fair discussion if someone has a sidearm. He also worries about the possibility that class discussions would not be as free and open if one of the participants has a sidearm. Lee said he is not in favor of guns in schools and that includes universities as well.

Christine Green on Gun Rights

Green stated that she is not in favor of a broadening of gun rights. She noted that it is important to recognize that there is always some restriction on all of our rights. She also stated that it’s important to respect people who do exercise their right to bear arms and to do so respectfully. It is an important part of the Michigan economy, she said. However, she allowed that guns frighten her and handguns frighten her even more.

Campaign Finance

Question: Michigan law does not require corporations to publicly disclose contributions to political candidates and organizations or officials. Do you support that kind of disclosure?

Jeff Lee on Campaign Finance

Lee stated that we need transparency – we need to know who is supporting candidates.

Christine Green on Campaign Finance

Christine Green stated that she would like to increase access to the voting process – she is in favor of full disclosure, she said. On the Scio Township board, she said she is one of a couple of people who have really pushed for putting their meeting packets online. The material is always available under the Freedom of Information Act, she said, but why not have the material available to the public on the day of the meeting? She is in favor of legislation that would buffer the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision that changed the way corporations can make contributions to political campaigns.

Constitutional Convention

Question: Do you think we should have a constitutional convention, and why?

Jeff Lee on a Constitutional Convention

Lee began by saying that he agreed with comments of Ned Staebler, who had concluded that he was not in favor of having a constitutional convention because the potential for getting a worse document out of that process is too great.

Lee said someone told him that we shouldn’t  have a constitutional convention because every “nut job” will try to put some kind of crazy clause in there and we will be worse off than we are today. He characterized that as a valid argument. On the other hand, he said that Michigan has a lot of problems and is no longer a 1960s state. Michigan really needs to look at how it’s going to be a state in the 21st century, he said. If there is a constitutional convention, he said, its success in turning out a better document than we have now will depend on voters sending representatives to the convention who can get the job done.

Christine Green on a Constitutional Convention

Tactically, Green said it is a pretty easy question. Addressing Jeff Irwin’s suggestion that things couldn’t get much worse with respect to gay and lesbian rights and abortion rights, she said that she thinks it could actually get much worse.

Philosophically, Green felt like there are good reasons for having a convention and good reasons against it as well. Cost is a main reason she cited as being against it. A convention would also be very time-consuming. What we need to do right now, she said, is to roll up our sleeves in Michigan and get to work and figure out how to deal with some of these issues that are pressing right now. Some of the things that people would like to accomplish with a constitutional convention, she said, could be accomplished by other means – through a constitutional amendment, for example.

Funeral Regulations

Question: In Michigan, a death certificate must have a signature from a funeral director to be legal. This greatly increases the cost of funerals. Is this something that you would work against?

Christine Green on Funeral Regulations

Green said she doesn’t think she would actively work in favor of removing the requirement – there are reasons why rules like that are in place. She said that right now she would not be in favor of sponsoring legislation that would lift that requirement. A lot of the cost comes from other services that funeral directors provide, she said. Saying she’s sensitive to the issue of cost, she added that she’s also mindful of the fact that the regulation is there for a purpose.

Jeff Lee on Funeral Regulations

Lee said there is always room for exceptions – you want people to have the right to choose in as many areas as possible. We don’t want to burden somebody with costs during the grieving process, he said, but usually such regulations are in place for a reason. To be honest, he said, he did not know the reasons why the regulations are there. And that is perhaps a reason to have a conversation – if someone feels that it’s an onerous cost.

Crossing the Aisle

Question: What’s your perspective on how to work with the opposite party?

Christine Green on Working with Republicans

As a lawyer for 25 years, Green noted that you have to be good at negotiation – most cases do not go to trial, they settle. So she has developed some very good negotiating skills and she planns to use the skills in Lansing, she said. It involves give-and-take and compromise, she said.

It also involves not giving up your principles, staying true to your principles and pushing that issue but deciding what you can give up. What’s the most important part of the package the client really has to have before she or he can walk away from the case? On the Scio Township board, she said, she figured that perhaps not everyone on the board is a Democrat, even though they all had been elected as Democrats. They are still able to work together despite differences in opinion – they listen to each other and are respectful of each other. The same concept could work at the state level, she suggested. She described her work at Planned Parenthood – the organization works with right-to-life people on a variety of different projects, she said. You find an issue that you agree on, for example: Let’s prevent unintended pregnancies. It is important to go down to a specific level on a point of agreement and build from there, she said.

Jeff Lee on Working with Republicans

Lee said that it’s important to find common ground and it’s important to focus on outcomes. He said that there is a lot of focus on process and on whether points can be won for introducing an amendment, for example. There is a lot of emphasis on whether somebody can get credit for something, so that they can come back to voters and say, “Hey look what I did!” Instead, they should be able to say both parties worked together to produce a bill that is good for Michigan. Instead of focusing on who gets credit for something, he said, it is more important to figure out how everybody can succeed.

Right-to-Life and Pro-Choice

Question: Do you favor right-to-life or choice?

Christine Green on Abortion

Green stated that she is absolutely pro-choice. For her, medical privacy is the issue – it is something that a woman has to discuss with her doctor. In no other place do we invade that relationship, she said, and we should not in this case either.

Jeff Lee on Abortion

Lee stated that he is also pro-choice. He also said he is a supporter of comprehensive sexual education and access to family planning information.

The Senior Vote

Question: Research has shown that voters in primaries are 70% senior citizens. How are you planning for this?

Jeff Lee on Senior Voters

The first thing you have to do, Lee said, is to reach out to everybody. Many seniors, he suggested, have lived in the state all their lives and they are interested in leaving a legacy, something that is better than it was when they were young. It is important to listen to them because they have experience, he said.

Christine Green on Senior Voters

Green said she has not changed her strategy based on the prevalence of older voters. She is trying to knock on every door she possibly can – regardless of age or any other factor. Regardless of age group, a lot of the concerns, she said, seem to be the same.

A lot of senior citizens tell her that they are retired and don’t need to worry about a job for themselves, but the economy will affect them just as much or more than the rest of us. They care about all the issues that the rest of us care about, she concluded. Some of the seniors, she said, are potentially sensitive to some of the unfairness that goes on, some of the ways that individuals are being taken advantage of – insurance money that is being denied for legitimate claims, for example.

Followup question: Concerns are not the same across all age groups. There will soon be more seniors than elementary school kids. How does that affect what you plan to do about the budget?

Christine Green on Impact of Seniors on the Budget

Green began by saying, “We cannot let our seniors down.” Seniors are people who have worked their whole lives – they helped raise us in one way or another, whether parents or teachers.

We’re going to have to address revenue, though, because we do have a number of seniors who are not generating income, she cautioned. That has to be taken into consideration, she said, when the state makes revenue decisions. They have to take it into account when planning for services. She is in favor of making the delivery of services more efficient rather than cutting them. She concluded by saying that we owed a special debt to all the people who helped raise us.

Green warned that there would probably be some unintended consequences of the new federal health care bill – she had learned from her work with Planned Parenthood that the state has a lot to do with delivery of health care.

Jeff Lee on Impact of Seniors on the Budget

Health care is going to be an issue, he said – that would be a no-brainer. He said he’d heard from older voters with worries about how they are going to pay for all the prescriptions that they have. They also have housing issues – not just mortgage issues, but issues also with utility bills.

He noted that some of the seniors he talked to reported that their children have moved out of state, because they could not find jobs here in Michigan. They could not afford to travel to California or Florida to visit their children and their children could not afford to fly back to Michigan. That is a shame, he said.

Summary Statements

Each candidate gave a summary statement.

Jeff Lee Sums Up

We need to be proactive and we need to fix problems, Lee began. It’s not just the problems that we have, it’s the problems that we are going to have.

We need to find a way to build the Michigan that we want to have and not just take the Michigan that we’ve inherited. He related a conversation that he’d had with an older couple who told him that they do not have very much time left in this world and they want to see the kind of Michigan that they grew up in – a place they were proud of. We can do that, he said.

It will take leadership and vision, though. We can have a world-class education system and we can have a globally competitive job market – we can do that, Lee said, but it would take hard work. Business as usual would not be acceptable.

Christine Green Sums Up

Green said that as she goes door-to-door, an evening when somebody at the door does not break down and cry is the exception, not the rule.

People are underwater on their homes, they’re losing their jobs, they’re not getting their disability payments when they are disabled, they are laboring under noncompete agreements in some fields, they are truly suffering. She said that she doesn’t think the government is really working for them right now, and we need to turn that around.

We need to make sure that the government works for the people, she said. We’ve got to create jobs, and if we do that the economy will be healthier. But we also have to be mindful of the fact that Michigan is a beautiful state, that it is unique among all the states, and we need to be able to preserve that. And we need to capitalize on that in order to create jobs – our environment is an asset that we should invest in and protect like any other asset.

We need to rebalance the power so that individuals are not so much at the mercy of large corporations, Green said. She would be an advocate for individual rights, an advocate for the environment, an advocate for education, and for small businesses that want to make Michigan part of their future.

David Rutledge – a Washtenaw Community College trustee and a county road commissioner – is joining a crowded field of Democrats in the 54th District state House primary. That seat, representing eastern Washtenaw County, is now held by veteran lawmaker Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democrat running for governor. For the Republican primary in the 54th, Rodney Nanney of Ypsilanti, who has previously campaigned for other candidates, is making his first bid for office.

On the county’s west side, only one Democratic candidate in the 52nd District – Scio Township trustee Christine Green – is firmly in the race, while Republican Mark Ouimet, a current county commissioner, is raising a sizable war chest for his primary campaign in that district. The seat is now held by Democrat Pam Byrnes, who is running for state Senate.

Districts that may be up for grabs are particularly important this election cycle: Following the completion of the 2010 U.S. Census, the legislature will redraw state legislative and congressional districts. Although that every-10-years exercise is meant to account for population changes, it typically creates political advantage and disadvantage. The most recent redistricting, for example, led to the creation of a congressional district map that in 2002 put former U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) is the same district as fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. John Dingell, ensuring that one of the Michigan Democrats would be knocked out of Congress.

Though providing updates on all districts, this report focuses on the 52nd and 54th District House races, where the fields of candidates have recently expanded or contracted. We’ll introduce candidates entering the contests – as well as some notable politicians who’ve decided not to run – and report on how candidates are faring in their fundraising efforts. Future reports will focus on candidates’ backgrounds and issues, in addition to looking at any new local candidates in the House and Senate races.

54th District: A Crowded Field

This district, on the county’s east side, typically favors Democrats in November, causing intense competition in the primary. Democrats in the race so far include Lonnie Scott – an aide to Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith – who faces a well-known candidate in David Rutledge. Additional competition comes from newcomer Dave Franklin, a 2006 Milan High School grad who works as a library clerk; activist Bill Riney of Ypsilanti Township, who runs a landscaping business; and another first-time candidate, Michael Mashif White of Ypsilanti, a training manager for AT&T.

There’s also a new name on the Republican ballot – Rodney Nanney is making his first run for public office.

A city of Ypsilanti resident, Rodney has been involved in city issues, including the campaign against a city income tax. “I’ve campaigned for other people,” says Nanney, citing Ypsilanti city council member Peter Murdoch’s campaign among others.

A consultant who provides planning, zoning and economic development services for local government, Nanney says he sees the effect of state budget decisions up close. “They’re starving local government and our schools to save the state bureaucracy,” he says. “I think this year people are ready for something different than usual in eastern Washtenaw County. It’s the year to get involved.”

While Nanney is a first-time candidate, Democrat David Rutledge has a long history as an elected official. He’s serving his fourth term as a member of the board of trustees at Washtenaw Community College, where the board is selected in nonpartisan, countywide elections. Rutledge also is a member of the Washtenaw County Road Commission, an appointed position.

Rutledge served as Superior Township supervisor in the 1980s. However, state office has been elusive. He’s previously run unsuccessful primary campaigns for the 54th. But after assessing the failures and talking to prospective supporters, he says he’s ready to capitalize on those experiences.

“Tough economic times have stirred the fire in the belly again,” Rutledge says. “I have passion and an unrealized dream.”

Rutledge says he’ll run on his experience in public service.

He’s currently co-chair of the county’s Success by 6 early childhood education program and served some 30 years on the county parks and recreation commission. During his tenure as Superior Township supervisor, the township officials created a technology center district on Geddes, he says. An effort to diversify a tax base heavily dependent on residential property taxes, the move didn’t pay dividends right away but is now home to the Hyundai America Technical Center.

Tax policy also emerges in the campaign of Dave Franklin, who offers non-traditional points of view for a candidate running as a Democrat.

He blames taxes and state regulations for the state’s economic and employment woes, and argues that lost revenue will be offset by new industries and jobs. He holds that property taxes are “immoral” and income taxes “unjust.”

“I’m a populist Democrat, if anything,” Franklin says. “More Jackson than a modern-day Democrat.” While Franklin says he finds that certain aspects of the Libertarian party philosophy are interesting, he says he doesn’t identify with that party. “I think diversity is a good thing for the Democratic party. I can be a Democrat without necessarily following a party platform.”

Bill Riney has previously been a candidate for the county board of commissioners, WCC board of trustees, and the 54th District seat. He has not yet filed a petition with the Michigan Secretary of State Washtenaw County clerk’s office to run in the 54th District race, but he’s been running a grassroots campaign since last fall. The campaign in part entails traveling through district neighborhoods with a trailer loaded with hotdogs and soft drinks that he gives away. “I’m out there every weekend,” he says.

Candidates have until May 11 to file the petitions required to be on the ballot.

Michael Mashif White, a resident of Washtenaw County for eight-plus years, has filed his petition, a process that requires collecting 200 voters’ signatures. He recently launched a campaign website, and has gotten involved in the county Democratic Party. He’s also been meeting local school and government officials and has pulled together volunteers to work on phone banks, develop e-mail lists and get ready to start canvassing neighborhoods.

Others in the Race?

The five-candidate Democratic field could grow further if Ypsilanti Township trustee Mike Martin and county commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr. decide to mount campaigns. Both have said they were considering runs.

Martin said recently it was still possible that he’d run, but he was concerned about constituent reaction should he seek another office before completing a single term on the township board. Sizemore, now serving as chairman of the county board, says he’ll wait until a contract is finalized with the incoming county administrator, Verna McDaniel, and then announce his plans.

In addition to the Democrats, Ypsilanti resident Dave Palmer says he plans to run as an Independent. In that case, he will have until the middle of July to collect 600 signatures and file a petition with the Secretary of State Washtenaw County clerk to get on the ballot.

Palmer is a business manager for LaVision, a software and systems integration company. He’s a Washtenaw County native and has worked on Democratic and Green party campaigns. He also runs a consulting firm after hours. That company, ugconsulting.net, offers political consulting for independent and third-party candidates, as well as development advice for nonprofits and small business.

Since 2000, Republican and sometimes minor candidates have, at most, won 32% of the vote in the district that includes the city of Ypsilanti, and Augusta, Salem, Superior and Ypsilanti townships. [.pdf file of 54th District map] Palmer knows the numbers and the vote count he’d need to win. He thinks it’s doable and that an independent could help bridge the deep divide between Democrats and Republicans in Lansing or, failing that, hold their feet to the fire.

Following the Money: 54th District

Though fundraising has been robust in other parts of the county, that isn’t the case in the 54th District race. The threshold for reporting campaign spending is $1,000.

Democrat Lonnie Scott had raised less than $2,000 by Dec. 31, the close of a campaign-finance reporting period. He was the only candidate in the five-man primary field to report any contribution to his campaign.

With a goal of having $40,000 to pay for printing, mailing and other campaign expenses for an Aug. 3 primary, the 2005 Central Michigan grad has a long way to go.

“I think we’ll get there,” said Scott, buoyed by response to his first “phone bank.” That calling blitz reached several thousand 54h District residents who’ve previously voted in primary elections, he says. “I hope it will make them go to the website to learn more about me and the issues.” Information about a March 13 campaign event in Depot Town is also on the site.

“I’m in no position to self fund,” says Scott. “If the dollars don’t come, we have to hit the door-to-door work harder.”

52nd District: In, Out, On the Fence

On the county’s west side, two Democrats who’ve been considering the 52nd District state House race aren’t in it yet. In fact, one of them has officially decided not to run.

Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell had given serious consideration to a run, but now says she’s decided against it. With local government suffering the impact of the state’s economic troubles, it would be the worst possible time to leave the city, she says. “Stability is better when you have to do some reorganizing and we need to make some changes to absorb cuts from the state. It was a hard decision.”

Still on the fence is Washtenaw County commissioner Ken Schwartz. In November, the Scio Township Democrat said he hadn’t made a decision, but that it would be a surprise if he wasn’t running for the 52nd District seat.

Three months later, Schwartz is much less certain.

One reason, he says, is the transition under way in county government. Several factors point to a broad shakeup: The retirement of long-time administrator Bob Guenzel, announced in December; the pending departure of at least two commissioners, Mark Ouimet and Jeff Irwin; and a retrenching brought on by falling revenue. A two-term commissioner, Schwartz says he’s in a position to help reshape county government.

In addition, Schwartz says he’s discouraged by gridlock and partisanship at the state level.

If he does run, Schwartz says it’s the message – and whether the Democratic base is energized – that will lead to a win in November, more so than money. But getting a message out takes some resources.

“Because of the economy, the average person can’t give a candidate $100 like they might have in the past,” Schwartz says. “Maybe they can give $10 or $20. … I’m evaluating where I can be most effective. I’ll make a decision by April 15.”

If Schwartz does stay on the sidelines, the one Democrat so far who’s definitely running – Scio Township trustee Christine Green – will avoid a primary. A lawyer elected to the township board in 2008, Green hopes to succeed current state Rep. Pam Byrnes and retain the seat for the Democrats, who’ve held it since 2004. Byrnes is term-limited in the House and is running for state Senate in District 18.

The district stretches from western Washtenaw County into a northwestern corner of the city of Ann Arbor and includes the city of Saline and the townships of Webster, Dexter and Lodi. [.pdf file of 52nd District map]

It’s generally considered a swing district.

Byrnes unsuccessfully tried to unseat Republican Gene DeRossett in 2002. The Republican incumbent won about 53% of the vote that year. Byrnes then prevailed over Republican Joe Yekulis when term limits created a race without an incumbent in 2004. She won with 55% of the vote that year and has twice been re-elected. Republican challengers got a little less than a third of the vote in 2006 and 2008.

Following the Money: 52th District

On the Republican side, Mark Ouimet is the only candidate in the race so far.

Now serving on the 11-member county board, Ouimet raised almost $74,000 for his campaign before the first of the year. That topped the combined total of the next two richest local state House campaigns – between the 53rd District Democratic candidates Ned Staebler and Jeff Irwin, who’s also a county commissioner. The most recent campaign-finance reports cover contributions and spending through Dec. 31, 2009.

“It appears Republicans are trying to buy the seat,” fellow county commissioner Ken Schwartz says, referring to campaign funds that the Scio Township Republican is amassing.

Ouimet’s donor list through Dec. 31 includes some 60 county residents ready and able to donate the maximum allowable $500 per person. Ouimet has loaned his campaign about $16,000. Excluding that loan, the average gift to Ouimet’s campaign has been about $280 per person. [Link to the Michigan Secretary of State's searchable campaign finance database. All campaign finance reports for these races are filed with the Secretary of State.]

The single political-action committee contribution to Ouimet in his most recent campaign-finance report was $1,000 from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce PAC.

In fundraising for the Democratic primary, Green – a lawyer elected to Scio board in 2008 – had raised $13,550 through Dec. 31. Contributions to her campaign have averaged about $300 per person.

There’s precedent for a high-priced race in the 52th District. When term limits last led to an open seat, the Byrnes-Yekulis campaigns combined to spend almost $400,000.

Other State Race Updates

For more coverage on all state races, see previous Chronicle articles: “More Candidates Vie for State House, Senate“;  “State Races in Districts 54, 55 Take Shape” and “State Legislative Candidates Lining Up.”

53rd District House

The 53rd House district covers most of the city of Ann Arbor, and is being contested in the Democratic primary by county commissioner Jeff Irwin and Ned Staebler, vice president of program administration at the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

First-time candidate Staebler says he continues to introduce himself to voters at regular Saturday coffees and at gatherings in private homes. He’ll begin a leave of absence from his job at the MEDC two months before the Aug. 3 primary.

Irwin’s campaign is also using house parties to connect with voters. He’s completing work on a website, which hasn’t yet been launched. He does have a page on the Facebook social networking site, as does Staebler.

As of Dec. 31, Staebler and Irwin had raised $40,850 and $24,300 respectively.

55th District House

The 55th, considered a swing district, includes Pittsfield, Saline and York townships in Washtenaw County, along with communities in Monroe County. Democrats and Republican have fought hard over the seat, represented by Democrat Kathy Angerer since 2004.

But fundraising has been relatively slow among the candidates hoping to take the term-limited lawmaker’s job. (Enacted in 1992, the state’s term-limits law set a cap of three two-year terms for state representatives and two four-year terms for the senate. Also limited to two four-year terms are the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general.)

By Dec. 31, Republican Joe Zurawski, York Township supervisor, reported contributions of more than $11,000 – including about $8,000 of his own money.

His opponents in the Republican primary in the 55th – Rick Olson of Saline Township and Mary Kay Thayer, a former Monroe County commissioner – trailed. Olson had loaned his campaign more than $6,000 and had only one other contribution. Thayer raised about $1,200.

Democrat Mike Smith, a Bedford school board member who’s worked as the AFL-CIO community services liaison to the United Way of Monroe County, had raised about $3,900 by Dec. 31.

It’s expected that Angerer will work to help her party hold the seat.

18th District Senate

The current 53rd District rep, Rebekah Warren, started the year with more than $62,500 toward her campaign for the state Senate’s 18th District. That campaign fund included $10,000 rolled over from Warren’s state representative campaign fund.

She faces fellow Democrat Pam Byrnes of Lyndon Township, who entered the Senate race several months later than Warren. Byrnes’s Senate campaign had just $7,100 as of Dec. 31. But she had yet to tap her state representative campaign fund, which held $104,000.

Now represented by state Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor), the district includes Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and the townships of Ann Arbor, Augusta, Dexter, Freedom, Lima, Lyndon, Northfield, Salem, Scio, Sharon, Superior, Sylvan, Webster and Ypsilanti. Brater is term-limited from further service in the legislature.

Democrat Ruth Ann Jamnick, a former state rep and former Ypsilanti Township supervisor, had considered joining the primary field but says she won’t enter the race.

On the Republican side, Salem Township treasurer David Trent says he will soon decide whether to seek his party’s nomination for the Senate seat.

There’s another wrinkle in this race: Byrnes is thought to be a potential candidate for lieutenant governor with Redford Township Democrat Andy Dillon, now Speaker of the House of Representatives, who officially announced his candidacy for governor on Sunday.

Byrnes and Dillon have worked closely as leaders of the Democratic-controlled House. Byrnes’ support of abortion rights would presumably help Dillon with voters at odds with him on that issue. He’s among the Michigan Democrats who oppose abortion.

Despite the persistent speculation, Byrnes says she’s never discussed the lieutenant governor’s post with Dillon.

“Even if I had, I’m not sure I’d accept,” she says. “I’m running for state Senate.”