6 candidates for Ann Arbor City Council to take stage at forum this Saturday
If you live in Wards 3 or 4 in Ann Arbor, there'll be a contested City Council race on the ballot for you to decide in the Aug. 6 primary.
Still don't know who to vote for? The first candidate forum of the season is this Saturday and it should offer a glimpse into what each candidate is all about.
Confirmed participants include six Democrats running for City Council this year, including Julie Grand and Stephen Kunselman, who are doing battle in the 3rd Ward, and Jack Eaton and Marcia Higgins, who are competing in the 4th Ward.
Grand, chairwoman of the city's Park Advisory Commission, is trying to unseat Kunselman, who is seeking a fourth two-year term on council.
Eaton, a labor attorney and longtime neighborhood activist, is trying to unseat Higgins, who has been on council since 1999 — first as a Republican and now a Democrat.
Other candidates expected to attend Saturday's forum include 1st Ward incumbent Sabra Briere and 2nd Ward hopeful Kirk Westphal, though neither faces an opponent in August. Westphal is expected to face off against Independent incumbent Jane Lumm in November.
The forum is being moderated by Mike Henry and Kyle Hunter. The event starts with a light breakfast at 9:30 a.m. with candidates taking the stage at 10 a.m.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
PineyWoodsGuy
Sat, Jun 8, 2013 : 4:59 a.m.
The "Hurinal" is Disgusting! The "Shuttlecock" Totally Stupid "art work" in the "Justice Center" is a Joke! Steve K. voted against both of these wastes of money. Need I say more . . . ?
PineyWoodsGuy
Sat, Jun 8, 2013 : 4:53 a.m.
Kounselman Kunselman! He be "The Man!" A Truly Independent Thinker!!! I LUV the guy! Clean Out City Hall!!!
Brad
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 4:24 p.m.
So when Jack Eaton wins the primary in the 4th can we expect a challenge from Marcia Higgins (R)?
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 8 p.m.
No candidate can file to run as a Republican this year at this point; that deadline has passed. The deadline to file to run as an Independent is in August, so there's that option. And of course there's always the next election cycle.
David Cahill
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:21 p.m.
I expect a "full and frank exchange of views" between the Third and Fourth Ward candidates. I hope folks interested in these races will come. It's great that AnnArbor.com will be covering this forum!
JRW
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 1:44 p.m.
I'd like to see a list of council members who voted FOR the 413 Huron project. Can AA dot com provide this list?
DJBudSonic
Sat, Jun 8, 2013 : 3:59 a.m.
I'm glad Ms. Briere voted no, it is a terrible thing to have that building almost anywhere in the city. I applaud all who voted no. Of course, I don't feel the same about the members of council who voted to bring us this zoning mess in the first place, and that list includes Ms. Briere. So...thinking out loud.. she helped bring us the zoning that made 413 Huron possible, was unable to muster support for a moratorium on the use of that ill-conceived zoning, ?.. Can we count on her to back up her 'no' vote with meaningful change to what many consider flawed zoning? As for the mayor doing the same, we will never know. I am sure there's no threat of high density mixed use coming to Burns Park.
cindy1
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 4:04 p.m.
Breier had almost no choice but to vote no, and to work with residents. That part of her ward was full to the brim with those opposing 413 E. Huron. I suspect any city councilor would have done the same. Maybe even the mayor. Which ones will work on zoning changes?
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.
We reported that here: http://annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-city-council-approves-14-story-high-rise-to-avoid-potentially-costly-lawsuit/
Jack Eaton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:32 p.m.
@DJBudSonic, I would note that Council member Briere was an early supporter of the neighbors who opposed the 413 E. Huron project. I do not always agree with Ms. Briere, but I can assure you that on this issue she worked hard on behalf of the nearby residents from a very early stage of the process.
DJBudSonic
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:13 p.m.
I can. Voting for it were Petersen, Taylor, Teall, Higgins, Warpohowski, Heiftje. Briere voted against it, but since it had the six votes needed to pass this was a political bone thrown to Ray Detter, who finally opposed some development when it was too close to his house. A least that is what I heard in council chambers that night. The rest of the no votes were actual no votes. Not surprised by the voting, but disappointed by Petersen's yes vote. I think a lot of people thought she would be less inclined to "go with the flow", but unfortunately that is not the case.
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:45 p.m.
I checked with the League of Women Voters in Ann Arbor and their City Council candidate forums will be held on July 10 at CTN studios. I'll likely be previewing/covering those as well. The first forum is Ward 3 from 7-7:40 p.m. The second forum is Ward 4 from 8-8:40 p.m. They'll air on CTN and be replayed leading up to the primary. There's limited seating inside the studio, so usually only media and people associated with the campaigns attend.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:18 p.m.
"Other candidates expected to attend Saturday's forum include 1st Ward incumbent Sabra Briere and 2nd Ward hopeful Kirk Westphal, though neither faces an opponent in August." Ms. Briere's recent buddy buddy representation and backfligs as spokeswoman for the Mayor and the DDA just bought her a no challenger ticket for the August Democratic Primary. Congrats on your move to the dark side.
Tano
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.
I don't quite follow your logic Alan. Are you saying that the Mayor and the DDA can somehow prevent anyone from running in a primary, and that they have done this to clear the field for Briere as a pay-back for her support? How does that work?
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 1:09 p.m.
I meant backfligs but like your suggested correction to backflips. :)
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:48 p.m.
I assume you mean backflips?
brimble
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:14 p.m.
The unfortunate reality of Ann Arbor politics is that this primary is the election for these two seats on Council. First week of August primaries are guaranteed to have low turnout, which means that these races and the discussions about issues pertinent to the Wards and to the City as a whole get lost in the fog of summer vacations. It is less-than-ideal circumstances for vigorous participatory democracy.
Brad
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 1:30 p.m.
I'll have to agree with Ryan on the embarrassment, and while having the "real" election in the summer definitely contributes to that it isn't a particularly valid excuse. Going to be on vacation? Cast an absentee ballot. As I always say voting is like buying your ticket to complain. And I wouldn't want to be without that :)
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:31 p.m.
Perhaps even more unfortunate is that Ann Arbor is not unique in having embarrassingly low primary turnout — that's been the case with every city in which I've covered elections. To give a sense of just how small the numbers are, here are the results from the 2011 council primaries: http://tinyurl.com/44dhgjc. It's kind of strange to think, but in a city with 116,000-plus residents, it's entirely possible to get elected to council by getting 500-700 people to vote for you. And I know not all of those 116,000 residents are registered voters, and the voting population is broken down into five political wards, but that's still pretty notable.
Steve Bean
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 11:25 a.m.
Ryan, I invite you to reconsider the war metaphors for elections. Even a word like "competing" is inaccurate if we really have a democracy.
Steve Bean
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 9:04 p.m.
Ryan, "fighting words" is another unnecessary and inaccurate metaphor. More accurate alternatives include "disagreement", "counter position", "different perspective", "challenge" (which can be a positive term), and "criticism". Dave Cahill, you've demonstrated that metaphors often displace thinking for a learned story.
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 8:05 p.m.
The day quoting candidates verbatim on something they said to a reporter for publication becomes "dissing" is a day I hope never to see.
cindy1
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 3:56 p.m.
It seems unethical for a reporter to diss a candidate (even in a comment) without an equal diss to the other "competing" candidate. I refer to the Kunselman remark.
David Cahill
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
Of course these elections are competitions. There can be only one winner. The fight for power is the essence of democracy. An election is properly called a "campaign" as a war metaphor.
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:42 p.m.
And while there has been some early tension in the 3rd Ward race (one example: Kunselman saying Grand is just part of the "Greden grudge group"), I will note that I witnessed a pretty amiable exchange between the two 3rd Ward candidates at an event last night, so we'll see how Saturday's candidate forum goes.
Ryan J. Stanton
Fri, Jun 7, 2013 : 12:03 p.m.
Steve, I appreciate the feedback as always. I chose those words carefully, and I wasn't trying to draw up a war metaphor. The word "battle" simply implies a fight, and there have been some fighting words exchanged in the 3rd Ward race. As to your second point, I'm not sure what's inaccurate about saying Eaton and Higgins are competing for the 4th Ward seat.