Michigan Press Association fights Ann Arbor charter amendments with 'robo-calls'

Documents filed late Tuesday with the Washtenaw County Clerk’s Office show the Lansing-based MPA gave the Committee to Protect the Ann Arbor Public’s Right to Know $44,942 for a commercial blitz on local radio and Comcast cable stations up until the election.

At issue are two amendments to the City Charter residents are being asked to approve on Nov. 3. One would give the Ann Arbor City Council authority to determine how to publish legal notifications, including online postings in lieu of print publications.

The ads have been running during local commercial time slots on Comcast stations, and frequently on WWWW-FM, WQKI-FM, WTKA-AM, and WAAM radio.

The MPA also paid $1,250 to a Virginia firm to saturate voters with “robo-calls.” One, featuring a man’s voice, says: 

• "There's a good chance that soon you won't even know if it's time to raise our millage rate. They're trying to change our city charter so that important notices, like proposed millage rate increases that cause our property taxes to go up, no longer have to be published in the newspaper where you're likely to see them. Instead, they have to post them only on the city's Web site. Tinkering with the city charter is a bad idea that makes it harder for us to find out critical news affecting our homes, neighborhoods, schools and jobs, but makes it easier to post fraudulent information online. Vote no on Ann Arbor proposals A and B. Sacrificing our right to know is just too high a cost."

The second amendment is specifically tailored to zoning ordinances, which by law must be published in a newspaper within 10 days of enactment. If passed, the charter would be amended to allow publication in any other media permitted by law, including the city’s Web site at www.a2gov.org.

City officials say the changes are necessary to modernize the charter, save money and keep the city in compliance with transparency laws in the aftermath of the Ann Arbor News’ closure in July.

But MPA spokeswoman Lisa McGraw said the group’s membership believes the changes will impact the public’s right and expectation to know how local government operates.

“Public notices should have achievability, be accessible and be used by an independent third party that can be documented historically,” McGraw said. “It’s part of the public’s right to know.”

City Council Member Leigh Greden called that argument catchy for campaign purposes, but said it doesn’t take into account Ann Arbor’s unique situation.

Greden, the outgoing Democrat representing Ward 3, said he supports the changes and believes publishing notices online would enhance the mission of public notification.

“We’re one of the most tech-savvy cities in the state, and the Web is far more accessible to far more people than any print publication serving Ann Arbor,” he said. “This is not about public service or government transparency. For the opposition, it’s about money and nothing else.”

State law defines a newspaper of general circulation as any publication with paid subscribers that has been in existence for at least a year.

AnnArbor.com, which publishes print editions twice a week and is owned by The News’ parent company, won’t qualify to publish legal notices until next July under the current city charter.

Both Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County have turned to the weekly Washtenaw County Legal News since the end of July.

McGraw said other communities could follow Ann Arbor’s lead and self-publish notices if the measures pass.

Also joining the MPA in the fight is the Michigan Environmental Council, which issued a letter opposing the charter changes Tuesday but has yet to contribute to the committee.

“As defenders of Michigan’s public health and natural resources, we have a strong interest in government transparency and access for all residents,” wrote MEC President Chris Kolb, a former Ann Arbor city council member and state representative. “Notification of significant public policy activities in print journals of record - supplemented by online notifications - is the most transparent and reliable way to meet those goals.”

The committee also reported an $800 contribution from Ann Arbor resident Steven Norton, who indicated he was a self-employed consultant; and $500 from Ann Arbor-based Iris Drycleaners, Inc.

Greden and other city officials said they’ve received dozens of complaints from residents about the robo-calls, which he believes are misleading.

One call hypothetically threatens zoning ordinance changes that could allow chemical plant construction in the city without public knowledge.

“The notion that anything of that magnitude happening at City Council without public knowledge is ridiculous,” Greden said. “Clearly they’re using bizarre scare tactics that indicate just how out of touch they are with Ann Arbor.”

Greden also said he’s concerned political groups outside Ann Arbor are trying to interfere with city policy decisions.

The opposition committee formed Oct. 15 and missed the initial financial disclosure deadline last week, records show.

Documents list a non-partisan affiliation, but the committee treasurer, Mason resident Mary Doster, is a Republican Party activist who was recently named treasurer of Republican State Sen. Tom George’s gubernatorial campaign.

Doster said Tuesday she’s just a bookkeeper for the committee and deferred all questions to Jeff Timmer, a founding partner of the Sterling Corp., a Lansing-based consulting firm that specializes in political and public affairs.

Timmer, who was executive director of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005 until earlier this year, confirmed Sterling Corp. is working on behalf of the committee but deferred further comment to McGraw Tuesday.

McGraw insists the effort to defeat the ballot proposals is non-partisan.

Ann Arbor resident and long-time attorney Elmer White said he plans to support the charter changes without hesitation.

“The requirement that legal notices be published in print media goes back to the early 19th Century. What Ann Arbor city government is trying to do is to drag us into the 21st Century,” he said. “The train has left the station.”

The city has information about the proposals posted on its Web site at www.a2gov.org/elections.

• Read the city's fact sheet

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or call 734-623-2530.