Tyrone Bridges among candidates for ward 1 Ypsilanti City Council seat

He will face Steve Pierce and Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson in the Aug. 7 primary.

Bridges' name wasn't mentioned in a previous AnnArbor.com article because his name was not included on the Washtenaw County clerk's website. But the Ypsilanti city clerk's office confirmed he did file his paperwork by the Tuesday deadline.

This is Bridges' third run at a ward 1 seat after unsuccessfully running against Ricky Jefferson and Juanita House in 2010, and Richardson in 2000.

Bridges said the same reasons that he ran for council on previous occasions still apply.

"We have a lot of constituents that have been underrepresented by our council people," he said, specifically targeting Richardson. "They don't know anything that is going on in this city until the time comes for a vote, and then (council members) come ask us for something."

Bridges serves on the city's human relations commission and works as a health care provider. He also is active in the community with the Parkridge Center and Behavior Workshop, which provides a computer repair program for low-income residents and youth mentoring programs.

Bridges said he is active in local politics and keeps people in ward 1 informed on what is going on in city politics.

"A lot of people already think I'm a representative," he said. "I've been active for years, and that's what I bring to the table - I know what's going on in the community."

Bridges said he had mixed feelings about the tax proposals because he felt that the city needs the money, but he didn't trust the current representatives to spend it properly.

"One way or another we would have been facing the issues again," he said. "I supported (the tax proposals) because they would have done something for us, but at the same time, people on council, I wasn't comfortable with them spending the money they were going to get from residents."

Pierce, who runs Wireless Ypsi, was treasurer and volunteer for the Stop City Income Tax group.