Signs have popped up on some lawns urging votes against the nonpartisan voting charter amendment on the general election ballot. The signs include a link to the this website. It is worth a trip to that website to see the level of distortions City officials are willing to engage in.

Start with the statement that Proposal C “Falsely claims to align with "99% of Michigan cities" while eliminating the August primary, turning city elections into November free-for-alls.” The truth is that only two Michigan cities, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, hold partisan municipal elections. Some of the other cities have primary elections, but others do not. There are no “November free-for-alls.” All have choices among candidates on the November ballots. Ann Arbor has no choices. The only choice here is on whether to put a check mark next to a single candidate or to write in another name.

The website says Proposal C “Obscures party labels and hides candidates' values in a time of rampant misinformation.” Here’s the second ward ballot for this year’s election.

You can place a mark next to Jon Mallek or write in Mickey Mouse. How much does that ballot tell you about Joe Mallek? How does nonpartisan voting prevent Malleck from telling people about his qualifications for public office? Has he come to your door to ask for your vote? Of course not. Like the other City Council candidates, he is running unopposed.

The website claims that the switch to nonpartisan voting “Raises barriers to entry and discourages candidates with diverse backgrounds from participating.” The change actually would remove the barrier of requiring a candidate to declare a political party membership. Under proposal C, any Ann Arbor citizen who is old enough will be able to run for the City Council without having to declare personal values.

The website says Ann Arbor has “the most diverse and progressive Council in Ann Arbor's history.” When I was the city’s attorney we had a City Council with blacks, whites, men, women, gays and straights. There were members of three political parties. We had students, professors and bankers. They served without pay. We now have ten council members who declared themselves to be Democrats and then were elected without opposition in the November election. They vote in unison. Almost all their decisions are unanimous. If they show a hint of independence, they can expect to be punished by the mayor.

The website touts the importance of “Transparency.” But Ann Arbor city officials are obsessed with secrecy which is preserved by a staff of 12 attorneys. The Charter requires the City Attorney to “file with the Clerk a copy of all the Attorney's written opinions.” A FOIA request for copies of those opinions made public in the last 5 years revealed only two. Their release was directed by the City Council which authorized the City Attorney to black out portions.

Opinions provided to Council Members are all marked as confidential. Council members who have dared to openly discuss the opinions have been punished by removal from City Council committees.

 City Attorney opinions are used as tools to allow closed Council member discussions. When a developer proposed a Sports Illustrated resort for downtown Ann Arbor, the Council held a closed meeting to discuss the proposal using a City Attorney opinion as the excuse for secrecy.

The City used the tax funds raised for new affordable housing to pay off old debts and to buy an election center.

That was accomplished by wiring money between City bank accounts in a purported sale to the City’s own subsidiary. When that was approved Council Member Briggs said “We do have a legal obligation to sell this property at fair market value because of the bonds that were acquired to purchase that property.” The City then ignored requests to see the bonds. When requested for an explanation of the transaction, the City claimed the only explanation was in City Attorney privileged documents which it refused to disclose.

The Council planned to reward the City Attorney for her conduct. So it waited to the end of a meeting when the audience had left before the City Attorney called for a closed meeting without disclosing any legal purpose. The Council then approved a raise and bonus for the City Attorney which was not made public. Two weeks later, when it approved the Council minutes, the minutes falsely stated that the purpose of the closed meeting had been provided. Michigan has a law similar to the law enforced in the recent hush money prosecutions. It makes preparation of a false public documents a 14 year felony. For more gory details on the disgraceful conduct of City officials go to here.

The website claims a coalition of members that include state and federal officials. The Michigan Lieutenant Governor has been recruited to make robocalls urging Ann Arbor residents to vote “no.” A glossy 8 by 10 postcard has is being mailed to urge a no vote. Who is really behind this? And what are they afraid of?

Here is the real coalition which is trying to preserve obscurity.

Under the partisan system in effect in Ann Arbor, they have been able to get elected with almost no effort. They receive salaries for meeting on Monday nights and voting with unanimity. Of course they are opposed to anything that would endanger their cushy jobs.

–Bruce Laidlaw

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