Republican
Accountant
I've interned for the Michigan House (Rep Jackie Vaughn, Det.) and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (Tax Analysis Division -I developed CBO's first customs revenue forecasting model). As the environment agency Budget Analyst for the Illinois Bureau of the Budget, I analyzed $30 million of budgets and reviewed legislative proposals. I did accounting/financial control work for a social service organization (Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Chicago) and various auto suppliers in S.E. Michigan, including MSX International, Daimler Chrysler Financial, and Mechanical Simulation Corporation. I also taught Political Economy at DePaul University. I hold a CPA certificate.
B.A. (Economics), Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Master of Public Policy, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Master of Science in Accounting, De Paul University, Chicago, IL
Cub Scout Pack 78, Webelos Den Leader
Boy Scout Troop 5, Merit Badge Counselor and Web Master
First Baptist Church, Ann Arbor, Treasurer; past Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Widower, married 15 years to Sara Parker Floyd.
Two sons, 10 and 14, in AAPS. My mother, and mother-in-law, also live in town.
I am running on local, Ann Arbor issues - the issues for which council is actually responsible: fixing streets and bridges, keeping the parks and park facilities (including ball diamonds) mowed and in good repair, plowing streets, picking up leaves, good policing, good fire services, and other local services. I support citizen referendums on any disposition of park land to outside entities for non-park purposes, whether via conventional sale, or "long-term lease". This is both per the recent charter amendment, and per the spirit in which that amendment was passed. A council looking for ways to get around the will of its citizens, is not Ann Arbor at its best.
A college town on steroids: the center of science and technology innovation in Michigan, and one of its centers of entrepreneurship, around a core of traditional college-town ambience and culture. Maintaining the desirability of Ann Arbor neighborhoods, the vibrancy of its downtown entertainment center, and restoring high value for our tax dollars, are keys to Ann Arbor's future. Well-maintained, near-downtown, historic neighborhoods are another key to Ann Arbor's vibrancy, as are our parks; I am skeptical but open to hearing about proposed sales or "long-term leases" of park land, but always advocate citizen votes on such proposals. Of course, the health of our sister institutions, the University of Michigan, and the Ann Arbor Public Schools, deeply affect our vibrancy. Our long-term vision must include mutually-beneficial relationships with them. Ann Arbor need not slavishly imitate other cities to thrive - it can be unique.
It's always good to get someone else to pay for your infrastructure, but the time to have been "shovel ready" was two years ago. On May 14th, AnnArbor.com quoted the Assistant Secretary of Transportation apparently suggesting it was unlikely that we would win federal funding in the foreseeable future. If we have exhausted the reasonable near-term options for receiving federal or state grants, it's probably time to fix it ourselves. If Mr. Fraser can make the case that this should not be funded from the Street Repair millage, this strikes me unlike the proposed Fuller Road Parking Garage - as a project potentially worthy of new city debt. Anticipating that the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks will, one day, support more traffic than at present, I favor a bridge over the tracks, not an at-grade crossing.
As long as costs (personnel, energy, debt service,etc.) rise faster than inflation, and tax revenues rise with inflation, we have a "forever" budget problem. Spending per resident cannot grow faster than inflation unless residents pay more taxes(taxes from downtown development go to the Downtown Development Authority, not the city's general fund). If people will pay tax beyond inflation OK. Otherwise, no budget line can grow without offsetting cuts elsewhere. Wage/benefit packages are moving towards only-inflation increases; contract labor (outside legal, "consultants", "temps" etc) and debt service are next. Like a credit card, growth in debt reduces funds for other services - e.g., police & fire. When the U of M buys private land in the city (e.g. Pfizer), it leaves the tax rolls without cutting the city's costs (esp. fixed costs, like debt service). To keep Ann Arbor viable, sooner or later, the U must make Payments in Lieu of Taxes to the city when it buys land.
My work, education, and life experience make me uniquely qualified for city council. I have held state government, non-profit, corporate financial services and academic positions, and I grew up in Ann Arbor. I've interned for the Michigan House (Rep Jackie Vaughn, Det.) and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (Tax Analysis Division -I developed CBO's first customs revenue forecasting model). As the environment agency Budget Analyst for the Illinois Bureau of the Budget, I analyzed $30 million of budgets and reviewed legislative proposals. I did accounting/financial control work for a social service organization (Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Chicago) and various auto suppliers in S.E. Michigan. I also taught Political Economy at DePaul University. I developed economics, accounting and program evaluation expertise while obtaining a BA in Economics at Oberlin College, a Master of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Master of Science in Accounting from DePaul University.
Jeff Kahan, of the Planning Department, called the ring of pre-WWII homes surrounding downtown as "The Charm Zone." Burns Park and the Old West Side are the most famous Charm Zone examples, but Kerrytown, the Old Fourth Ward, and Germantown are also Charm Zone neighborhoods. The Charm Zone, with its canopy of mature trees, residential density, human scale, neighborhood feel, and sense of place, is Ann Arbor's signature built-environment element. We shoot ourselves in the foot to mar The Charm Zone's intactness: We cannot out-concrete New York or Chicago, but concrete surrounded by The Charm Zone lets Ann Arbor offer what New York or Chicago can't: "Small-town feel, Big City Vitality." We agreed to put new structures/architecture in the downtown D1 area. Complementing this concrete with our ring of leafy, thriving historic neighborhoods gives us a unique setting the best of both worlds. The Charm Zone gives competitive advantage in attracting/retaining talent - protect it!
Either one is slow-motion civic suicide. People with incomes would no longer move in to replace those who leave they'd live in Pittsfield Township. No business of any size would ever start or relocate within our city when the 8 minute drive from Huron & Main to Scio Township eliminates the tax. It's not right to ask nurses from Jackson, dieticians from Whitmore Lake, or X-ray technicians from Ypsilanti to pay for our services because they look at Veteran's or Wheeler Parks on their way to work - they pay for their own services at their homes. An income tax tells outsiders that Ann Arbor is no longer self-sufficient, that economically it is no longer a real place. A Headlee Override/property tax increase would do much of the above, plus reduce home values and force some current residents from their homes as taxes rise. Nonetheless, if there is sentiment for a citizen vote on higher taxes, I will support holding the vote, but then work to oppose a tax increase.
As a fisherman, canoeist, and former rower, I have mixed feelings about Argo Dam. Part of me wants to remove as many dams from the Huron as possible (it's the most dammed river in the state, and the dams cover spawning grounds!), and part of me thinks that having eights, fours and sculls near the center of town is cool, beautiful to watch in action, and on balance is a civic advantage. As long as Argo dam remains fundamentally sound, we should keep it. Should the dam need to be re-built, I would re-visit this issue.
I am running to bring 5th ward representation closer to 5th ward voters, to bring a broader perspective to our one-party city council, and to bring a more critical eye to council's spending.
10/29 Newcombe Clark and John Hieftje clash over DDA issues, crime at Ann Arbor candidate forum
10/22 Christine Green and Mark Ouimet lead the way, spend $108,000 in latest campaign finance reports
10/22 Newcombe Clark discusses reasons for running for Ann Arbor City Council
10/18 Carsten Hohnke picks up endorsements from majority of Ann Arbor DDA board members
10/17 AnnArbor.com's endorsements for 5th and 2nd ward city council elections
Meet the candidates and watch hot races in your Voters Guide
Canham Natatorium is one of the University of Michigan's venues that athletic director Dave Brandon would like to renovate. Melanie ......
Get the Ann Arbor RSS Feed
AnnArbor.com
