Alice Ralph announces candidacy for Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners
Alice Ralph officially announced her anticipated candidacy today for the 11th District seat on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Ralph, a Democrat, has lived in Ann Arbor for more than 30 years. She is a registered architect with degrees from Lawrence University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan.
Alice Ralph is running to represent the 11th District on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.
Courtesy Photo
In a campaign announcement released today, Ralph said the theme of her campaign is “Creating an Abundant Future in Washtenaw County." She said the county can create abundance for residents by "setting resilient policy that ensures coverage of the core responsibilities of the county."
Issues that Ralph says are important to her include livability, access and accountability, place-making, collaboration, land use and environment. She said creating abundance means the following:
• Meeting crises with flexible and durable solutions.
• Effective delivery of legally required services to lighten the burdens carried by supplementary programs and nonprofit agencies, and to reinforce their efforts.
• Moving forward in the face of climate change and energy transformation with actions that open doors to just and sustainable progress. “Resilient policy, core responsibilities, future abundance," Ralph said. "This is my version of the ‘triple bottom line’ for social, economic and environmental accounting."
Ralph said she embraces the challenges faced by Ann Arbor and other sister communities. She believes her many years of activism in the community have given her a unique understanding of authorities, as well as city and county governments.
She said one of her goals as a county commissioner would be to help overcome divisions and further increase collaboration among governmental units. She believes sustained progress can be achieved if the cities, townships and universities work together. In terms of planning for the future, Ralph said one of her goals would be to refresh comprehensive program and systems planning services at the county level. “Neighborhoods and communities can’t meet the urgent priorities of a new economy without collaborations on local, countywide, regional and state levels,” she said. “Working together, we thrive.”
Ralph is well known among civic circles for her community activism. She is a current or past leader in several local groups, including: • Former A2D2 Design Guidelines Advisory Committee
• Friends of the Ann Arbor Greenway
• Ann Arbor Committee for the Commons (author of public Library Lot proposal)
• Washtenaw County Historic District Commission
• Dexter’s Gordon Hall Management Advisory Committee
• Women Progressive Activists (executive board) In 2006, Ralph ran for the Ann Arbor City Council in the 3rd Ward and lost by 29 votes. Ralph's campaign website is www.AliceRalphforWashtenaw.com.
Ralph is seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Jeff Irwin, who is running for the state House. Other candidates in the running for Irwin's seat include include Michael Fried, Yousef Rabhi and LuAnne Bullington. The primary election is Aug. 3.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
Alice Ralph
Thu, Apr 15, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.
@Katie, thanks for your thoughtful questions and comments here. In answer to your specific question regarding the Library Lot proposals, the one that I wrote was one of two public space proposals that were first eliminated, then, later, asked to stand for a public interview. Including proposals and interview videos, a substantial amount of information on all of the proposals can be found on the City of Ann Arbor website http://bit.ly/88GRwN In the proposal for the Ann Arbor Community Commons, you'll find that your three key issues, shared by many community members, are addressed. Other issues such as the use of the underground parking, what will happen on the Old Y Lot (currently surface parking) and the economic impact of conference centers, etc., are among those which all of us in Ann Arbor need to resolve. The different issues facing the County are still influenced by unprecedented economic pressures, just like those for the City. However, the majority of County services are obligated or mandated by law, to be provided. County services (like health and safety) can positively affect our lives in ways we may take for granted. There is no magic formula, but I compare efficient cuts with effective delivery, for example. If elected to the Board of Commissioners, I would join those who seek the best approach under present circumstances, preserving the civic infrastructure that supports the promises of the future. We are at the beginning of important community conversations during campaigns leading up to the August primary and November general elections. More to come.
katie
Sat, Apr 10, 2010 : 7:57 a.m.
Climate change is an important issue. Those who listen to the massive PR campaign by the far right don't understand science. End of story. That said, I'm not very clear on what this candidate will do if elected. It seems vague. Is this vagueness due to the reporting or is it due to her agenda being vague? There's no way to tell. If she's being vague, it is the job of the reporter to try to ferret out some specifics. I'd really like to know, in specific terms, what we can expect of her. In other words, "who, what, when, where, why, and how"? What does she think the top five challenges for our county will be in the future? What steps does she think are needed to address these challenges? What would be the top programs she would support? How would she address climate change at the local level? How would she handle budget problems? I know that politicians like to deal in generalities and avoid being pinned down, but I really want to know more about what I'm getting if I vote for her. Perhaps others are more familiar with the local politicians and activists and assume everyone knows what she stands for. But not all of us are in the "in crowd." If she was author of the library lot proposal, what was the original proposal that she sponsored? For a park? For an ugly, unneeded convention center that will likely become a burden to citizens in the future? I don't see how this project squares with a sustainable Ann Arbor. If it is the convention center, I'd be likely to vote against her. If she has a good local-level plan that takes into account global warming, the looming energy crisis, and the struggling economy, I'd be willing to consider her. The proposed convention center is the antithesis of what I believe is sane when it comes to these three key issues. If she is trying to address these three issue but is in favor of the project, she'd have a lot of explaining to do to convince me.
nxil2009
Fri, Apr 9, 2010 : 10:57 p.m.
No More Liberals. Come on people, she wants: "Effective delivery of legally required services to lighten the burdens carried by supplementary programs and nonprofit agencies, and to reinforce their efforts." So more taxes to pay for services that are being supplemented by non-profits? Government is wasteful in the extreme. Non-profits are notoriously frugal. She says: "Moving forward in the face of climate change and energy transformation with actions that open doors to just and sustainable progress." This in the face of specious global warming claims (now called climate change because it has been cooling for a decade). And what is "just progress". Sounds like me paying for me and paying for someone else too. Stop the insanity please. She is not in my district but please, please, please...not her.