Ann Arbor City Council candidates bicker over signs before tense debate
First Ward Ann Arbor City Council candidate Eric Sturgis places one of his opponent's campaign signs back in the ground before Wednesday night's debate at the Arrowwood Community Center. He and Sumi Kailasapathy argued over whether the signs should be allowed.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
The two Democrats, who will face off in the Aug. 7 primary, engaged in a heated verbal sparring match outside the Arrowwood Community Center after Sturgis' mother took down a handful of Kailasapathy's campaign signs that were on the property.
"You don't have a right to remove my signs," Kailasapathy said, yelling at Sturgis, who argued Kailasapathy was violating city ordinance by having the signs up.
After organizers of the debate intervened, Sturgis agreed to retrieve the signs from around the side of the building where his mother placed them. He begrudgingly put them back up.
Sturgis accused those who intervened of being rude about the ordeal, but a representative of the Arrowwood Hills Cooperative said Sturgis could have handled the situation better.
Kailasapathy, a local certified public accountant, says she can bring financial expertise to the City Council.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
That set the tone for the rest of the night, during which both candidates attempted to discredit the other. Sturgis tried to paint Kailasapathy as a supporter of Republicans.
About two dozen residents attended the debate, which was moderated by Michael Henry, co-chair of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party.
"My opponent openly supported Jane Lumm and openly supported Ahmar Iqbal, who is on the Michigan Republican National Committee and who has given money to George Bush and Tim Walberg," Sturgis said at one point.
Kailasapathy said she had no hesitations about supporting Lumm, a Republican who ran as an Independent for City Council last year.
"She's really amazing in supporting the core services for the city and asking the right questions," she said. "She does her homework and I believe we need a diversity of opinion."
As for Iqbal, Kailasapathy said she didn't give money to his campaign, but thought he had some good ideas about reforming school finances and not cutting student services.
"Since I was known in my neighborhood, I did introduce him to some neighbors and they on their own met with him and decided whether they liked his politics or not," she said. "They made their own individual decisions. I was not part of that process. I merely facilitated him to meet some local organizers. Since it was a nonpartisan position, I had no problems doing it."
Kailasapathy pointed out Sturgis donated to Republican Rick Snyder's campaign for governor in 2010. Sturgis clarified that he supported Democrat Virg Bernero in the general election, but backed Snyder in the primary when he was up against more right-wing opponents.
"I supported him in the Republican primary against crazy Pete Hoekstra, who God help us, we don't want him," Sturgis said, noting there were other GOP candidates just as bad. "Those people are absolutely nuts and I supported a guy who was more moderate."
Sturgis confessed that he supported Lumm when she ran as a Republican against Mayor John Hieftje in 2004.
"And do I regret that now? Yes," he said.
Sturgis dismissed rumors that he simultaneously supported both Lumm and Stephen Rapundalo when they were running against each other for City Council last year.
"I worked and supported Stephen Rapundalo and I knew Jane Lumm," he said. "I put a phone call into her, never got a hold of her … so never once did I campaign for Jane."
Both candidates, who are seeking the seat being vacated by Sandi Smith, said they were running with a focus on making sure police and fire services are fully funded.
A new train station
The candidates differed on the idea of new train station in Ann Arbor. Kailasapathy earlier this month urged council members to hold off on accepting a $2.8 million federal planning grant for the project, characterizing it as a "phantom transit plan."
Sturgis made known his support for public transit during Wednesday night's debate.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
"I support transit as a Democrat. It's good for the environment. It's going to allow more people into the city," he said. "And I think we need to support transit and support getting more people into the city and into downtown, so that we can continue to build our downtown base."
Kailasapathy said she understands Amtrak is going to increase the number of daily passenger train trips running between Detroit and Chicago from six to 10, but she hasn't seen evidence of how it's possible to have commuter trains as well. She also said she hasn't seen information about what the fares would be or how many people would use such a service.
"I haven't seen any of those numbers," she said, suggesting the city would be better off if it expanded the current Amtrak station on Depot Street instead of building a new one.
If parking is an issue, she said, the city should look at adding parking on the MichCon property next to the existing train station.
Sturgis said there's been no firm decision made whether the city will build a new train station on Fuller Road or expand the Amtrak station — both options are being studied. But he said Fuller Road is obviously preferred, given the logistic problems with the current site.
As for any future capital costs, Sturgis said, 80 percent would come from the federal government and 20 percent would be matched locally.
"Which can be funded by a whole different group of people, so it's not going to cost us that much more money," he said.
Thoughts on the mayor
Kailasapathy acknowledged her disagreements with the mayor, but she said she doesn't have to like him to work with him.
Sturgis said he wholeheartedly supports Mayor John Hieftje, while Kailasapathy was more critical of the mayor.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Sturgis criticized Kailasapathy for running as part of an "anti-mayor slate" led by mayoral candidate Patricia Lesko two years ago.
"The mayor genuinely cares about Ann Arbor," he said. "In his six times running, I can count on my hand how many precincts he's lost. He's won over 75 percent of the vote, so I think the majority of residents of Ann Arbor feel like working with the mayor's important."
Sturgis said he wholeheartedly supports Hieftje.
"John's taken us out of one of the worst recessions we've had and we had a surplus last year, and I have a great respect for that," he said.
But he said he and the mayor don't always agree.
"I might try to be a little more committed to police and fire," he said. "I would not cut police and fire. So maybe with police and fire, he and I are a little different."
Kailasapathy said she takes issue with Hieftje on environmental issues. Even though he's often touted as "the green mayor," she said, he doesn't seem to focus enough on preservation.
She said she'd push Hieftje to do more to preserve the character of Ann Arbor because a lot of residents are concerned about the erosion of the city's charm. She said she's against bulldozing historic homes to make way for large developments.
618 South Main
The two candidates took different stances on the City Council's recent decision to allow the developer of 618 South Main apartments to go forward with a building that's 25 feet taller than the 60-foot maximum allowed under the city's D2 zoning.
Sturgis said he supports it.
"I think we have to look at each project and look at — is it good for the city, is it good for the neighborhoods?" he said. "I'm not for giving favors to developers."
Council Member Mike Anglin, right, was in attendance, along with 4th Ward candidate Jack Eaton. Kailasapathy cited Anglin, often a minority voice on council, as one of her role models on council.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
"This is a capitalistic economy, and if a business cannot really survive without our handouts, then you really need to rethink whether that project is going to be viable," Kailasapathy said. "So kind of giving these tax breaks kind of makes the playing field uneven."
Controlling costs
Both candidates said addressing the city's unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities is important.
Pointing out the city's health care costs are going up again this year, Kailasapathy said it may be the biggest issue for the city to tackle.
"We really need to renegotiate with the unions because there's no other option," she said, suggesting the city also should raise the retirement age to 60 or 62. "We need to change with times, and changing with times is raising the retirement age."
Sturgis said the city already is taking steps to address its long-term liabilities, but it doesn't have $200 million to spend to fully address the problem in one year.
"It's a multi-faceted plan, and I think right now the city is taking the right steps by allowing more overtime — not hiring more employees and then having to pay more," he said.
Public art
Sturgis said he supports the city's Percent for Art Program, which channels hundreds of thousands of dollars toward public art annually. He called it "a good thing for the city."
He said he'd like to see the city use local artists as much as it can when funding public art projects. He said he's glad local contractors are doing work on the installations.
Council Member Sandi Smith, whose seat the two candidates are seeking, was in attendance. She's not seeking re-election.
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Kailasapathy said she'd like to see more opportunities for local artists to exhibit their work and promote the arts.
"I would just take a different direction on it," she said, calling art and music "the soul of any culture" and "what beautifies life."
Expanding transit
Kailasapathy raised concerns about the countywide expansion of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, an initiative Sturgis supports.
"I'm still grappling with it," Kailasapathy said. "I have an issue about our perpetual millage and what will happen."
Sturgis said expanding public transit is a good move.
"It's going to bring more people into Ann Arbor, more people into downtown, help build the tax base and help Ann Arbor," he said. "I would like to see us move forward with it."
Kailasapathy said she's in favor of expanding public transit, but she thinks the countywide plan needs some fine-tuning.
Sturgis said he's in favor of putting a countywide transit tax on the ballot for voters to decide. He also said he supports the push for commuter rail from Ann Arbor to Detroit.
Kailasapathy said she's still waiting to see the details.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Alan Goldsmith
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
http://www.a2politico.com/2012/06/ward-1-council-candidate-making-false-claims-about-his-college-record/comment-page-1/#comment-156905 Why is AnnArbor.com afraid to report this and the previous story about Mr. Sturgis? Lack of courage? Not enough staff? Couldn't care less about local investigative reporting? The candidate is holding a family member hostage? Lol.
Alan Goldsmith
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 11:53 a.m.
Oddly enough, the Double A Dot Com somehow hasn't picked up on this story yet. Maybe they are waiting for a Detroit media outlet to do that for them first? http://www.a2politico.com/2012/06/evidence-surfaces-that-ward-1-council-candidate-committed-election-fraud-in-2010/
Patricia Lesko
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:16 p.m.
Someone needs to remind Eric I ran against Hieftje. Guess what? The issues I brought up in 2010 were right on the money, and still are. Fire protection is a documented disaster with deaths up and trucks down. Folks wait hours for police to respond to non-emergency calls. Service levels are down, and backdoor taxation is up (higher water and sewer charges, fees, etc...). The city needs an economic development plan, and to dissolve the LDFA. Let's give those millions back to our schools and libraries. No more TIF zones that siphon money from the schools. Ann Arbor needs a payment in lieu of taxes program for ALL of the city's non-profits—this could raise additional revenues by $20-$30 million per year. The city employee pension program is still a dream come true for workers who vest quickly. It needs a complete overhaul to save real money. Both police and fire leaders expressed willingness to negotiate with me. Hieftje, not so much. Result, small savings. I'd dissolve the DDA Board and put real downtown merchants on it in place of Hieftje's out-of-touch cronies like Gunn and Lowenstein. How about cleaning up Ann Arbor's air and water so they finally meet EPA standards which haven't been met since 2005? The "anti-mayor party?" Absolutely. Don't you ever count me a part of Hieftje and his fellow Dems for ALEC who brag about job cuts (Don't we want to create jobs in this town?) and "small government" like Reagan and his BFF Margaret Thatcher. Local Dems for ALEC live to funnel public money to private enterprise like, well, our current Republican governor. Me, I'd have worked to have a swimming pool built on the south side of town rather than give money to developers and build another parking garage. Anti-mayor all the way.
Nosy V
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 3:32 p.m.
Elections are about choices, the choice of who best represents our interests and who is most capable as a council member. Party affiliation, demeanor, and yard signs shouldn't matter nearly as much. Sumi has been politically active, educating herself on the issues and consistently supporting the better interests of our community. For this she has gained endorsements from past and present community leaders. Aside from being politically active, she is also a mother, a professional accountant and is well educated. Her campaign seems informed, accountable and clear. Sturgis on the other hand is an underemployed 26 year old who has yet to graduate college with little to no political or professional experience. His campaign seems to be a bunch of rhetoric and sign snatching. If this election is about choices of who best represents our interests, I think its clear, it is Sumi by a stretch.
Ed Kimball
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 1:16 p.m.
Isn't it odd that so many of the comments about the mayor and his supporters on this web site are negative, yet he continues to win elections with big majorities? I'm thinking the posters to this site may not be a random sample of A2 voters.
Nosy V
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 2:46 p.m.
Correlation does not equal causality. I think many residents in this town simply don't understand the extent to which the Mayor and Council have abused their role, especially when we are talking progressive politics.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:50 a.m.
"Sturgis was not asked why he supported all three Democratic candidates in the 2002 First Ward Council primary." It's like placing multiple, conflicting bets at the casino...lol. David, he support three because there weren't four...
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:47 a.m.
"As for any future capital costs, Sturgis said, 80 percent would come from the federal government and 20 percent would be matched locally. "Which can be funded by a whole different group of people, so it's not going to cost us that much more money," he said." And Sturgis knows these numbers are fact HOW exactly? And he's in for paying 20%?
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:44 a.m.
"After organizers of the debate intervened, Sturgis agreed to retrieve the signs from around the side of the building where his mother placed them. He begrudgingly put them back up." Has the video been posted to YouTube yet? Lol.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:42 a.m.
"Oddly, on Saturday June 16 when Mr. Stugis and I were talking at the Juneteenth Celebration, he flatly denied contributing to Snyder's campaign. At the candidate forum, Sturgis only admitted contributing to Snyder after Kailasapathy showed him a copy of the campaign finance report." In other words, Sturgis can't be trusted to speak the truth. Got it. No wonder he has the support of The Mayor.
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.
Sorry, don't have a lot of time to comment here. Gotta run to Ohio, pick up my Mom and then go pull campaign signs from the ground of candidates she doesn't like. Lol. True leadership--make sure your mother is out pulling off campaign dirty tricks. The Mayor and the Council Party must be very proud of their hand picked candidate too.
jcj
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 12:45 a.m.
Sure instills confidence in the future of Ann Arbor. The problem is the voters blindly keep supporting anyone in the democratic party. It does not matter whether they have a lick of sense or not!
A2 Peace Worker
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 9:13 p.m.
Roadman I agree, Michael Henry did a great job moderating. He was well prepared and kept order. Even with all the know-it-all types in the audience he kept things under control. He seemed to always know the right thing to say if things were getting off track. Before the debate started I saw him calm Sturgis down after he saw him yelling at everyone. He even helped calm Sturgis and Kailasapathy more with his first question, "Say something nice about your opponent." It's like he was in charge of fixing any problem that came up. Henry must be a Zen Master. Why don't calm, confident, intelligent, reasonable, thoughtful community leaders like Henry run for City Council? It might have something to do with the poor selection of would be colleagues.
Unusual Suspect
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 9:51 p.m.
Because calm, confident, intelligent, reasonable, thoughtful people are Republicans and Ann Arborites have blinders on and can't see that part of the ballot.
Unusual Suspect
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 9 p.m.
The last thing we need is more Mayoral rubber stamps. I like Kailasapathy's views on the Mayor, public boondoggle art, and the "train station." It seems to me like Sturgis, in addition to acting like a child with the signs, supports all the things wrong with the city right now.
Mike
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8:41 p.m.
Vote for Sturgis, he would be perfect. He won't rock the boat and will follow the company line..............
Living in A2
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8:10 p.m.
The art fund is a waste of taxpayers dollars, especially when that money could go to fire/police. The 'art' out front of the new city hall (one of the ugliest buildings in the country) cost over $750k...go look at it and tell me you think that it was worth 4-5 police/fire officers for one year (I'm just estimating on the cost of 4-5 police/fire personnel). Do we really want to be paying this much for 'art' around our city when we need other services that save and protect lives? http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-justice-center-one-of-the-ugliest-buildings-in-america/ http://www.annarbor.com/news/german-artists-750k-sculpture-finally-installed-in-front-of-ann-arbors-city-hall/ http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-among-cities-hardest-hit-by-michigans-underfunding-of-fire-protection-grants/ http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-fire-chief-on-restructuring-plan/
demistify
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8 p.m.
The dust-up over signs appears to have become a staple of electioneering spin. Political signs are allowed on private property. But only with the agreement of the property owner. Responsible campaigners always ask for the property owner's permission before putting up a sign. According to the story, this rule was violated when a sign for one candidate was placed on the property of the family of the other candidate, who obviously did not want it. That property owner is owed an apology, not recrimination.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 7:40 p.m.
"Sturgis tried to paint Kailasapathy as a supporter of Republicans" Wait, WHAT? I thought the Dems wanted bi-partisan cooperation? When did this change? Oh, probably when they got in power and didn't need to cooperate any more. Oh well, from the sound of the childish bickering, it appears wither one will fit right in with the current bunch of buffoons.
Ed Kimball
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 1:13 p.m.
Unusual, how does that differ from the Republicans' definition of "bipartisan"?
Unusual Suspect
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 9:03 p.m.
EyeHeart, you and I both know the Democrat definition of "bipartisan" is everybody giving in to whatever the Democrats want.
Jack Eaton
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 7:38 p.m.
I find it comical that Mr. Sturgis would suggest that Sumi Kailasapathy has Republican tendencies. Ms. Kailasapathy has been very active in the Ann Arbor Democratic Party, including serving as Treasurer for the city party organization. Ms. Kalasapathy supported Jane Lumm when Ms. Lumm ran as an independent. Many local Democrats supported Lumm's recent Council candidacy. Kailasapathy supported Ahmar Iqbal when he ran in a non-partisan election. Neither instance seems to support the idea that Kailasapathy is a secret Republican. Conversely, Mr. Sturgis supported Lumm while she was still a Republican. Moreover, Sturgis contributed to Governor Snyder's campaign when Snyder was running as a Republican. Oddly, on Saturday June 16 when Mr. Stugis and I were talking at the Juneteenth Celebration, he flatly denied contributing to Snyder's campaign. At the candidate forum, Sturgis only admitted contributing to Snyder after Kailasapathy showed him a copy of the campaign finance report. Sumi Kailasapathy is a true blue Democrat.
Living in A2
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8:03 p.m.
100% agree
Mick52
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 6:57 p.m.
Really? Your MOM is running your campaign? Neither one of these candidates are prime, but Sturgis appears to be a puppet of the mayor while Ms. Kailasapathy clearly shows she wants more information and that there is a need to carefully consider policy and programs. "It's going to bring more people into Ann Arbor, more people into downtown, help build the tax base and help Ann Arbor," he said. "I would like to see us move forward with it." Boiler plate. I want him to explain why he thinks this will happen. Why will a train necessarily bring in more people? Why won't people prefer to drive even if there is a train?
Atticus F.
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 6:03 p.m.
Not a big fan when Republicans come to A2, and then switch to 'Independants' in order to win the vote. Also not a big fan of people supporting those same failed republican policies... Even those who opperate under the ruse of being an independant.
f4phantomII
Sun, Jun 24, 2012 : 8:08 p.m.
D'oh! You were being sarcastic!
f4phantomII
Sun, Jun 24, 2012 : 8:06 p.m.
Come again? What Republican policies are those?
Unusual Suspect
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 9:48 p.m.
Yeah, because Republican policies are what's wrong with Ann Arbor today.
Michigan Man
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8:48 p.m.
AF - You obviously must be new to A2. We need to fact check you. BTW, during the late 40's and 50's it was the overwhelming GOP base that made A2 what it is today. My condolences that your sources of data are so uninformed.
Mick52
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 7:03 p.m.
I think when you get down to the local level, political persuasion is less of an issue than at the state or federal level. But as we see around the nation, decisions at the local level have lead to serious fiscal problems. So IMHO, some hesitation on a local govt is not at all a bad thing to balance things out a bit. Here, I kind of like Ms. Kailasapathy's attitude of thinking things out a little more. Ann Arbor will be shielded by severe fiscal troubles because of the UM anchoring the economy but we still see cuts in our fire and police departments, large spending like the city hall addition and underground lot and so on that at least make us wonder how the money is being spent.
Stephen Landes
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 6:41 p.m.
Maybe what this practice exposes is that the "brightest people on the planet" are cowed by labels, but when given permission to study real positions on issues they choose the independents.
Ryan J. Stanton
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:59 p.m.
For anyone who doesn't know the full background, Ahmar Iqbal was an Ann Arbor school board candidate last year: http://www.facebook.com/VoteAhmar
Joseph Welch's Ghost
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:49 p.m.
This looks like a pretty classic optimism v. pessimism matchup. It appears as if Sturgis has a calm confidence in Ann Arbor's future whereas Kailasapathy reveals mostly suspicion and fear of change.
Living in A2
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 8:01 p.m.
Ignorance is bliss
Roadman
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:42 p.m.
Michael Henry did a great job in moderating the debate.
Roadman
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:39 p.m.
I was good to see the robust attendance at the debate. Sturgis has no college degree (he is still enrolled as an undergrad at EMU). He is only 26 years old. If elected he would be the youngest member of City Council since the 1970s.
Jimmy McNulty
Sat, Jun 23, 2012 : 6:08 p.m.
@BobbyJohn, yes and no. I always try to be somewhat humorous, but he seriously looks older than 26, and not in a good way. That is all.
BobbyJohn
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 5:59 p.m.
Jimmy, are you trying to be funny? Eric Sturgis is 26
Jimmy McNulty
Fri, Jun 22, 2012 : 12:59 p.m.
There is no way that guy is only 26! Now 40 I would believe......
Vivienne Armentrout
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:37 p.m.
Mr. Sturgis' comments on the funding for a new train station reveal a lack of knowledge about the complex world of transportation funding. There are currently no programs that would pay for a new station, unless California turns back its HSPIR (high speed rail) money. If it does, the funds from this program (which was part of President Obama's stimulus program and was not renewed by Congress) might be reallocated in part to Michigan, if the tooth fairy still loves us. The grant recently accepted by Council was HSPIR money that was turned back by Florida and reallocated to several states, incluidng Michigan. Its receipt was not a commitment by the Federal Government for future funding. Even supposing that Sturgis was correct and there would be an 80-20 split in payment, 20% of $50 million or so would be too much for our little city to bear.
Stephen Landes
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 6:38 p.m.
Nice reply. Some people simply have never seen a spending program they don't like. According to Sturgis our 20% just ins't that much money, or in his words, "Which can be funded by a whole different group of people, so it's not going to cost us that much more money," he said. A whole different group of people? From the same planet Mr. Sturgis is inhabiting?
David Cahill
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:30 p.m.
This is an excellent article! I was at the debate, which lasted nearly two hours (not counting the debate over the signs). During the debate, Sturgis admitted that at the Juneteenth celebration last Saturday he signed nominating petitions for Albert Howard, who is running against Mayor Hieftje as an Independent. Sturgis was more than a bit flustered, and said "blame me for knowing the Howards." Sturgis was not asked why he supported all three Democratic candidates in the 2002 First Ward Council primary.
Tom Wieder
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
Lonnie- You can't "ban" political yard signs; they're a First Amendment right. They can be somewhat regulated as to location and the period that they can be displayed, but they can't be banned. Also, there is no right to put them up on public property or someone's else's private property.
Roadman
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 5:41 p.m.
Tom: The ACLU won a case that struck down a City of Warren ordinance that forbade political signs from being displayed only for a limited duration. Feel free to put up a political sign in front of your home year around.
a2grateful
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 4:38 p.m.
Some candidates and their families could take opportunity to learn about lawful protocol in the event of perceived ordinance violation. Say that someone believes that an ordinance is being violated. They should call the police or community standards department for interpretation of the law and its enforcement. To rectify perceived injustice is vigilantism. Rarely is it warranted. Sign issues are difficult. They involve free speech. They are someone's property. They are subject to regulation. If one does not like the regulation, they should work to change it. If signs are thought to be illegal, law enforcement should be consulted. Or, one could just have their momma remove the signs and hide them. ? Hieftje has a colorful history regarding opponent signs. Why would one of his endorsees be any different?
Michigan Man
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
This roster of candidates is really, really weak. Not one person seems capable of inspiring anyone or anything. Just look at the long faces on these people. I would think that the smartest people in the nation would be more happy than they appear in these photos? It does seem, at least to me, that the quality of life in A2 is on a downward trend.
djm12652
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 6:09 p.m.
That you think the smartest people in the nation I find equally as amazing as these people arguing over something soooo menial..oh wait it's A2 where the quasi-intellgencia all run for council.
Lonnie
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 4:10 p.m.
I wish Ann Arbor would ban these campaign signs on lawns, intersections, medians, etc. They are an eyesore and then remain standing as trash/clutter long after the election. Now that people are fighting about them and getting territorial, even more reason to ban them.