Jack Eaton is officially challenging Margie Teall for her 4th Ward seat on the Ann Arbor City Council after turning in nominating petitions.

The city clerk's office on Wednesday confirmed Eaton's petitions had enough valid signatures to qualify to appear on the ballot.

Teall will defend her seat against Eaton for the second time in two years in the Democratic primary in August. She last defeated Eaton in August 2010.

Jack Eaton

Margie Teall

"I believe that our council members should be our advocates, not our opponents," he said. "I believe that when residents have a concern about flooding, oversized development or traffic control, they should not need to mount a major campaign to convince elected officials to take up their cause."

Eaton said although neighborhood activists are sometimes characterized as being "against everything," nothing could be further from the truth.

"We love this city and believe that what makes it special is being degraded by over-emphasis on development and under-emphasis on the quality of public services provided by the city," he said. "We want to rebuild our safety services because we cannot hope to draw new employers to a town that cannot protect its residents. We want our infrastructure well-maintained because that will protect the investment we have in our homes and businesses."

Eaton also expressed support for an Allen's Creek Greenway "because it makes economic and environmental sense" and a downtown park "because that is a necessary part of a livable downtown that will attract both visitors and residents."

Eaton is a 25-year resident of the Ann Arbor area who has lived in the Dicken neighborhood for 14 years. He and his wife Cecile have two adult children, a son and a daughter.

Eaton originally came to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. After graduating from U-M, he earned a law degree from Wayne State University.

He now works as a labor attorney with a firm that represents public employee labor unions, but he says none have connections to the city of Ann Arbor.

A positive vision of Ann Arbor's future includes protecting what is good and unique about the city, Eaton said.

"We must promote restoration over demolition," he said. "We should value financial responsibility over indebtedness. We need to aid our residents and local businesses over chain stores and out-of-town developers."

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.