NEWS
Friday, August 08, 2003
Well, since it's official, I'll say now the person I know running for Ann Arbor City Council is Scott Trudeau, a recent grad from the University, and former candidate for U-M Regent with the Green Party. I am excited about his candidacy, and I think he would provide a different, and needed perspective on a number of local issues on the council. As a Green Party candidate for U-M regent in 2000, he received 109,192 votes in the statewide election, 8,084 in Washtenaw County.Previously unbeknownst to me, another acquaintance is also running in Ward 4; U-M student Dan Sheill is running as a libertarian. However, Ann Arbor News Reporter Tom Gantert gives Mr. Sheil short shrift in his story about the candidate filings, mentioning him only once and getting his first name wrong: "Libertarian Scott Sheill is also running in the 4th Ward." Perhaps he had trouble to contacting Dan, but the least he could have done was get the name right. Dan Sheill has been active on campus with the student chapter of the Libertarian Party and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, and I have had the pleasure to organize events with him in my capacity as chair of the student ACLU chapter. He also has been instrumental in organizing Hash Bash the last couple years, and I can only wish that he and Scott were running in different Wards! Luckily, I'll be living in Ward 1 so I won't be forced to choose whom to vote for!
I was surprised to discover West Bloomfield native and U-M student Rick Lax is running for a seat in the first ward. I don't know much about Mr. Lax, but I'll be watching his campaign closely since student involvement in city politics is so unusual.
Want to know which ward you live in? The best map I have been able to find online is this one from the webpage of the Ann Arbor democratic party. Basically, the wards are shaped like pie-wedges with the center at State St. and Packard. To the north is Ward 1 (Where Rick Lax is running), to the East Ward 2, to the southeast Ward 3, to the southwest Ward 4 (Where Scott Trudeau and Dan Sheil are running) and to the west is Ward 5, but check the map since my description is very rough. Here's excerpts from Tom Gantert's article:
" [...] Scott Trudeau, a Green Party candidate in the 4th Ward, said he decided to run when he learned Republican incumbent Marcia Higgins was unopposed by a major party candidate. Libertarian Scott Sheill is also running in the 4th Ward.
"Every race should be a contested race," Trudeau said. "That is essential to democracy. It is to create a race and bring up the issues."
Trudeau, 25, is the technology manager for Michigan Poverty Law Program, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of Michigan Law School.
Among his concerns are the Pall Life Sciences cleanup of groundwater contaminated in the 1980s with 1,4 dioxane.
...
Democrat Leigh Greden and Libertarian Rich Birkett also will go after Herrell's seat. Rick Lax, a U-M student, was among the candidates to file in the 1st Ward as an independent. In the 1st Ward, incumbent Democrat Bob Johnson will face Lax and the Green Party's Rob Haug.
Via e-mail, Lax said he thinks the student voice needs to be heard.
"I'm running because I'm a student, and there hasn't been a student on the council for a while even though about one-third of us here in Ann Arbor are students," Lax wrote. "I know that running as an independent will be tough, but I think that with enough hard work and hard campaigning, I can win."
> From AANews: "Independents create races"
Here's the list of everyone running for city council in the fall, from the News:
1st Ward
*Bob Johnson (Democrat)
Rick Lax (Independent)
Rob Haug (Green Party)
2nd Ward
*Mike Reid (Republican)
Amy Seetoo (Democrat)
3rd Ward
Leigh Greden (Democrat)
Rich Birkett (Libertarian)
Donna Rose (Independent)
4th Ward
*Marcia Higgins (Republican)
Dan Sheill (Libertarian)
Scott Trudeau (Green Party)
5th Ward
*Wendy Woods (Democrat)
Jason Kantz (Libertarian)
Adrianna Buonarroti (Green Party)
* Incumbent
Posted by Rob at 12:31 AM
