A2Politico: Ann Arbor Politics Grilled To Perfection

October 31, 2009

The Art of the Snit: A2 Observer Editor Objects to Email Interviews. Electronically.

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AnnArborChronicle.com editor David Askins and local free-lance writer and FOAM (Friend of Askins and Morgan, his spouse) Judy McGovern had a tantrum.

John Hilton, editor of the Ann Arbor Observer, is a much more measured and kindly publisher. Thus, Hilton is only in a snit (not even close to a high dudgeon). Hilton didn’t publish his snitatribe in his own publication (extra pages cost money, man, and advertising revenue’s probably way down); he contributed a “column” to the AnnArborChronicle.com, where modest snits and pay-back political coverage have, perhaps, finally found a home since being orphaned by the demise of the Ann Arbor News last July.

So what’s John Hilton in a snit about? He’s in a snit because Fourth Ward City Council challenger Hatim Elhady and First Ward challenger Mitchell Ozog, wouldn’t do a face-to-face interviews with AAObserver staff writer Eve Silberman.  Evidently, Elhady did two email interviews. He offered to do one with AnnArborChronicle.com freelancer Judy McGovern. I wrote about the Askins/McGovern tandem tantrum here (It’s the most popular piece on the A2Politico site at the moment). Mitchell Ozog has been running a stealth campaign; I’m not sure even he knows he’s running.

Ann Arbor Observer editor John Hilton wrote a “column” for the AnnArborChronicle.com about his objections to being worked over by a 23-year-old who uses email as a tool. Shocking. Maybe Elhady should take email lessons from the incumbent, a woman who uses email in ways that result in embarrassing front page news coverage, and lawsuits against which the City Attorney must defend her, and for which taxpayers must pay. Email, John Hilton explained, is no substitute for a “real” interview.

A2Politico’s response? To quote John Hilton’s objections: “hogwash.”

Is publishing his “column” online any substitute for publishing it in print? Why didn’t he publish his opinion in his own publication? Did his publisher take issue with it and tell him, perhaps, that editors in snits with interview subjects should have a martini and run the vacuum for half an hour, then get back to work? 

Actually, someone who commented on Hilton’s piece identified what I believe is the real issue: 

“….What amazes me is that in all the comments on both these “articles” no one has had the nerve to point out that this is truly a generation gap issue between old school newspaper reporters stung at being underappreciated (and many now unpaid) by a younger generation. All I’ve heard is whining by old style reporters who are upset at being left behind in the political arena. As a Gen Xer, I have absolutely no problem with any politician using email to answer reporters’ questions. I see it as a smart and economical use of time and money. I also find it annoying that the old school reporters cite a primary reason for a face-to-face interview is to basically try to catch the candidate in a moment of awkwardness. That barely a step away from the tabloids.”

John Hilton and Judy McGovern are both Baby Boomers. So is Marcia Higgins, the Ward Four incumbent who, I might point out, gave face-to-face interviews to neither Judy McGovern nor Eve Silberman. Higgins’s penchant for non-responsiveness to constituents is legendary. Her current circumstances have resulted in her being even less accessible. Nonetheless, she has long been resented among Ward Four constituents for her refusal to return phone calls and email messages. (I just had a thought: Could it be that her fingers were too tired after spending all that time playing on email with her pals during Council meetings?)

It was another reporter, a much younger journalist, Ryan Stanton of AnnArbor.com, who wrote that in preparing his Fourth Ward candidate coverage, he’d barely been able to get Marcia Higgins on the phone for 10 minutes. She did not do face-to-face interviews with any of the Boomer writers, yet neither McGovern nor Silberman made any mention of that fact. Neither did John Hilton. 

The whole tempest in teacup is a classic movie: “Stegosaurus versus Facebook-o-saurus.” 

We also need to talk about the elephant in the newsroom, and get something important out into the open. Like their Boomer buddy Marcia Higgins, both Judy McGovern and Eve Silberman have had free reign to run rough shod over local political challengers for much longer than they ever should have. McGovern and Silberman are both despised by more than a few local politicos who are currently in office, as well as candidates who have run for office, for what the politicos and past candidates have seen as the two writers’ biased, sloppy and sometimes shockingly one-sided coverage of local political campaigns. 

So, really, who in their right mind would want to give an interview to McG or Silberman? Why not just stick bamboo under your fingernails yourself, and save some time? 

All news publications use politicos to sell papers and page views.  On the flip side, politicos use the media to sell their candidacies. Except in Ann Arbor. In Ann Arbor politicos have long kissed the rings of the Boomers-in-Charge. Candidates have long bent over for McG and Silberman and said, “Please, Ma’am, may I have another?”

The email interview flap, tantrum and snit among the Boomer crowd Hilton, Silberman and McGovern strikes me as the Boomer fan club whining about the new-fangled music; to them, it’s just so much noise, tweets, posts, texts, and friending (whatever the hell that means). 

The power of the Press as it was and as it will be: It’s a necessary discussion to have. I’m just not sure Hilton, Askins, McGovern or Silberman will ever be ready to have it. Thankfully, and frankly, it really doesn’t matter, because with or without them, how political reporting is aggregated and promulgated will continue to evolve.

John Hilton posts a “column” electronically on his colleagues’ blog/news site. I post a blog entry on A2Politico the same day. Many of you will post your comments. Thousands will read the entry.

Gen Y and their new ideas need a seat at the table in our local city government, but it looks as though it’s not going to come without a fight from the Boomers who, obviously, resent losing their once-significant power and advantage: having the final word prior to election day.

Thank goodness for Ann Arbor voters that Silberman and McGovern have lost that power. Those two Boomers have had it long enough.

Popularity: 23% [?]

October 30, 2009

It Takes A Lit Drop, Celebrities and Kissing Some Serious Voter Bee-hind to Win/Defeat A Millage

Filed under: Washtenaw County, money, taxes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — A2 Politico @ 4:40 pm
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I don’t think I would be betraying any great secret by telling you that if you were to buy the list of the 6,800 or so 100 percent (aka regular) voters in Ann Arbor, you’d find A2Politico’s name on that list. It’s like the political Mensa Club, the top 6 percent of the voting stock in Ann Arbor. We aren’t geniuses, per se, but rather inordinately capable of locating our polling places and remembering the dates of local elections. Perhaps a better analogy would be to say the 6,800 of the us are the political Rain Men. Local politicos know the odds are very good we’ll go to the polls and cast our votes one way or the other. 

That why we get the lit drops. If you’re a candidate or group that’s going to spend $14,000-$16,000 printing up and mailing out glossy 8.5″ x 5.5″ cards, you want your lit to go to someone who will read the darn thing, think about your pitch, and (please God, please) go to the polls and vote (for you, your millage, your Charter amendment, etc….)

Today, I received not one but two pieces of literature about the WISD millage proposal. My first reaction is that McKinley CEO, and Citizens for a Responsible Washtenaw Treasurer, Albert Berriz, has money to burn. Well, he kinda does. The Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee has money to burn, as well. Today’s was my third mailing from that group. The proponents for the millage have the local celebs pitching for the five-year $150,000,000 “enhancement” tax.

The front of that group’s mailer is clever. There were my name, address and then a three column list of supporters of the millage. I perused the list. I saw the principal of the tot’s school along with a veritable local politico-a-palooza: State Senator Liz Brater, State Representatives Alma Wheeler-Smith, Pam Byrnes and Rebekah Warren, Ann Arbor County Commissioners Jeff Irwin, Conan Smith, and Leah Gunn and Demublican Second Ward City Council member Tony Derezinski. Alas, I’m not the kind of voter who gives a rat’s bahookie about whether or not local politicos endorse anything, particularly a tax hike.

I saw several of these same politicos (Brater and Gunn, for example) enthusiastically endorse soon to be ex-Third Ward City Council member Leigh Greden’s run for re-election in this past August primary election. Endorsement doxies among the local politicos in Ann Arbor have succeeded in undermining the whole endorsement process city-wide. I have this sinking feeling that several of these local politicos listed as supporters of the millage proposal would endorse Satan as “a long-time friend and colleague. He has worked hard and produced results for the citizens of Ann Arbor, without publicity and fanfare. Satan has earned my endorsement for his re-election, and I urge you to vote for him.”

Interestingly, Second Ward’s other Demublican City Council member, Stephen Rapundalo, has given his endorsement to the group opposing the millage.

Here’s a little cheat sheet about how much money the various groups are putting up for and against the millage proposal:

Campaign finance records show opponents of a countywide schools enhancement millage are outspending supporters of the proposal by a bundle, nearly $30,000.

Groups Against the Millage:
Citizens for Responsible Washtenaw, Treasurer, Albert Berriz, McKinley Real Estate CEO: $75,000

Berriz was quoted in a piece on AnnArbor.com as explaining his $75K investment thusly: “I’m very passionate,” about the issue, he said. “I am confident that this millage will not address the financial structural issues of the schools.” Berriz has called on school leaders to improve the transparency of the schools’ finances.  “I love Ann Arbor schools,” he said. “But it’s my obligation is to say things candidly.”

Well, kinda. Berriz’s McKinley company owns 6.2 million square feet commercial property. of The proposed millage would hit McKinley with a big tax hike. I’d be saying things just as candidly as Albie B. if I owned that much commercial property, and I’d be saying it on the radio and mailing multiple lit drops. 

Citizens for Responsible Washtenaw: $4,705.

Citizens for Responsible School Spending: filed a campaign finance report waiver saying it intended to raise and spend under $1,000.

Groups In Favor of the Millage:

It won’t come as a shock that the funds for mailings, robo-calls and other on-the-ground work is coming from the people whom the millage would benefit directly, school administrators, teachers and school board members.

Ann Arbor Administrator Association: $5,000.

Citizens Millage Committee: The Ann Arbor group has raised $23,361 in contributions from Ann Arbor residents. The committee has $10,433 left to spend.

Friends of Education: This group, based in Dexter, has raised $21,654 and has $9,860 left to spend.

Popularity: 19% [?]

October 29, 2009

County Commissioners Tighten Everyone’s Belts But Their Own

Filed under: Washtenaw County, money, taxes — A2 Politico @ 5:02 pm
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This entry is about several of the intrepid travelers and foodies who serve on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. You remember the Washtenaw Board of Commissioners, right? They’re the elected officials who administer a $200,000,000 county budget which is, at the moment, $30 million dollars in red. 

In short, fellow politicos, Washtenaw County’s budget looks like those of the millions of Americans buffeted by the economy. County debt has doubled, as have debt payments, income is down and expenses are up. Of course, in response to any similar state of the economy at your house you and the fam are eating out just as much as ever, traveling to all the places you used to, and shacking up at the Hilton. No? Of course you’re not; you’re spending your own (damn, bloody, darn, effing) [choose one, please] money. You’re making sandwiches for 12 on a single can of tuna, light on the mayo (have you seen mayo prices, lately?!?) Super Eight is the new Hilton when you travel, if you travel. The last visit to Gramma’s house was by iChat. Techno-visits keep the oldsters from giving too much candy to the kids.

There are some people, however, who never lose their taste for meals out and expensive hotel rooms—despite the economic crisis. You know them, in fact. They work for you. 

On September 17th, I wrote a piece titled, “Guenzel and Gunn Propose Millage to Fund Director of Economic Development, and SPARK.” In that piece I told you about County Commissioner Kristin Judge, who, rather that see human services cut, whipped out her county-paid cell phone and turned it in. I interviewed County Commish Judge about the county’s budget woes here, on September 19th. Next, I wrote about the Commissioners on October 9th in a piece titled, “A2, Have a Funny Feeling? It’s County Commissioner Conan Smith’s Hand in Your Pocket.” In that piece, I wrote that County’s Ways & Means Committee (of which Ann Arbor Commissioner Conan Smith is the Chair) had voted to impose a new property tax called the Act 88 of 1913. County Administrator Robert Guenzel had dug up that little gem. All four of Ann Arbor’s County Commissioners voted in support of the Act 88 millage.

At the October 21st meeting, at which the Commissioners would have voted to levy the millage, they, instead, tabled the vote until after the November 3rd elections. I wrote about that here.

New property taxes, cuts to human services funding, and wage concessions from unionized employees were all ways that our Washtenaw County Commissioners and County Administrator Robert Guenzel considered to balance the budget.

Thanks to a FOIA of credit card records, we have a window into some belt-tightening strategies our County Commissioners didn’t consider: Bag lunches, holding staff and constituent meetings at the County building, cutting out travel, and staying at modestly-priced hotels.

Commissioner Ken Schwartz, instead of holding meetings with constituents in a conference room or office at the County Building at 220 North Main, held meetings at Chili’s Grill, the Sidetrack Bar & Grill and (his favorite) Dalat, a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant (I recommend it when you have a bit of extra money). County Administrator Robert Guenzel is also fond of holding meetings at restaurants instead of in boring conference rooms or offices at the County Building. He held staff meetings at Paesano’s Restaurant, and Conor O’Neill’s (the beers are on, well, all 347,000 of us).  While at the Flex in the City Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas in August of 2009, Mr. Guenzel enjoyed the hospitality of the Hilton. It was a mere $137.99. Hilton on a shoestring, let’s call it.

The biggest spender of all was the Chair of the County’s Ways and Means Committee, the committee that oversees the county’s budget. That was Ann Arbor County Commissioner Conan Smith. In May of 2009, while attending the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, taxpayers treated Smith to a $889.04 room at the Grand Hotel. He had the $11 breakfast, too. Did I miss the memo? When did Washtenaw County become a member of the Detroit “regional” Chamber of Commerce? Is Ann Arbor considered part of the “Detroit” region? 

I end this with a tale of FOIAed credit card statements from Commissioner Jessica Ping. While at the 4-day National Association of Counties conference in late-July 2009, she racked up a $445.44 hotel bill. It was Ping’s food expense that caught my eye.

She spent $7.81 for her dinner. At Taco Bell. 

Our County Commissioners need to come back to reality and realize that the money they’re spending for $900 hotel rooms and staff meetings held in local restaurants comes from the property taxes of Washtenaw County residents. Home foreclosure rates in Ann Arbor recently hit the double digits.

It’s time for a moratorium on meals out and travel for the entire Board. In September, Kristin Judge gave up her county-paid cell phone. At the next meeting, I’d love to see her and her colleagues give up their county credit cards.

Popularity: 17% [?]

October 28, 2009

The Politics of Education: Kathy Griswold On Why the Proposed WISD Millage Should Be Defeated

Filed under: Washtenaw County, education, money — Tags: , , , , , , , , — A2 Politico @ 7:51 am
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Nota bene: For those following A2Politico on Twitter, I frequently post tweets about what’s upcoming on the blog. If you want to get “previews” of what I’m up to here on A2Politico, follow the A2P on Twitter. If you’re like me, the kind of person who likes surprises, most every day will bring a new A2Politico entry, sometimes two. Generally, new entries are posted at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. 

 

 

The Ann Arbor Citizens for Responsible School Spending Web site at www.A2CRSS.org tallies the amount each of the county’s 10 public school districts would receive from the proposed WISD millage. The site reveals that the recently negotiated teacher salary freeze in Ann Arbor only applies to the contractual amount; many AAEA members can expect an increase of close to five percent this year. The Citizens for Responsible School Spending Web site alleges that the proposed cuts of $15 million are a result of rising expenses, including increases in pension and healthcare costs for retirees, as well as step increases. 

The Citizens for Responsible School Spending Web site pushes the need for sustainable educational reform, and alleges that officials from the Michigan Education Association (MEA) have devised a campaign message meant to play on voter fears.

Kathy Griswold is a former Ann Arbor school board trustee and a member of Citizens for Responsible School Spending. She was a co-founder of Coalition for Educational Options (CEO) and Citizens for Better Schools (CBS). She has served on many boards and committees that provide services for and advocate on behalf of at-risk students.

A2Politico has tots among those 16,700 kids in the AAPS. Though A2Politico sometimes has dreams about being back in school, mostly on test days with no idea of the answers to any of the questions, being a student is just a memory. Kathy Griswold, I suspect, spends more time than the average resident of Ann Arbor thinking about public education. We need people who do that, and so A2Politico caught up with Griswold to talk about why the group she formed to oppose the WISD millage proposal (that will appear on the November 3rd ballot) believes that more money for education will not resolve some of the significant pedagogical and financial problems that face the 10 Districts in Washtenaw County.  

Question 1.  On the A2CRSS web site, most of the reasons for voting no revolve around how much AA homeowners (and businesses, for that matter) already pay to the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) and the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS). However, there’s no evidence on the site of any “irresponsible” school spending. If the argument is for responsible school spending, can you give some examples of what kinds of concrete spending changes the AAPS/WISD could/should make in order to use the taxpayers’ money “more responsibly?”

KG:  It is not just a matter of what spending changes are needed.  It is a matter of changing the process of fiscal management and decision-making within the AAPS. Most importantly, we must demand transparency.  It is October 22, 2009, and the public does not have the final budget numbers for the year ending June 30, 2009.   As a trustee of AAPS (2001 – 2005), I had to request financial information via FOIA. Our CFO’s responsibilities were transferred to a consultant, and emails received in my FOIA request included one that directed the then-superintendent to “just keep <CFO’s first name> away from the press.” 

I do not like to talk about spending cuts.  We cannot cut ourselves out of this pattern of irresponsible spending.  We need to restructure public education with public collaboration. We must balance the extensive influence of the Michigan Education Association  by getting parents and community members involved in public education. Through generous campaign donations (direct, as well as circuitously), the MEA exerts tremendous influence over our elected officials. We need the public and school officials to engage in the type of creativity and innovative thinking Thomas L. Friedman calls for in his New York Times Op-ed Column “The New Untouchables” on October 21, 2009.  

We need to demand district leadership and negotiation skills that can provide health care insurance for our teachers through BCBS directly, saving 10 percent over MESSA premiums—therefore 10 percent of public taxpayer dollars, as Mr. Killips (Chelsea District School Superintendent) achieved in Chelsea.  We need more public negotiations and accurate, easily available, information about teacher salaries. We need to know that a salary freeze really means no increase in the contractual salary, but that many teachers will receive an approximate 5 percent step increase.  We need the actual raise in salary costs for teachers in true dollars (the cost of steps this year and last year for those not at maximum); the total costs per employee for all benefits for the various categories of employees; and the comparison in the percentage of the district’s budget going directly to instruction versus to employee paid benefits, over the last five years.

Question 2.  The A2CRSS web site states that, “A NO vote on Nov. 3 places a requirement of responsible spending on Ann Arbor Public Schools, of ending the status quo, and of developing a sustainable educational model.” What do you mean by a “sustainable model?” Like your expenses and mine, the expenses of a school district rise each year, don’t they? So, it’s either increase revenue or cut expenses. What, then, are you suggesting the AAPS/WISD do to achieve “sustainability?” Do you mean districts should make do with the money taxpayers give them already? Administrators are saying they can’t, and School Board members don’t seem inclined to press the matter. Only 1,200 people total voted in the last School Board election in Ann Arbor to select a representative to a Board that oversees a $200,000,000 budget. Shouldn’t we, then, be paying much more attention to School Board elections? 
 

KG: We are a small grassroots organization using volunteers – our website and hosting costs total only $17.00.  We started from the taxpayer’s perspective, because this is an unreasonable 11.4 percent tax increase.  

Analyzing AAPS spending is arduous and time consuming, but the following is now on the A2CRSS website with a supporting graph: 

From 2002 to 2008 (the last year audited financial information is available), our General Fund (operating funds) spending increased by $37 million.  AAPS real operating spending increased at over twice the rate of inflation since 2002, when adjusting for the additional operational purchasing power of the Bond and Sinking Fund (including buses, technology, building renovations and other expenses previously paid out of the General Fund).  Such increases in these economic times are not sustainable!

Although per pupil funding from the state has not kept up with inflation, voters in the Ann Arbor district have generously supported additional local taxes, including the $250 million Bond and the Sinking Fund (originally passed in 2002 at 1.5 mills and renewed in 2004 at 1.0 mills.) These contribute an additional $1,500 per pupil per year to the district.  Voters have already compensated for state funds lagging inflation!

We must pay very close attention to the quality of board candidates and to the depth and clarity of their understanding and analysis of funding in Michigan public schools. Since the entire structure of the funding of education in our state is unjust, and the incrementally increasing costs of benefits to employees, are not sustainable, I want to see leadership and directness by our local school leaders, our state legislative representatives, and our State Board of Education, acknowledging that we are funding a model that is with each passing day increasingly unsustainable and indefensible.  Why are our leaders silent on these issues?  Why are we perpetuating a system where the end result is more and more costly employee benefits, and reductions in service and programming for our students?  Are we above all an educational organization, or an employment and personnel benefits agency?

Question 3.  Isn’t the real issue that the School Boards of the respective Districts have failed to control costs associated with teacher benefits? Isn’t this really the pink elephant in the living room? According to a piece in the Detroit News this month, “Benefits for public school teachers cost taxpayers $2.6 billion a year or about $1,600 per pupil. That’s 41 percent above the national average and consumes roughly 35 percent of school district budgets.” Why not fight to cut teacher benefits in each District as opposed to fighting the millage?

KG:  Election campaigns are expensive and the MEA has money. It is very difficult to get elected in a contested board of education race without the support of the MEA.  It is almost impossible to get a majority of trustees on a local board of education that is not “controlled” by the MEA.  We must address the undue influence of the MEA and this campaign is the first step. Why is our school board silent on this critical matter?  I often ask myself, “Who really owns and runs the schools?”  Then I see the obvious answer right in front of me… And the MEA’s influence is not limited to local boards of education, it spans to almost all Democrats in public office up to the state level where the state school funding decisions are made.

Question 4.  The Ann Arbor Republican Party recently voted to come out against the WISD millage. A party official was quoted on AnnArbor.com as saying. “What we need to have is a serious, non-stop cost control effort, including much more privatization of non-teaching functions, vigorous competitive bidding for all school system business, and, most importantly, more cost effective teacher compensation packages.” As a school board member, you know  “effective teacher compensation packages” will mean tangling with the Michigan Education Association, a powerful force in this state. In your opinion, are there members of the AAPS Board prepared to take on the MEA to negotiate “effective teacher compensation packages?” If not, are you prepared to vote for a School Board candidate who ran on such a platform?

KG:  School board elections are non-partisan.  I agree completely.  That is the question.  Thank you so much for raising this! I would definitely support a candidate who voted on the platform you suggest, providing the person was also a responsible citizen committed to a high quality and viable system of public education in our community.

Question 5. The millage will provide more money per student in each school district in the county. Tell me why more money per student won’t improve the educational experience of the average child in the WISD system enough to make you believe the millage is necessary. 

KG:  More money per student won’t necessarily improve the educational experience of the average child in the WISD system because so much of the additional revenue will be directed to maintain our unsustainable benefits package and the dominance of the MEA in being the major power brokers and decision makers in the district.  As previously stated, real operating expenditures rose at twice the rate of inflation since 2002, with no appreciable improvement in the classroom or in achievement test scores.

Question 6.  State Senator Liz Brater and State Representative Rebekah Warren both support the WISD millage. They have both received several large campaign donations from the MEA, of course, but setting this aside, what do you say to voters who see that their elected officials support the millage to convince them that despite the support of such community leaders, voters should turn down the WISD’s request?

KG:  These elected officials did not have a choice because parents and other individuals do not play a significant role in state election campaigns.  As stated, it takes the MEA (and there money) for a Democrat to get elected.  If we want less MEA influence, the public needs to get involved and support candidates.  The elected officials you mentioned are intelligent, hard-working supporters of public education.

Question 7.  What do you think about repealing the 1962 law that created the WISD and the other 56 district bureaucracies? Repealing the law would save Washtneaw county taxpayers the $109,000.000 per year spent on administration of the WISD.  

KG: Ann Arbor Citizens for Responsible School have differing opinions on whether the WISD functions could be performed more effectively and efficiently through a collaborative effort of the local districts. The state budget includes a 40 percent cut in funding for all ISD’s. Is this a vote of no confidence and a gradual move towards eliminating the ISD’s?  A2CRSS members are presently discussing these developments.

Popularity: 35% [?]

October 26, 2009

Having a Tantrum, I Mean Political Reporting at A2Chronicle.com

Filed under: campaigns, political reporting — Tags: , , , , , , , , — A2 Politico @ 12:29 am
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Dave Askins and Mary Morgan gave Ann Arbor a needed resource when they launched AnnArborChronicle.com. Morgan cleverly took a buy-out from the Ann Arbor News and off the spouses went into the great wide world of online journalism. They chronicled local meetings, for instance, and filled a void that the Ann Arbor News, even when it existed, had allowed to go unfilled. The site presents coverage of Council meetings particle by particle. Political wonks and wonkettes can read, taste and smell the goings on in Council chambers as The A2C.com follows every item on the agenda. In recent months, the site has branched out into sports with the ever-readable John U. Bacon, and a very powerful series of pieces written about the Washtenaw County Jail. I admire the A2C.com, and admire the courage of Askins and Morgan to launch a business in the midst of a brutal recession. 

I am a 2-3 time a week reader, and am pulling for the A2C.com to succeed as the AnnArbor.com gets its game on. The more news coverage in this town the better, and there’s no better example of why this is true than the A2C.com’s coverage of the Fourth Ward City Council candidates on Sunday October 25th. Judy McGovern, a remnant from the city government beat at the Ann Arbor News, posted a piece on the A2C.com site that was reminiscent  of the political coverage I detested so thoroughly in the  Ann Arbor News. There, posted as a “column,” was a piece of political tripe so clearly a flashback—McGovern’s long-time penchant for letting her biases, innuendoes, knickers, and snotty attitude show. I could only sigh. 

Evidently, Fourth Ward candidate Hatim Elhady had dared to put terms on his participation in an interview the A2C.com wanted to do with him. Let me repeat that. The A2C.com wanted an interview with the Candidate. The Candidate hadn’t called around trying to scare up coverage for his campaign. David Askins,  editor of the A2C.com, had contacted the Candidate asking for an interview. Why? Because Askins and Morgan make money from the web site. He was asking Elhady to dance to get some unique readers and page views for the A2C.com site. In my book, that makes the A2C.com the beggar, and beggars in political reporting often can’t be choosers.

When McGovern went to Elhady to ask for his time, she was a very experienced free-lance writer in a town full of very experienced free-lance writers. According to McGovern’s piece, the Candidate told the one-time Empress of the Ann Arbor News city government beat that he wanted to do a written interview. Seems someone forgot to tell McGovern that she’d been dethroned in July. Likewise, seems someone forgot to tell Dave Askins he’s not Ariana Huffington quite yet, and that the A2C.com isn’t the Huffington Post. One never knows. But at the moment while numbers of users at AnnArbor.com rises to over 160,000, page views increase, and the time on the site rises, A2C.com’s readership holds steady at 1,000-1,200 eyeballs per day who read just about 1.5 pages of content per visit, and spend about 2 minutes navigating the site. 

Well, Askins and McGovern chewed on Elhady’s terms: “McGovern didn’t get it. I didn’t get it, either,” writes Askins, in defense of McGovern’s hack job and his decision to post it. “No journalist would get it.” 

What?  They didn’t get it, the small town reporter/free-lancer, and the small web site owner, and so because they didn’t get it, no journalist would get it? I believe this is called rationalizing, but I’ll have to check with one of my therapist friends.

Let’s be clear: Elhady had no obligation to interview with the A2C.com. As the candidate, he chooses whom he gives his time and attention to. I think Dave and Judy felt jilted. Why else would Askins spend 2,000 words on his own web site explaining and defending his writer, her writing and reiterating his opinion that Elhady made a mistake in setting parameters. Askins writes, “In Elhady we have a candidate who I think has simply made a mistake in choosing not to agree to a reasonable request to talk live to The Chronicle — but it’s the kind of decision he’ll have control over in the future.”

It wasn’t a reasonable request, you see. It was a flat out demand. It was a demand for Fourth Ward challenger Hatim Elhady to do an interview exactly how Dave Askins and Judy McGovern thought it should be done. And when their demands were not met, Askins let McGovern crank out a “column” worthy of the bottom of a bird cage, just as she’d done many times at the old Ann Arbor News. He posted McGovern’s “column” to the A2C.com site. Then, when questioned by readers, Askins wrote 2,000 words defending what amounts to a completely indefensible error in editorial and business judgement. 

The whole sad disaster is proof positive that when Elhady agreed to be interviewed by A2C.com, he was smart to ask to have the interview questions from Judy McGovern in writing. 

The simple truth is that no professional journalist makes rude demands of interview subjects, because if they piss off the subject they lose the interview. If a free-lancer pisses off an interview subject, the freelancer gets the sack. That’s what Judy McGovern did, and instead of replacing her, as Elhady asked him politely to do, Askins went right along with McGovern’s insane Napoleonic delusions. It was an uncharacteristic mistake. My guess is that the decision to retain McGovern was  not based on journalistic principles, but rather a concern for, perhaps, a personal relationship McGovern may have with Askins and his wife Mary Morgan (Morgan and McGovern worked together at the Ann Arbor News for many years).  

As I wrote earlier, there’s loads of competition in town now for news. If A2C.com intends to make Judy McGovern the go-to girl for political coverage, I’ll just excuse myself and read AnnArbor.com’s Ryan Stanton. Stanton’s writing just keeps getting snappier, crisper, more focused and delightfully harder-hitting. Stanton’s Sunday coverage of the Fourth Ward race is a perfect example of what I mean; his reporting put McGovern’s hatchet job to shame. 

That AnnArbor.com is getting some serious journalistic game will make business tougher for Dave Askins and Mary Morgan.They’re going to start competing for some of the same advertisers, and A2C.com may lose out, I think. However, Stanton’s work it’s great news for the rest of us who care about local politics.

Popularity: 28% [?]

October 25, 2009

Raindrops on Resolutions and Whiskers On Kittenish Politicos: These Are A Few of My Favorite A2Politico Posts

Filed under: weekend fun — Tags: — A2 Politico @ 12:00 pm
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Weekend Fun.

I write ‘em. You read ‘em. Have you read all of my favorite A2Politico Posts? It was tough whittling down the list. I included posts with comments that I really enjoyed, as well. Sometimes the comments are better than the posts! That’s the way it should be. Have you had a chance to throw in your two cents worth? That’s the way it should be. A2Politico is on its way to its 500th comment posted. Will you be the one who leaves it? Have fun! 

1.  Four Bars and Great Reception For County Commissioner Kristin Judge

2.  FBI Contradicts Hieftje’s Claim That Crime Is Down

3.  Mayor Tells A2 Affordable Housing Virgins His 3-Inch Accomplishment Is A 9-Inch Beauty

4.  Greenwash Hogwash: Hizzoner’s Fractional Slight of Hand

5.  Telling Whoppers 101: Hohnke and Hieftje Show A2 How It’s Done

6.  The Politics of Food: A2’s Culinary Cred

7.  Council’s Henchman To A2: “F-You”

8.  WHISPER: A2 CIO Dan Rainey Seeks to “Donate” City IT Resources to Business Associate

9.  Why Is Christo T. So Hot To Create a City Ethics Policy?

10. The Politics of A2 Parks: Mayor John and the Dame of North Campus

11. The Politics of the DDA: An Interview With Rene Greff

12. Mayor & Council Suggest A2 Residents Pray to End Homelessness

Popularity: 14% [?]

Weekend Poll Recap: Get To the Voting Booth!

Filed under: weekend poll — Tags: , — A2 Politico @ 12:00 pm
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There are currently four Weekend Polls that are open for voting. Why not have a look and cast your votes? The WISD poll is the hottest, with almost 600 votes, thus far. It’s followed by the Fuller Park Poll, with over 400 votes. 

1.  Weekend Poll: Should Mayor John Give Dame Mary Sue Parkland at Fuller Park For Her Parking Garage?

There is a loophole in the City’s zoning laws (interestingly) that allows our City Council to use parkland for transportation purposes. In a piece I wrote about a joint venture between the city and the University of Michigan to put a parking garage (as a part of the larger FITS project) on the current parking lot at Fuller Park, I raised the question of whether our elected officials should be using parkland for transportation purposes even if zoning law permits such uses.

I wrote: “The gesture of giving away public land to the University reminds me of Queen Victoria’s gift of Mount Kilimanjaro to her grandson, the future Kaiser Wilhelm. Alas, the sun never seems to set on the crooked dealings of the Mayor John who would be King and his merry band of Eight. They who seek use a zoning loophole to give away the parkland of the people to a Dame who owns 800 acres of land we all know as the Dutchy of North Campus.”

Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum posed an interesting question in a comment on the post linked to above. Does it matter that the University of Michigan and the city are building a parking garage on the site of a parking lot at Fuller Park? 

Thus, the Weekend Poll. We know what the County Clerk thinks about repurposing parkland for transportation. What do you think?

2.  Weekend Poll: Do You Support the WISD Millage?

On Tuesday August 4th, a day that may live in infamy, depending on your political perspective, the The Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s school board formally voted place a 2-mill enhancement millage on the November 2009 ballot. Each of the county’s 10 traditional school districts’ school boards passed resolutions asking the WISD board to support the millage. If approved by voters, the 2-mill tax would raise about $30 million each year for the next five years for the school districts, but Ann Arbor would receive the lion’s share of the money, more than $11 million dollars per year. After five years, the tax would expire unless the WISD came back to voters and requested a renewal.

So, politicos, how generous are you feeling these days? Flush with dough? Ready to spend it on WISD? Are you a supporter of the proposed millage?

3.  Weekend Poll: Sophie’s Choice—$5 Million Dollars. Several Worthy Causes. One Choice.

We all play the game. You know. The choosing game. How would you prefer to die? Burn to death or freeze to death? (A2Politico chooses the latter, by the way.) You are on the Titantic with your husband and your lover, and you can only choose one of them to save. Whom do you choose? Fourth Ward Council member Marcia Higgins is running for re-election. Burn to death or freeze to death? 

So, we’re going to pretend Ann Arbor’s CFO Tom Crawford has just found $5 million bucks between the cushions of the leather sofa in his office. Yes, and it was all in unmarked $10s and $20s, but we’re going to pretend we’re the political reporters from the old Ann Arbor News. We’re not going to ask Crawford any nosy questions. Then, a miracle happens, and City Council members consult with the public before spending the money. So, how would you vote to spend it? There is just one caveat (due to the technical aspects of the polling software), the entire $5 million has to be spent on just one kind of project.

4.  If You Want To See City Council’s Emails Released, Why?

By now, it’s clear that people have their reasons for wanting the City of Ann Arbor to release the City Council’s emails sent over the past seven years. I’m curious to know your reason. So, here’s a new Weekend Poll (a bit early). Be honest…..or lie. Lord knows you won’t be the first person to tell a whopper about the Council emails. In any case, as is the A2Politicoway, we’ll end up with a somewhat different perspective on the issue.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Weekend Poll: Can Council Craft An Ethics Policy for Themselves?

Filed under: city council, weekend poll — Tags: , , , — A2 Politico @ 8:00 am
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Need some back story before you cast your vote?

 A2Politico suggests this fine grilled entrée: “Why Is Christo T. So Hot To Create A City Ethics Policy?”

 

Maybe you’re not the least bit interested in ethics. After all, ethics can be sticky, messy, and terribly inconvenient, like a small child covered in maple syrup in need of a clean-up. For those who do think ethics in politics in not an oxymoron, I thought a poll concerning Ward Three Council member Christopher Taylor’s recent big announcement that he is going to lead his Council colleagues through that deepest, darkest continent that is the crafting of an ethics policy, and out into the light—where there is governmental honesty and transparency. Just between us, I hope to Ba’al there will be no shortage of porters to carry the City Council’s ethical baggage as they slog through the tangle of ethical conundrums they recently faced, but were found utterly incapable of understanding or navigating. 

Mr. Taylor, I presume? 

For those who like to vote early and often, that’s unethical. So, as usual, one vote per customer.

Popularity: 15% [?]

October 24, 2009

Ego Cogito Ergo Comment

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Weekend Fun: People read blogs for the content. Sure they do. Just like people read dirty magazines for the articles.

People read blogs for the comments. The comments make the blog, like the clothes make the man.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the over 400 comments that have been made thus far that have made me particularly glad that I took up this blogging on local politics. Thanks, Danke, Grazie, Merci, Toda Raba, Dzieki, Obrigado, and Shukran, of course, to everyone who has commented (Keep ‘em coming! Someone this weekend may leave the 500th comment). About 35 percent of the people who visit every day are newbies. Welcome!

There are loads of fanatics who read A2Politico already, visitors who stop by several times daily. If you want to read the entry referred to below, simply click on the link. If you want to leave your own comment, well, you know how to comment, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow. (tip o’ the keyboard to Lauren Becall)

So, without further ado, I’ll yield the floor to those who’ve shared some snappy, biting, funny, and very insightful thoughts on the following A2Politico blog entries:

 

Mayor & Council Suggest A2 Residents Pray to End Homelessness:

“The 14 “Supportive Units” that justified the recent North Main PUD will be accompanied, eventually, by a liquor store in the building. I bet that if we placed a liquor store at the Delonis Center, too, we could generate a lot of money to house the homeless.”—John Floyd

 

“Well said and it is about time someone identified the pseudo-liberal citizen that has all the comforts and just talks the talk without getting uncomfortable about anything – never a protest or a real commitment to doing anything. Ann Arbor used to have some values. Money was not always everything.”—balancedview

 

The Politics of Muckraking: Does A2 Need Watchdog Journalism?: 

“In the meantime, factions within the Dems – or any other single party – don’t give general election voters any choice – that’s our North Korea problem. Elections held in August, when most of the state is on vacation or in the back yard with an adult beverage, have extraordinarily low participation rates. The candidate with the biggest Christmas card list(or Hanukkah, Ramadan, Buddha’s Birthday card list, etc.) gets elected. Contested primaries are not a substitute for contested general elections. Contested November general elections are more likely to include discussions of actual issues than our August middle school popularity contest.”—John Floyd

 

“….The main issue, however, is accountability. The byline argument is, once again, a strawman. The philosophy behind the byline, however, is important… to hold a representative of the Fourth Estate accountable to his facts, statements and quotes. You can hold an anonymous writer to account. By claiming you are a muckraking journalist you do a disservice to those who truly do the hard work of being one. And, yes, some of this is semantics… but journalists are evaluated by their words, so semantics count.

I write these things not to make you look bad but to make clear the distinction between what you do and what most journalists do.

You are a political pundit.

No sin in that. There are many good pundits and they are needed in Ann Arbor too, no matter what their POV. Unfortunately, like many pundits, you are given to self aggrandizing your accomplishments.”—Jeff Meyers

 

“Thanks for the history lesson. Sorry I called you a watchdog, it will be “muckraker” from now on.

I think you’re doing a much needed public service. The anonymity doesn’t bother me. You’re not anonymous; you’re the person who writes a2politico. I don’t need to know your name.

If you pretended to have fact checkers and editors but really didn’t (like some papers I could name) that would be dishonest. You are what you are, and I think most readers appreciate that.”—Jim Rees

 

The Politics of A2 Parks: Mayor John and the Dame of North Campus: 

“When we voted to protect our parkland, our intention was to preserve it for what any reasonable person would call a park. At the time there was no confusion between park and parking. But I imagine the transformation happened something like this: Not long after the citizenry were pacified by their little victory, the beamish boys at Larcom discovered a new amusement– fun with homographs– Park—“a place for recreation” and park–as in “to park”. Many long hours were spent in the tedious bureaucratic alchemy of loopholes–verbing the noun, nouning the verb. Just when they feared their efforts would lead to naught, one of the “good” citizens (known affectionately as the Doulton Blue Flaneur) happened by and also happened to have his Oxford Compact on him, which he consulted on the matter: Park (definition #4): “an area in which vehicles may be parked [brit]”. This inspired The Boss to write up a purchase order for the Oxford Complete, which he now consults several times a day for the sake of ambiguity.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”
Through the Looking Glass.”—Lou Glorie

 

“Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan live in a symbiotic relationship, and it would be disastrous if they went to war with each other. The university’s purchase of Pfizer may be a reduction in the tax base, but it preserves the site as an employment center, which is far more valuable to the city than vacant land broken up and sold for more condos, which is what Pfizer would have done if no buyer of the whole complex was forthcoming. To insist on the point that the university leaders and half the city council are evil people is indeed, as I wrote earlier, spiteful and paranoid. It does not advance the community in any way, even for those who strongly disagree with those officials.”—Larry Kestenbaum

 

“Damn me if you will, but I’m not climbing aboard this particular bandwagon. When this piece of a park was turned into a parking lot, it was lost to parkland. If you wanted to keep it a park, it shouldn’t have been paved over and turned into a storage area for automobiles.”—Larry Kestenbaum


The Politics of Education: Money Can’t Buy You Literacy….Right?: 

“I will be voting for this millage because I believe the schools need this money. Ann Arbor has worked hard to trim their budget and live within their means(since Dr. Roberts). For example, two years ago they restructered the middle schools for a savings of over $3.5 million dollars. Sure, maybe they could cut back on supplies – putting even a larger burden on their hard working teachers – but how much copy paper, lined paper, kleenex, or pencils would it take to save programs, jobs, and to keep class sizes to a reasonable level?”—Letitia

 

“I don’t like the idea of 30% of the tax funds from the Ann Arbor District collections will go out-of-district, per the numbers in the annarbor.com print edition this morning. That is the main sticking point for me. The WISD can dance around that fact all day, but until I get to vote for the Willow Run School Board, or until there is a county wide school governing board and a consolidated disctict, count me out. Some, but not all of these folks moved from Ann Arbor to avoid the tax burden and now expect us to pick up this tab? I think not. It makes me sick to be supporting the same thing the slimeball Republican Party is, but life is strange sometimes.”—Alan Goldsmith

 

The Politics of Art: A2 Behind the Eight Ball:

 “….While not everything in Concentrate reflects my values, I am very much a believer in many new urbanist/smart growth/whatever you want to call it strategies. I spent a decade living in Portland, the home of such ideas. Of course, I’m a believer. While individuals can be corrupt, I do not agree that ideas are so. You may not agree or like tthem, but often they can be in search of the same social/urban remedy.

I could go on but as you pointed out, my posts can reach manifesto lengths. It’s a bad habit, I know, but I am, at heart, a completionist. I hate leaving ideas half explored.

Good luck on your blog. I hope you’ll be more rigorous in the truthfulness of your facts and counter arguments.”—Jeff Meyers

 

Council’s Henchman To A2: “F-You”:

“$700,000 for signs and not a dime for open and honest government.

Maybe we need something like the One Percent for Art.

Call it the One Percent for Honesty.”—glücklich


Why Is Christo T. So Hot To Create a City Ethics Policy?: 

“While I’m no great fan of Leigh Greden, to call Steve Kunselman a man of integrity is laughable. In my experience Steve is every bit as manipulative and personally motivated as Leigh (though not nearly as slick). Both believe their positions are right, both willingly ignore arguments in opposition to their views and both behave like council is some kind of weird High School clique. Worse, Steve likes to shoot from the hip, isn’t very imaginative and tends to be lazy. For all of Greden’s many warts (and there were plenty) the guy was a work horse who was more undone by arrogance IMO than corruption.”—BB9

 

Sandi Smith’s FOIA Fetish: 

“Whether FOIA is easy or hard is not the issue. The issue is much more fundamental: Is our council governing the city in a “democratic” manner in open meetings where the public can hear the real opinions of the member, or are decisions really made behind the scene by political cronies. When decisions are made via private emails during the course of a “public” meeting, then the public is simply fooled into believing that council members are acting in the best intentions of the tax-payers, when in fact, some members are really thinking about their self-interest — such as an office with a 6th floor view in a brand new building”.—calmic

 

The Politics of the DDA: An Interview With Rene Greff: 

“I don’t really take much issue with your frequent criticisms of me and my professional and civic activities here or the more direct attacks against me you lodge in other forums. I do have a big problem with what is a completely untrue characterization of Chief Jones “shaking down” the MSAA for the beat cops. He came to us and spoke honestly and publicly about the concerning reality of our downtown situation, and might I add, did so at considerable risk to his position. Please attend our meetings to more accurately report on their substance, rather than make uninformed assumptions based on the quotes reported by those journalists who do attend.—Newcombe Clark

 

Council member Rapundalo Places Plastic Bag Over Head of AnnArbor.com Content King Tony Dearing:

“So would the new law cover plastic bags with newspapers inside? How would I get my annarbor.com and Freep when it rains? Would it be put on my porch? Or would it have to come in a waterproof tote that would be picked up each time by the delivery driver? I like the idea. Ann Arbor Journal could be deliverd in a reusable tote every week. Now THAT law I might support. QUICK–get me Stephen Rapundalo on the phone!—Alan Goldsmith

 

“I believe Rapundalo’s phone number is: 1-888-752-7842. Perhaps easier to remember as 1-888 PLASTIC. This morning I found an email from a fellow AADem with a link to the piece about AADem Chair Conan Smith. So who’s the fat lady in that opera? That one was a great read. This one ain’t so bad, either. A2Politico is now in my feed reader. It’s about time we had a blog like this in A2.”—A2Dem

 

“It was Irish monks who were famed for illuminated manuscripts, not Italian. No wonder it might cost as much as $45k (rather than $25-30k or less using intern slave labor) for the council e-mails, you’ve chosen the wrong monks.”—John Floyd


Council Gets Back to the “Real” Business of Governing: Banning Toy Guns:

“I guess I won’t get to wear my six shooters with my cowboy costumes on Halloween.”—glücklich

Popularity: 14% [?]

October 23, 2009

The Politics of Education: The Scarlet T & the WISD Millage

Filed under: Washtenaw County, education, money, taxes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — A2 Politico @ 6:24 pm
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Here’s a fact: public school teachers in Michigan earn the 4th highest average salaries ($55,000 per year) in the nation. A percentage of Michigan’s teachers earn higher salaries; a percentage of teachers earn lower salaries. I was shocked when I discovered the most incompetent teacher one of the tots had was on the list of teachers in Ann Arbor who are among the most highly paid. Know why that teacher earned $70K+ a year? Because he’d literally done his time. If you do your time as a teacher, and get some hours under your belt past your B.A., you’ll move up the salary ladder into the nice seats. Some teachers in Ann Arbor are in the orchestra circle seats, earning over $100K per year. All of the principals in the Ann Arbor Public Schools earn over $100K per year.

Stop huffing and puffing and remember the last birthday party your 9-year-old had with 24 friends at your house. Think about doing that every day of the week. You, 24 kids, helicopter parents, and local, state and federal benchmarks and goals you have to meet to make sure the party is a success. If this scenario sounds like a Francis Ford Coppola movie about ‘Nam, throw in a couple of those kids who really shouldn’t be in the mainstream classroom, add working with colleagues who may be drinking way too much caffeine, and stir well.  

Now, I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news: This mewling and puking over teachers’ salaries and benefits as the root of ruination of the Ann Arbor School District’s budget is just so much composted chicken guano. In any business, salaries and benefits for employees comprise the bulk of the company’s expenses. Except in some companies. Those are ones where they use slave labor so you can have chocolate when you’re feeling sad, orange juice with your bagel, and tomatoes in winter. Lots of business owners would love to lower their cost of labor, but as the saying goes, “You shouldn’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.” Most business owners I know aren’t prepared to go to prison to save on social security and Medicare contributions. I know I’m not. I need quiet when I sleep.

The teachers in the classroom are not the bloodsuckers responsible for the current financial mess. Oh, and neither is the State. In that nifty little piece sent out by the Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee the good folks who want you to vote yes on the WISD millage write, “The state system of school funding is not working. Every year we receive fewer dollars from the state, while the cost to educate has continually gone up.” Sure it has. Now we’re getting to the heart of the dragon. The costs of education continue to rise faster than the cost of living. This is true in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. 

So, is funding for Michigan public schools down, down, down? No it’s not according to this document from the Michigan State Senate about the history of per pupil funding for schools in Michigan. Funding per pupil is up, up, up. In 1993, the state gave the AAPS $7,574 per tot. By 2007, that amount had risen to $9,619 per tot. Only half a dozen districts in the entire state get more per pupil funding than the Ann Arbor District—some you’d expect (Birmingham and West Bloomfield) and some you wouldn’t (Mackinaw Island, Jefferson Schools, Monroe County). 

More money per pupil from the State coupled with six millages and a generous tax donation from Ann Arbor residents, and we get per pupil funding that is over $11,000 per tot. I know what you’re thinking: “$11,000 dollars per kid?!?! And that’s not enough? Give me $33,000 per year and I’ll hire a full-time tutor to home school my brood.” Tempting, isn’t it? I have a more lasting solution. Read on.

There’s another name you should know: Iris Salters. She controls a budget of $137,000,000 dollars, and earns $256,000 per year. Steven Cook is another name you should know. He helps Iris allocate that $137,000,000 dollars and takes home $205,000 per year. Both Iris and Steven earn 4-5 times as much as the average teacher does in Ann Arbor. At their company, Iris and Steve spent $85,000,000 on salaries and benefits for their employees in 2008. 

Iris Salters is the president of the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and Steve Cook is the Vice President of the MEA.

In Michigan, it costs our school districts $1,600 per pupil just to pay for benefits for the state’s 150,000 teachers represented by the MEA, as well as those who are retired. In a March 2009 AAChronicle.com piece, AAPS officials and School Board members talked about the looming deficit and their options to address the budget gap. They talked about increasing enrollment (1,600 kids currently attend private schools in Ann Arbor). They tossed around the idea of increasing private donations. They talked about a county-wide millage.

What they never brought up was reshaping the AAPS District’s retiree benefit program. Know why? That would mean tangling with the MEA. Big time. But not just the AAPS Board would have to tangle with the MEA, our state senator Liz Brater and State Representatives Pam Byrnes and Rebekah Warren would have to be willing to tangle with the MEA, as well. Michigan teacher retirement pensions and benefits are state-mandated. 

Right now, Michigan teacher retirees get health care for life, as well as a defined monthly pension as opposed to say, a 401(k)-type plan. The costs associated with supporting that population of retirees is sucking the life and billions out of the Michigan economy, and crushing the budgets of every school district in the state. So what needs to happen? Folks should put down their pitchforks, and stop branding as bloodsucking bougies the teachers who teach at the local schools. Their salaries and current benefits are not the problem.

The county School Board members are a part of the problem. Before coming to voters to approve any millage all county School Boards should have played hardball and bid out health care and prescription drug coverage for current employees, and compared the bids to what the MEA brought to the table. County School Boards should also have taken a page from Robert Bobb’s Book and required a Dependent Eligibility Verification Audit (employees are required to provide documentation that everyone listed as a dependent is, indeed, a dependent). Detroit Superintendent Robert Bobb did that and found (shockingly) ineligible family members on the rolls of the Detroit Public School’s employee benefit plan. 

Ultimately, voters hold the solution to the $11,000 per kid funding black hole problem. 

Voters in Ann Arbor need to send a message to Lansing: We need to tell State Senate wanna-bes Representatives Rebekah Warren and Pam Byrnes, along with State House wanna-bes Ned Staebler and Jeff Irwin  to get on with the ever-so-necessary cage match with Iris Salters and the MEA. There is already a taxpayer-supported health care program for Iris’s members who retire, and it’s called Medicare. Check out the Medicare coverage for retirees. That would, of course, mean any teacher who retired early would be responsible for her or his own health care premiums until age 65. That seems fair to me. How about you? 

So why the heck hasn’t this happened already? It’s always about the dirty, pretty money. The MEA has made some pretty hefty campaign contributions to Rebekah Warren, Liz Brater and Pam Byrnes. It’s the carrot strategy. Get ‘em elected as “education” candidates, and they don’t ask inconvenient questions of their MEA Master. It’s not just our local state politicos. Because the MEA makes large campaign donations to politicos state-wide, a huge percentage of the tax dollars that should go to educating Michigan’s children go, instead, to supporting the MEA’s completely outmoded and unsupportable vision for the group’s retirees. That vision includes pension and retiree health benefits that the Bad Boys at the UAW gave up to save their industry from ruination.

If our current state representatives (not to mention those running for state office at the moment) from Ann Arbor won’t commit to taking on the expectations of the MEA and start the discussion—if they keep refusing to ask Iris Salters some of the hard questions that need to be asked, then voters can expect nothing in future but more desperate pleas for more money for the “kids.”

Oh, that won’t be more money for the kids in the classrooms. It’ll be more money for the MEA’s kids playing shuffleboard in Miami Beach.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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