Ann Arbor Washtenaw County Commissioner Barbara Levin-Bergman has been on the Washtenaw Board of Commissioners since James Madison was president. Elected shortly before the War of 1812, rumors abound that Bergman held off the British as they attempted to cross Washtenaw County on their way to Washington, D.C. to give Dolley Madison’s house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a make-over.
As for Ann Arbor Grande Dem Bergman, recent actions show she is more concerned with maintaining the status quo, than in encouraging innovative policy-making and creative problem-solving. Thus, when Pittsfield Township newbie County Commissioner Kristin Judge and Barbara Bergman had a spat in public at a BOC’s meeting, it was clear that Bergman was not going to just sit back and let some uppity white woman from Pittsfield Township get away with not bowing and scraping to the uppity white woman from Ann Arbor who has been in office for two centuries.
But as French novelist Marie Joseph Eugène Sue wrote: la vengeance se mange très-bien froide. In English, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Bergman’s personal chef du maison whipped up a dish of La Vengeance Froide, and Bergman served it to Kristin Judge on January 6th. At the County Commissioners’ first meeting of the year, where the Commissioners divvy up leadership positions, there was exactly one dissenting vote cast against exactly one County Commissioner. Can you fill in the blanks?
Kristin Judge stood for re-election as co-Chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Ways and Means Committee. Barbara Bergman voted against Judge’s candidacy. Then, Bergman proceeded to explain for the record why she’d voted no on Judge’s candidacy. According to a January 8, 2010 piece posted to AnnArborChronicle.com, Bergman announced that “Judge had made a personal, unprovoked attack on her, and that it did not demonstrate leadership behavior.”
Frankly, I think unprovoked attacks demonstrate incredible initiative, but I digress.
Daguerretypes posted to the County’s web site, show Bergman with two blackened eyes and her jaw wired partially closed. Obviously, the unprovoked attack by Judge, whom photos on the County web site show with a sardonic smile and a slightly bruised ego, had been a political donny-brook. To read about the dust-up at the BOC Roller Derby at which Judge “attacked” Bergman, click here.
In going after Judge, Bergman is forgetting whom she serves and why. Kristin Judge wants to make sure the public’s best interests are well represented when it comes to how the county spends the $190,000,000 dollars we give them. Thus, Judge has been going through the county’s budget line-by-line and Bergman, along with other Commissioners, have accused her of micro-managing.
At the January 6, 2010 meeting, right after Barbara Bergman announced that Kristin Judge lacked leadership skills, Judge announced that she plans to disclose her expense account spending publicly. She is the first and only County Commissioner to do this. (To find out when Conan Smith blows $800 a night on hotel rooms, you’ll have to FOIA his credit card receipts.) It was Judge who turned in her county paid cell phone and announced that the county could save $370,000 by getting rid of that perk. She took a shellacking from Ann Arbor Commissioners Smith and Irwin for that “stunt,” and found herself accused of political “grandstanding.” It was also Kristin Judge who pushed for Commissioner Conan Smith’s ridiculous (and possibly illegal) attempt to stifle free speech at Board meetings to be rescinded this year. In 2009, when Smith was elected Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, he spearheaded the effort to change the Board’s rules and limit what topics the public could bring up during commentary before the Board’s Ways & Means Committee. He also moved to trim the time alloted from five minutes to three minutes. If you’re interested in reading why Smith wanted to stifle free speech, click here.
I say to Kristin Judge, grandstand and micro-manage to your heart’s content. Lord knows the four Ann Arbor Commissioners (Conan Smith, Jeff Irwin, Barbara Bergman and Leah Gunn) let retiring County Administrator Robert Guenzel have his way with them and the budget, and run the County $30 million dollars into the hole. Those four Ann Arbor Dem commissioners have often voted as a block in favor of Guenzel-inspired fiscal policies that were predicated on Guenzel’s belief that the county’s economy would forever grow, and the tax base would never shrink. Their lack of leadership demonstrated incredible fiscal naivité and more hubris than is healthy in even a politico.
Washtenaw County residents desperately need more BOC leadership like that demonstrated by Kristin Judge, and for Ann Arbor Commissioners Smith, Bergman and Gunn to follow Guenzel to wherever it is that politicians go who leave trusting citizens holding the bag for huge structural deficits.
As for Bergman, by wasting her vote to even a personal score, she ended up with egg on her face—a dish best never served at all.
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From my experience at the county meetings, I can tell you that Judge is by far the most responsible and attentive commissioner. I’m happy to hear that she was reappointed to vice-chair of the Ways and Means committee.
Looking at 2010, I hope that she will advocate to bring all budget negotiations to the public forum. Currently, budget negotiations are done behind closed doors. The public meetings held are more of a formality, approving things that have already been decided upon.
I’ve heard whispers that Bergman and Gunn are thinking of retiring. I hope there’s some truth to these rumors. Judge has shown that fresh faces and ideas are going to be critical in the coming years.
Comment by Janelle Baranowski — January 11, 2010 @ 9:08 am
I’ve heard the same rumors about Gunn and Bergman UNLESS they can get a new County Administrator who’s prepared to run the County much like Guenzel did. The relations between the out-city commish crowd and the in-city commish four have deteriorated. Irwin’s leaving and Bergman has recruited Michael Freed to run for the seat against LuAnne Bullington and Yousef Rabhi. I’ve also heard some disturbing chatter that an ex-Council member who belongs to Beth Israel synagogue is stirring up some anti-A sentiment against Rabhi, as she did when Hatim Elhady ran.
Comment by A2 Politico — January 11, 2010 @ 9:23 am
FWIW, I was told that Bullington will not run if Rabhi does, and I know Rabhi is circulating petitions.
Comment by David Cahill — January 11, 2010 @ 9:59 am
According to the annarbor.com article, the county admin. position is only being posted internally, which leads me to believe we won’t be seeing a shake-up in leadership style.
Comment by Janelle Baranowski — January 11, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
It’s an understatement to say that Levin-Bergman needs to step down. However, until people step forward to run we’ll be stuck with representatives like Bergman. I appreciate you covering county politics like this, and doubly appreciate Kristin Judge’s efforts to increase transparency and exert some some fiscal control over the budget.
Comment by A2GOP — January 11, 2010 @ 2:59 pm
Kudos to Ms. Baranowski for following County Commission so closely. Many of us follow AA city government, but few of us pay attention to “that other government down on N. Main”. She is carrying water for the rest of us – as is A2P.
Comment by John Floyd — January 13, 2010 @ 12:25 am
Thanks, John. State and national politics often overshadow local issues, yet it is local politics which most affects our daily lives. It’s important that we all keep a close eye on local politics, as they are the catalyst for differentiating Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County from other communities in our state and beyond. It’s important that we make sure our vision for the future is reflected by our elected officials. Without oversight, their vision for our future could quickly morph into something we do not recognize or desire.
Comment by Janelle Baranowski — January 13, 2010 @ 7:12 pm