City Council could have high turnover in election

4 wards contested in crowded race

By Hanna LoPatin and

Jeremy W. Peters

Daily Staff Reporters

On Election Day, four seats on the Ann Arbor City Council will be up for grabs.

In two wards the incumbent is being challenged, and in two other wards the seats are open. Ward II incumbent Joe Upton, a Republican, is running unopposed.

Neither candidate for the Ward I seat has ever held an elected public office, but both say they were driven to run primarily because they want to address concerns related to housing costs.

"There are the day-to-day issues, but what I'm hearing from the lips of everyone have been concerns about affordable housing," said Democratic candidate Jean Robinson, a retired social worker.

Her opponent, Tony Ramirez, said he, too, has concerns about the price of housing in Ann Arbor.

"The number one issue is affordable housing. It's a tough goal, but I think we'll make some progress," said Ramirez, an officer in the Detroit police reserves running as an independent candidate.

Ward I incumbent Tobi Hanna-Davies, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election.

The Ward III race pits two relatively inexperienced, aspiring politicians against a three-term incumbent who says her work isn't finished yet.

"There are things I need to continue to work on," said Jean Carlberg, a Democrat and retired high school teacher who is seeking another two-year term.

Her Republican challenger is Gary Vandermade, a Kroger store manager. He said his managerial experience would translate well into a seat on City Council.

"I think that basically business experience will help me run the city," Vandermade said. "I think generally, the budget experience I have and my experience in capital expenditures will help."

Libertarian candidate J.P. Denoyer, who works for an inventory company, is making his second run for City Council.

Although he admits he has little experience, he has been politically active in Ann Arbor for three years. Specifically, he chaired the local committee that tried to legalize medical marijuana.

In Ward IV, Democratic incumbent Steve Hartwell faces Republican Jeff Harshe, the Green Party's Christie Nowak and Libertarian Stephen Saletta.

Harshe said he would like to fix infrastructure problems that plague Ann Arbor housing like flooding basements, water pressure and brown water.

"Ann Arbor represents a lot of different viewpoints," he said. "I'd like to talk about the issues, instead of having everything fall into party lines."

Hartwell, a three-year council veteran, said growth and development are the main issues facing Ann Arbor.

"A lot of the changes are going to affect the county" he said, not necessarily the city.

By building businesses near residential areas, Hartwell said, the city can cut down on traffic congestion.

Nowak expressed concern about financial matters for Ann Arbor residents.

"The prices in Ann Arbor are quite steep," she said, adding that she hopes to pass a living wage for residents.

Saletta, an Eastern Michigan University senior, included the student population in talk of development issues.

"The big way the City Council can help students lower the cost of housing is to encourage more development," he said.

In Ward V, Democrat Elisabeth Daley has chosen not to run for a fourth term, and in her place are Democrat Chris Easthope, Republican Todd Hagopian and Libertarian Larry Purdy, all newcomers to the political arena.

Easthope, an attorney, said urban sprawl needs to stop. "It hurts ecosystems. It hurts the environment," he said.

To combat urban sprawl and soaring housing costs, Easthope said he wants to start a community land trust. The group would purchase and renovate existing homes and sell them at below-market prices. When the owner sells a house back to the land trust, a smaller equity would be paid to keep it permanently affordable.

Hagopian said although he is a Republican, his main objective is to eliminate partisanship from the City Council.

"If I ran as an independent and said there should be no parties, I'd look like a 20-year-old radical," said Hagopian, a part-time student at Eastern Michigan University and a TCF Bank loan officer.

Purdy's campaign focuses on less government in daily life.

"I'm running in an attempt to peel away some of the layers of governmental control that the city of Ann Arbor subjects its residents to," said Purdy, director of purchasing and estimating at Wexford Homes.