The polls are open for Ann Arbor residents to vote for two
proposals and their City Council representatives in city elections
today.

The ballot includes two proposals, Proposal A — regarding
candidate requirements — and Proposal B —which is the
main issue debated by City Council candidates.

Proposal A seeks to relax eligibility restrictions for people
who wish to run for City Council and mayor. Some say the bill could
make it easier for students to run for these elected positions
because they would not be required to live in their respective ward
for a year before running for City Council.

The Greenbelt proposal, as Proposal B is sometimes called, would
use revenue raised from a 30-year, .5-mil property tax to preserve
parklands and other open spaces in and around Ann Arbor.

But opponents of Proposal B believe it could increase housing
and rental costs, negatively impacting students.

Ann Arbor is divided into five wards and voters can select their
choice of councilperson based on the candidates in their ward.

The 1st and 4th wards include much of the campus community, and
candidates in these wards include both University students and an
alum.

In the 1st Ward, Democrat incumbent Robert Johnson will oppose
independent Rick Lax and Green Party member Rob Haug. Lax is an
arts writer for The Michigan Daily on leave for the campaign, and
Haug is a Rackham student working on a degree in Near Eastern
studies.

Lax said if elected, his priorities would include making parking
easier in the downtown and Central Campus areas and affordable
student housing.

“I will represent the student interests without worrying
about what any political organization or special interest group
says,” he said.

Haug is also concerned about student housing.

“The University could rent retail commercial housing off
campus as part of an agreement between the University and the
city,” Haug said, on the issue of affordable housing for
students. He also would like to institute a ranking system of
voting for candidates in multi-party elections.

Johnson and Lax support Proposal B. Haug opposes it.

Libertarian Dan Sheill and Green Party member Scott Trudeau are
running in the Ward 4 against independent Jon Kinsey and Republican
incumbent Marcia Higgins.

Sheill plans to oppose the Greenbelt proposal while Trudeau will
support it. Kinsey has mixed feelings on the issue, and Higgins
could not be reached for comment.

Trudeau, who is a University alum and technology manager at the
Law School, said he is interested in improving affordable housing
in Ann Arbor.

“I support more (building density) in the city but it has
to be smart,” he said. He suggested that homeowners could
build and rent out accessory apartments, or
“granny-flats,” to supplement their incomes and
increase rental units in the city.

Sheill, an LSA senior majoring in political science and minoring
in philosophy, said he has been an active member of the Libertarian
Party and the Ann Arbor community for the past three years.
“As a current student I feel that I am well positioned to
appropriately represent the views and concerns of Michigan students
(who are one-third of the city population) on City Council,”
Sheill said.

The 2nd, 3rd and 5th wards also include some student voters
within their boundaries.

Republican incumbent Michael Reid will oppose Democrat Amy
Seetoo in the 2nd ward. Seetoo said she would support Proposal B.
Reid was unavailable for comment.

In the 3rd ward, Democrat Leigh Greden, Libertarian Rich Birkett
and independent Donna Rose are running for their City Council
position. Both Birkett and Rose oppose the Greenbelt proposal and
Greden could not be reached for comment.

Democratic incumbent Wendy Woods, who supports Proposal B, will
oppose Libertarian Jason Kantz, who is opposed to the proposal, are
running for the City Council’s open spot for the 5th
ward.