John Dingell.

Stewart Nelson is a retired pilot who has focused much of his campaign on opening up city government and hopes to improve finance management by taking a seat on the council.

The Daily endorses Derezinski based on his extensive experience in office and realistic understanding of the challenges ­— and plans to face them — ahead for Ann Arbor.

As a former regent at Eastern, Derezinski is particularly equipped to recognize the importance of students within a community and to take measures to facilitate involvement.

His plans for better collaboration — if he can pull them off — would prove mutually beneficial to both the city and the University.

And if that weren’t enough, his experience in regional planning in an era where development is a hot-button issue make him the man for the job.

Ward 3:
The Daily Endorses - Stephen Kunselman

Running in Ward 3 are incumbent candidate Stephen Kunselman and newcomer Christopher Taylor.

Kunselman, notorious for the high-profile backyard-chicken debate, has worked in local government for 10 years. He is focused on improving local parks, improving the city’s greenbelt and promoting sustainable design.

Taylor is emphasizing the need for improved building regulations and fiscal responsibility. He also advocates more money for improving and greening the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

In the booth, voters should check Kunselman’s box. Though he’s known for ruffling feathers, he advocates real and pragmatic issues. It’s obvious from speaking to him that he knows how to get things done.

Both Taylor and Kunselman have good ideas, and for a freshman candidate, Taylor’s are impressively defined. But when it comes to understanding how to make those changes happen, Kunselman wins.

He has the kind of know-how that can only come from experience. That could be Taylor in a few years, if he can start a little lower and work his way up.

Ward 5:
The Daily Endorses - Carsten Hohnke

The race in Ward 5 is between Carsten Hohnke and Vivienne Arementrout.
Hohnke lacks public service experience but has strong ideas about transportation and housing.

Armentrout served on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and calls for reforming city government through better budget management and improved accountability.

While Ward 5’s race hasn’t produced candidates of quite the same caliber as elsewhere in the city, voters should recognize a slight advantage in Hohnke.

Though he lacks Armentrout’s service experience and certainly speaks politik — a language peppered with snappy soundbites that are vague in meaning — there is an earnestness in him worth supporting.

Though he doesn’t have remarkable solutions to student concerns like affordable housing, he does at least recognize the importance of such issues. The same can’t be said for Armentrout, who seems more focused on reprimanding from her soapbox than enacting change.