This coming year promises to be full of difficult decisions for the Ann Arbor City Council. Budget problems, labor negotiations and the culmination of a visioning project that could determine the future aesthetic of downtown are just a few of the issues soon to be facing Council members. Student frustration with city government is growing, and even the Ann Arbor News has noticed the disconnect between students and City Council. At this crucial juncture, with the stakes high and elections just around the corner, Council needs a breath of fresh air, with members willing to unplug their ears and engage students, who compose as much as one-third of Ann Arbor’s population. This fresh air could come in the form of Fourth Ward candidate Eric Lipson, running against incumbent Marcia Higgins (D–4th Ward), and Second Ward candidate Eugene Kang, a University student running against former Republican mayoral candidate Stephen Rapundalo.

This Tuesday, Ann Arbor voters will cast their ballots in the primary elections to determine the Democratic nominees for City Council in the second and fourth wards. Although both nominees will go on to face a Republican in November, the Democratic primary may prove to be their toughest race. With the recent conversion of Rapundalo and Higgins, former Republicans, all four candidates now share a party. But they still are distinctly different and each would bring a unique set of ideas to the council.

In the Second Ward, incumbent Mike Reid (R–2nd Ward) declined to run for re-election, clearing the way for newcomer Kang and former Parks Advisory Commission chair Rapundalo. If elected, Kang would be the first student member of City Council in decades. Student candidates not only face concerns that naturally arise over experience and connections, but they also struggle with gerrymandered wards that prevent students from consolidating their voting power. Indeed, with none of the current Council members endorsing his campaign, even if Kang does win the seat, he runs the risk of being marginalized and rendered ineffective after he is elected. This is not an issue with Rapundalo, who already has good relations with other Council members and clearly beats Kang in experience. To be sure, Rapundalo is a good candidate; he has an even-handed temperament that matches his training as a scientist, and he recognizes the problems that Council has with an often opaque and insular decision-making process.

But even so, Kang’s energy and original thinking could be the revitalizing spark that pushes the council to think outside the box and, furthermore, to improve its communication with longtime residents and students alike. Kang brings innovative ideas about expanding affordable housing and increasing density throughout the city. More importantly, he is in a unique position to make student voices heard in city government; he would be in far closer contact with student organizations than any other Council member, and his own experience as a student would bring an important and severely underrepresented perspective to the Council.

In the Fourth Ward, Higgins has held her seat for three consecutive terms, a total of six years. Although she is obviously familiar with Council process, progress and positive change are more likely to come from her opponent, Lipson. Lipson is an attorney with an impressive history of non-profit work, much of it environmentally oriented. His environmental activism and his experience in city projects such as the Ann Arbor Planning Commission indicate that he would play an important role in improving city zoning and promoting responsible development.

Lipson also has demonstrated interest and experience in student issues. He worked as a staff attorney for the University’s Student Legal Services, often representing students in disputes with landlords. His perspective on students’ roles in the community is influenced by his firsthand knowledge and experience of landlord abuse, not to mention his Law School alum status. Additionally, he favors new and progressive ideas about the integration of affordable housing into the city, such as accessory dwelling units. Lipson seems an ideal candidate to oversee the direction of Ann Arbor’s rapid growth; while Higgins is competent, she seems satisfied with the status quo and lacks the creative vision and the understanding of student-resident dynamics required to effectively lead a diverse and evolving city. Higgins was also the only candidate who said she would not have supported moving a vote on the Oxbridge and North Burns Park street parking permits — an ordinance, passed last month, that student leaders opposed — to the fall, when students would be in town to offer their input.