Two new candidates are vying for seats on the Ann Arbor City Council.
Diane Giannola is a Democrat seeking councilmember Graydon Krapohl’s seat in Ward 4 who is seeking re-election. Giannola is running under the slogan “Authentic, Realistic, Dependable.”
“I’m a different sort of candidate. I’m not really running anti-anything,” she said in an interview.
Giannola is currently employed by the University of Michigan and works as manager of Venture Accelerator, located on North Campus, where staff and faculty who have developed new intellectual property through research and want to build their own private companies can rent office space. Additionally, she worked previously for the University as a medical researcher on academics, biotech and Pfizer.
Her platform is focused on supplying the city’s residents with accurate information about city issues. She said she wants political decisions to be more of a conversation between city council members and residents. She added that as of now, there is too much debate and not enough discussion about what the actual issues are.
“I’m running to be more of a voice, and more of an effective voice for our ward,” Giannola said. “Whether they agree with me or not doesn’t matter, as long as they are discussing the same facts.”
Her focus is also on the importance of transparency according to her website.
“My philosophy is to not just inform people about issues, but to help them understand what things mean,” the website reads.
Giannola has been a resident of Ann Arbor for about 20 years and is a University alum.
However, she said she does not foresee her ties with the University impacting her actions or decisions should she earn a seat on City Council.
“The University and the city are different entities,” she said. “The answer is strictly no. There will be no conflicts.”
With a background in politics including involvement throughout her entire adult life, Giannola said she is excited by the idea of taking a seat on City Council. She served on the City Planning Commission from 2009 until 2014. Additionally, she served on the city’s Historic District Commission from 2007 until 2010. She also runs a political blog.
“Politics is a hobby that I’ve always done,” Giannola said. “I’ve always wanted to run, I’ve just never stepped up to be the candidate until now.”
Giannola said her time working with the commissions was practice for what she hopes are her future days on City Council.
She’s challenging Krapohl, she said, because he is quiet about his views and lacks transparency when it comes to his opinions about important city issues.
“He’s not an effective voice. I don’t know where he stands on anything,” she said.
She said the only notable difference she can identify between herself and Krapohl is that he supports the ongoing deer cull in Ann Arbor.
Kevin Leeser, an independent seeking a council seat in Ward 5, hopes to take the seat of current councilmember Chuck Warpehoski (D–Ward 5), who has filed petitions to run for re-election in 2016.
Leeser has been a resident of Ann Arbor for 12 years.
According to his website, Leeser’s main reasons for seeking election includes the safety of his children in regards to busy city traffic.
“I have tried every avenue of intervention short of civil disobedience to get the traffic calmed in our city,” the website says. “I have heard every excuse known to man as to why this is not possible, but I disagree. We need to keep bikes and kids safe from cars, period.”
In an interview, he said he thinks the city government is not fulfilling its potential when it comes to effectively ensuring the safety of residents.
“I’m getting frustrated with the lack of the city’s involvement with making the street safer,” he said.
Because Leeser’s house is located on a highway street, he added, he constantly strives to improve safety in the area.
“I am ready to challenge the motor-minded culture that is by far, a greater threat to our community’s public health than ISIS, Trump, and anthrax combined,” Leeser also wrote on his website.
According to his website, he has dabbled in city politics, working with city officials in the past few years to successfully get the speed limit reduced near his house. He has also worked with the city toward the installation of a crosswalk in front of his house which extends to reach the city park across the street.
He is currently a nurse at the University hospital, and said his ties to the University would be beneficial were he to earn a seat on City Council.
“I certainly don’t think there’s a conflict of interest,” he said in an interview. “To ignore the fact that U of M is part of the city is like the elephant of the room.”
Though his goal is to become a council member, Leeser said he thought the current setup of council is not effective considering the large size of the city. If elected to council, he hopes to make some major structural changes within with government.
“We should have a whole redesign of how city council works,” Leeser said. “I have all sorts of goofy ideas that I want to bounce around. We don’t do enough experimentation to be cutting edge”
Leeser also said he has recently been spending a lot of time in Flint following the water crisis, going door to door, handing out water and seeing what people need.
Based on this experience, he wants to test out building a website to act as a database where residents of the 5th ward can self-report issues in the community. He said he thinks by doing so he can understand the wants and needs of his residents and speak in council as a true representative of his ward.
He said he does not think poorly of those individuals who currently hold seats on City Council, but rather thinks that, by making changes such as employing council members full time, the governing body could improve its effectiveness.
“They’re all good people, but the way things are set up change is happening at not the right rate,” Leeser said.