There are two critical issues on the November ballot in Ann Arbor that would drastically change our City Council elections. They are spearheaded by former council members who were voted out of office and who want to take our city backwards, and they are funded by Republicans and out-of-town landlords who have fought against new housing in our community.
If you already oppose the measures, please consider donating to the No Campaigns for Proposal C and Proposal D. Your donations will help us inform voters about why these measures are harmful. You can also request a yard sign or volunteer to help in other ways.
If you still need information, here’s the deal. The two proposals are:
Prop C will eliminate primaries and turn local elections into November free-for-alls. With no primaries for voters to winnow down choices, a crowded November ballot could easily lead to conservative, Republican or extremist candidates winning with a small slice of votes. Also, by removing party labels, Prop C would allow candidates to hide their party affiliation at a time of rampant misinformation.
Prop D will match every dollar a candidate raises with $9 in taxpayer money from the city's general fund to support their campaigns, no matter how extreme. Estimates are it would cost more than $425,000, forcing cuts to important social services that we currently fund with those dollars.
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said Prop D is illegal. There are also no safeguards that are common in other cities that implement public financing, and your tax dollars could easily go to funding political mailers with abhorrent, extremist views.
The list of people who say Vote No on both proposals is long and impressive, including Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s PAC, the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO, the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP, the College Democrats at the University of Michigan, the League of Women Voters of Washtenaw County, Prosecutor Eli Savit, and many more local elected Democrats.
Please, if you can, donate to the No Campaigns for Proposal C and Proposal D. Mailers, ads, and signs are costly, but together we can provide these campaigns with the resources they need to be successful. If you've already donated, thank you! Please consider other ways to help as well.
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