94P irichian Daily
Eighty-four years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Letters: Our readership sounds off
governor's
To The Daily:
Tuesday, November 5, 1974
News Phone: 764-0552
To The Daily:
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Election: Stand in line, vote
NEED AN INCENTIVE to vote? Con-
sider what might happen if you
dont.
WILLIAM MILLIKEN ELECTED BY
ONE VOTE MARGIN "The people
have spoken."
SANDER LEVIN WINS "Maybe I
was a bit hasty about promising no
tat increases."
FERENCY LOSES BY LANDSLIDE
"I guess everyone is a Democrat or a
Republican."
ESCH SWEEPS 2ND DISTRICT
"See you all later."
JOHN REUTHER BEATS ESCH "I
guess a famous name IS enough to
win."
PHIL CARROLL GETS NO VOTES
"I thought someone would vote for
me."
PERRY BULLARD S Q U E A K S
THROUGH "Who cares,?"
RAE WEAVER SHUTS OUT IN-
CUMBENT "I knew Ann Arbor
wouldn't elect that jerk."
BOB ALEXANDER N E A R L Y
SNAGS 53D DISTRICT "It was
close. If only it hadn't rained."
FOJTIK BY UNANIMOUS CON-
SENSUS "So I tear down posters,
nobody cares about that kind of
thing."
RON STRAUSS WINS WITH AS-
TROLOGY "My thanks to Virgo
and Aries voters. They're beautiful.
DIANE HALL LOSES TOO "Dam-
mit."
EVEN IF ALL THESE possibilities
leave you cold, you might as well
tell Jerry and Dick what you think of
Watergate. Do you support illegal
break-ins and cover-ups? Well, get
out there and send Washington a
message. Think there should be lim-
its on executive privilege? Then its
your duty to elect the wrong kind of
Congress.
Don't wait for 1976 if you want to
have even a tiny voice in this democ-
racy. The Electoral College has al-
ready decided to elect Ford and
there's nothing you can do about it.
The time to act is now. Put down
the paper and go stand in long lines
in the rain. If you don't, tomorrow's
headlines could be very disappoint-
ing.
-WAYNE JOHNSON
Thieu out of Vietnam now
*rHE POLITICAL BALLOON of South
Vietnam's President Nguyen Van
Thieu appears ready to burst. In ad-
dition to the continuing war and a
pathetic economy, widespread corrup-
tion has eaten its way through the
core of the governmental structure.
In what may be a last-ditch effort
to protect his position, President
Thieu has removed some of the un-
popular members of his cabinet, hop-
ing to appease his opposition. How-
ever, with an anticorruption cam-
paign stressing the economic security
of a few general and politicians, in
the light of the overall declining con-
dition of most Vietnamese, it seems
that Thieu's efforts will be fruitless.
Despite presure from Buddhist and
Catholic groups toward Thieu's ad-
ministration, the attitude of Wash-
ington is frighteningly similar to
what it was in the 1960's. The admin-
istration recently requested $2.45 bil-
lion in both economic and military
aid to Saigon. Even after cost-cutting
in the Senate Foreign Relations Com-
mittee, $1.28 billion was appropriated
to the South. In addition, "The New
TODAY'S STAFF
News: Susan Ades, Dan Biddle, Ken
Fink; Steve Hersh, Judy Ruskin,
Steve Selbst
Editorial Page: Mornie He y n, Sue
Wilhelm, Brad Wilson
Arts Page: Da v i d Blomquist, Ken
Fink, Doug Zernow
Photo Technician: Stuart Hollander
York Times" has reported that Penta-
gon funds continue to pay for more
than 5,000 personnel in South Viet-
nam.
ALMOST AS SHOCKING is the cur-
rent dearth of political intelli-
gence. Just as over a decade ago Sec-
retary of Defense McNamara men-
tioned that American troops would
be needed "for only a few months"
to defeat the opposition, the 1974 Sen-
ate and House reports are strikingly
contradictory. The House reports de-
scribes a strong South that "makes it
unlikely that the North can win a
military or political victory". In turn,
the Senate report concludes that
there is a "little prospect of anything
but a continuing military struggle -
and a continuing requirement for U.S.
economic and military aid."
The similarity between the current
moods in both Saigon and Washing-
ton and those of 1964 is so striking,
that one is compelled to wonder whe-
ther or not Thieu will be another
Diem. The possibility that Ford may
increase the American involvement in
Vietnam, while not likely, should not
be cast aside as senseless. The current
U. S. support of the corrupt Thieu
government is unwarranted political-
ly as well as economically. At present,
the resignation of Mr. Thieu would
appear to be in the best interests of
the South. If he decides to remain in
his position, it appears dubious that
he can "hang on" for more than a few
months.
-tALAN RESNICK
IN HIS October 23, 1
ter to the Daily, Dan
Swanson attacked Govern
liken's honesty, hoping,
ently, that Levin wouldp
voters on a lesser of tw
platform. While Swanson
complimented on his ze
originality, his argumen
idly fall apart when fa
the facts.
As the Detroit Free Pr
dorsement of Milliken
"Governor Milliken has
up Michigan governmen
than it has ever been
up in the past. He has
political reform moveme
He has opened his own p
recordsband hishcampai
cords beyond what is re
by law."
Through Milliken's el
leadership, Michigan has
ed a revolutionary new
of Ethics in governme
important, though badly
crat weakened, campaig
lation. Milliken has public
ed and continues to figi
public financing of all el
complete disclosures ofa
tributions regardless of
size or when they are
shortening of the fall ca
voter registration refor
the lowering of the Cong
al eligibility age to 18.
THE QUESTION in ti
tion anears not to be Mi
integrity, but Levin's.
spending hundreds of thr
of dollars in pleas for
moral leadership, Levin h
vided just the opposite
not honesty which cot
Levin to lie about his n
cord as he lied about hi
sition to unconditional a
It is not integrity whi
him to ignore such mat
abortion and bussing as
issues".
Levin has again and
misrepresented governm
tistics to create issues
none existed before. In
debate with Milliken, h
td that Michigan ;s ten
fifieth, in overall return
eral money. He contin
broadcast this same fal
gation.
LEVIN HAS claimed t
number of jobs in Michig
decreased under Milliken
have increased by 236,000
has cried that Milliken i
friend of Michigan's unive
even though aporooriati
them are the third lar
the budget - an incre
X382 million dollars. He h
that Michigan's budget w
the state $600 million do
debt, but, that the lossc
million more dollars fr(
reneal of the food and
tax will not call for at
crease. He has accused V
of providing too little inc
for industry, and, for gi
dustrv too big a tax brea
Levin's campaign
shows that is isn't hones
ethics which guide hisa
His is a campaign s
where one says anythi
does anything to get v
We ask the people of M
to research the issuesa
have done. And we are c
ed that on the basis of in
and record, Governor V
Milliken deserves to oer
ed.
-Students for Mill
Committee
October 27
To The Daily:
I AM writing in regar
letter our Republican Co
man is circulating in
Common Cause thanked h
his efforts in behalf of
ticular measure they sup
During my experien
Washington as part of th
versity of Michigan Inter
gram, I learned that let
this type are pro forma
are sent to just about ax
gressman who asks for
What Esch does not
that Common Cause rank
ninth out of 435 Congr
in the amount of money
ceived from big busine
dairy interests.
The Clerk of the Ho
Representatives reporte
three weeks after the e
Congressman Esch receiv
0000 from the Committee
Thorough Agricultural P
Education, the fundraisin
of the infamous Associat
Producers.
THIS BELATED effor
hardly have been aimedf
out the reelection of a f
Congressman. It is more
that it was an effort to a
their interests without
knowledge of Congrs
T -11 n ot1.. t
race IN THE FIRST installment of
this letter, we suggested you
should "TELL IT LIKE IT IS,
MARE." You have tried to give
974 let- the impression that you are a
iel D. moderate by claiming you sup-
or Mil- port the compromise Kennedy-
appar- Mills health care bill, while
pick up really being a co-sponsor of the
o evils "Medicredit" bill being promot-
can be ed by the American Medical As-
al and sociation (AMA) - that's the
ts rap- windfall-profits-for-your-favor-
ced by ite-private-health-insurance-com-
pany" bill.
ess' en- W
stated, We also asked where you
opened stand, Marv. In answer, we
t more found that you got $7,000 from
opened the Michigan Doctors Political
led the Action Committee (MDPAC) for
nt.. your 1972 campaign. This year,
ers l as of October 14 ,1974, you have
ign Te- already been given $12,500 by
equired MDPAC and the American Med-
ical Political Action Committee
[fective (AMPAC), according to the
achiev- Washington Post (October 27,
vCode 1974).
t and Itis the 12th highest total
Demo- of AMA money given to any
n legis- House incumbent.
:ly trg- AS YOU KNOW, candidates
ht for for Congress are required to file
c tons, renorts with the Clerk of the
il con- U.S. House of Representatives
ftheir at the same times that the lob-
made, bies must file their reports. Te
npaign' report due on October 21 (15
m and davs before the November 5
ression-election) is supposed to include
all contributions made hrogh
October 14 so that the public
is ie-l'e will know where a candidate's
Whe' money comes from before an
While election.
nusands Well, on October 29, 1974 the
strong' Detroit News revealed that
as pro- "Esch's report did not disclose
. It is $8,000 given him by the AMA,,"
nniled
ast re- -Robert P. Ambrose
s onno- November 2
mnestv.
h leads
ter. as Thirslev
'nun-
Sagain To The Daily:
ent sta- LAST WEEK the Daily car-
where ried a story that State Repre-
public sentative Perry Bullard a n d
admit State Senator Gilbert Bursley
,?, not had both "consistently" support-
of fed- ed the public interest as meas-
ies to ured by PIRGIM (Public Inter-
se alle- est Research Group in Mich-
hat th igan).
an has The statement is accurate
. They with respect to Representative
. Levin Bullard, who scored 100 p e r
's not a cent on the thirteen test voes
snOties, that PIRGIM -cited. The state-
ns for ment is a good deal less true
Best on of Senator Bursley, however,
gase of who scored 77 per cent.
as neld The State Senate killed a pro-
will put posal to have a referendum for
llars in the repeal of the sales tax on
of $200 food and medicine placed on
om the the ballot by the legislature.
d r u g This was done when Senator
tax in- Bursley and the other Republi-
M'illiken cans voted to return the meas-
entives ure to committee, from which
ving in- it never emerged again. It then
k. became necessary for those of
record us who were trying to repeal
ty and the food tax to obtain some
actions. 300,000 signatures on petitions
trategy so that this proposal might be
ng and on the ballot Nov. 5.
ares.
ichigan IN THE FIELD of poliical
as we reform, PIRGIM draws etten-
.onvinc- tion to one Senate vote - on
tegrity amending the campaign finance
William bill to limit the amount candi-
reeect- dates may spend on radio end
TV advertising. Senator Bursey
and the other senate Republi-
iken cans voted not only against this
reform, but also against limit-
ing the total amount that a can-
didate could spend in a cam-
paign and against limiting the
Esch amount that an individuil can
contribute to a campaign. Be-
cause of the reluctance of Sen-
rd to a ator Bursley and other Republi-
ngress- cans to bring about meaningful
which campaign finance reform, it is
him for still legal in Michigan - for an
a Dar- individual to contribute $2 mil-
ported. lion to a candidate for governor,
ce in $1 in the primary and $1 mil-
he Uni- lion in the general election.
rn Pro- In short, I think that the pub-
ters of lic interest could use a staunch-
. They er and more consistent defend-
ny Con- er than it has now in Sena+or
tnem. Bursley.
s ay is
ed him -Peter Eckstein e
essmen Democratic Candidate
he re- for State Senator
ss and 18th District
euse of
d that Bllard
lection, To The Daily:
ved $1,- STATE REP. Perry Bullard
e F o r has made false claims again in
3olitical this campaign about his all-out
ig irm support for students to serve on
ed Mihk the University, of Michigan
Board of Regents. As the only
t could student candidate for Regent
to help at the Democratic State Con-
riendly vention last August, I am dis-
likely turbed that Bullard opposed me
dvance and instead endorsed J o h n
t h e Koza, a non-student who has
assman long been associated with the
ther, Eckstein, Power and Roach
for Regents, George Alexander
for District Court - and Rae
Weaver for State Representa-
tive.
-David Faye
President, Campus
Coalition
November 4
county commissioners
To The Daily:
COUNTY commission candi-
date Kathy Fojtik has lately
blitzed the Daily's letters col-
umn with a carefully orchestrat-
ed chorus of endorsements and
excuses for her sorry record in
county politics. Let me under-
score the issues which this ef-
fort has sought - but failed -
to obscure.-
First, Fojtik and her fellow
Democrats have accomplished
next to nothing in two years of
control. Budget statistics reveal
clearly that the county's 1 o n g-
standing sacrifice of social serv-
ices to law-and-order is still the
policy. A few glamourously but
underfunded prograims were in-
itiated by the bureaucracy, but
Fojtik deserves little of what
Fojtik deserves little of what lit-
tle credit is deserved for this.
Second, Fojtik has failed to
refute charges that she has, like
any professional politician, en-
riched herself by junketing and
expense-account padding at the
people's expense. Her only de-
fense is that her colleagues
"approved" her expenses -
which only shows that the Demo-
cratic and Republican commis-
sioners can agree on back-
scratching and mutually satisfy-
ing graft, if nothing else.
THIRD, FOJTIK, far f r o m
objecting to the commission's
secretive and elitist decision-
making processes, seems to
glory in the role of self-apoint-
ed expert deciding what is best
for us whether we know it or
not. Diane Hall. the Human
Rights Party candidate, is much
preferable to Fojtik on this
score, since Diane works in the
context of a political p a r t y
which allows for the education
and participation of people be-
tween elections when other poli-
ticians do just as they please.
-J. C. Mirabeau
October 31
To The Daily:
DURING THE debate batween
Democratic Candidate Kathy
Fojtik and HRP :andidate
Diane Hall (Friday, Oct. 25), I
found Kathy Fojtik's under-
standing of the complexities of
county government operation
put her head and shoulders
above Diane Hall. Kathy re-
sponded effectively to HRP's
challenges, giving details facts
about the county, the budget,
and her involvement in many of
the new human service pro-
grams of the county. Kathy re-
futed the recent well-publicized
charges against her with copies
of letters from Jay Harness,
M.D., Director of the Washte-
naw County Sheriff's Depart-
ment Jail Medical Facility, and
Dr. Paul Gikas, M.D., former-
ly of the Ann Arbor City Board
of Health. She also had letters
from the State V.D. Specialists
assigned to Washtenaw county,
explaining her involvement in
the county's V.D. Clinic; ar.d
from Marilyn Thayer, nted
mass transportation advocate,
speaking of Kathy's involve-
ment in getting the buses on the
road. Kathy had documentation
of her votes on major issues,
plus committee minutes; The al-
so cited the Ann Arbor Sun's
statement that she was running
on a record of "hardwon" ac-
complishments on a Board :lom-
inated by "conservative" inter-
ests.
HAVING WATCHED the HRP
candidate read from prepared
statements in order to clarify
her own position (as contrasted
by Fojtik's ability to respond
spontaneously and convincingly
in her own words . . .), I think
that Kathy was accurate in
pointing out that the HRP can-
didate is not her own woman.
Fojtik pointed out that it ap-
pears that Ms. Hall :s being
heavily coached by the males
who dominate the HRP Central
Steering Committee. She is not
free to make her own decisions.
-Sonya Kennedy
October 28
To The Daily:
IN RESPONSE to the Ann
Arbor Tenants Union open let-
ter to all candidates, we would
like to make the following state-
ment regarding tenants rights
and rent control.
As candidates for the Washte-
naw County Board of Commis-
sioners in Districts 14 and 15, we
recognize that the lack of Coun-
ty legislative power would sig-
nificantly limit our ability to in-
tervene directly on behalf of
tenants. Nevertheless, the fol-
lowing steps should be taken im-
mediately:
1. The County Building a n d
Safety Department should be
given significantly increased
funding, crack down on building
code violators, and prosecute
the violators.
2. The County should establish
a housing court with exclusive
jurisdiction over landlord-tenant
cases, preferably one which
would forbid the use of attorn-
eys unless both sides consent to
their employment.
3. The County should massive-
ly increase mass transportation
to eliminate some of the cap-
tiveness of the rental housing
market around both the U-M
and EMU.
4. The County should establish
a tenant's maintenance and re-
pair fund which would pravide
no-interest loans to tenants to
fix up their housing when land-
lords refuse to do so.
5. The County should massive-
lv increase funding for Wash-
tenaw County Legal Aid to pro-
vide tenants a fairer opporun-
itv for what relief can b pro-
vided through the court system.
As members of the Human
Rights Party, we have either
drafted or circulated the orig-
inal rent control petition which
was placed on the April 1974 bal-
lot and defeated by massive
landlord money. Presen+iy, we
are both'actively circulating the
revised HRP rent covrol peli-
tion which we fully expect to
place on the April 1975 ballot.
We both plan to camnagn ex-
tensivelv for this rent control
proosal.
We do not support any weak-
kneed solution to the problems
of high rent and poor maiTen-
ance in Ann Arbor. Such "solu-
tions" include: a rent f-ee7e, a
public rent information file and
a rollback of excessive ernts to
a figure 5 per cent above the
average rent for a particular
class of housing. We fear that
the adoption of any of these will
oly legitimize the rent rip-off,
do nothing to alleviate the prob-
lem, and lessen tenant militancy
which is decisive in any strug-
gle to achieve decent housing
at reasonable rents.
-Diane Hall,
candidate for 14th
District County
Commissioner
-Marty Wegbreit,
candidate for 15th
District County
Commissioner
November 1
on the County Commission to
help the boycott committee in
any way I can. I will not, how-
ever, claim that I have been a
past activist in the UFW when I
have not, as Ms. Fojtik has
done.
-Diane Hall
HRP candidate for 14th
District County
Commissioner
To The Daily:
ON MARCH 1, 1973, I testified
before the Washtenaw C o La n t y
Commissioners Health Commit-
tee Hearings, chaired by Kath-
leen M. Fojtik, as to the need
for a V.D. clinic. In subsequent
conversations with John B. At-
water, M.D., who assumed the
directorship of the Washtenaw
County Health Department in
1973, Commissioner Fojtik indi-
cated her willingness to support
funding for a county V.D. clinic.
As chairperson of the Human
Services Committee (then t h e
Health Committee), she sup-
ported the V.D. clinic funding
proposal when her committee
sent it to the Ways and Means
Committee and when the appro-
priation was voted on by the full
Board of Commissioners. I con-
ferred with Commissioner Fojtik
on several occasions prior to the
final funding approval; she al-
waysrexpressed interest and
support for the clinic.
THE, WASHTENAW County
V.D. clinic opened at the Ypsi-
lanti Health Department build-
ing on January 21, 1974.
-Craig E. Rosey
October 24
To The Daily:
AFTER RECEIVING the Hu-
man Rights Party leaflet and
the Kathy Fojtik leaflet with
all the endorsements, I have
one question in my mind. Will
these letters of endorsement
and corroboration of Ms. Fojtik
be retracted or contradicted as
was the Peace Corps :tory two
years ago? Also, are the letters
written by people who actually
worked with Ms. Fojtik, politi-
cal cronies, or Democrati poli-
tical appointees?
-T. Harrison
October 29
To The Daily:
DURING THE past few weeks,
I have watched with interest and
confusion as the truth(?) about
Ms. Fojtik's claims concerning
community service and the pro-
grams she has(?) initiated as a
county commissioner has un-
folded. And, I really don't know
what to believe.
Individuals have spoken out
in support of Fojtik's claims;
while others have demanded
that she retract her campaign
claims, which in some cases she
has apologetically done; and,
still others state unequivocally
that public records and the min-
utes of the commissioners'
meetings prove that Fotjik's
claims of "initiating and institu-
ting programs" are blatant lies.
But, there are a few things
that have stuck in my mind
throughout this debate. The
first, is the Ann Arbor News a-
rticle that appeared shortly af-
ter Ms. Fojtik took office. Her
campaign literature, back in the
first year of Watergate, 1972,
claimed that she had served in
the Peace Corps in South Amer-
ica and had taught in Africa.
This world of experience con-
vinced me to vote for her. But,
the AAN, after a little investiga-
tive reporting, discovered that
Fotjik's claims were false. But,
alas, I had already been duped
into voting for her.
ALSO, IN that campaign, Ms.
Fotjik stressed her ability to
work with other Democrats, and
due to such co-operation she
could, therefore, achieve more
in terms of progressive legisla-
tion than her radical HRP op-
ponent. Yet, once again, I found
this to be false. A little over a
year later, Liz Taylor, one of
Fotjik's fellow Democratic
Commissioners, quit the Human
Services Committee w h i c h
Fotjik chaired. In her resigna-
tion letter, Taylor stated: "My
inability to tolerate lack of lead-
ership, judgement and a sense
of priorities as displayed by the
chair of the Human Services
Committee (Kathy Fotjik) re-
quires me to resign". (AAN,
March 22, 1974).
As an individual, these are
two things that have stuck in
my mind while the recent de-
bate concerning Fojtik's current
claims rages on.
--A Concerned but
Dubious Constituent
October 31
Burgoyne
To The Daily:
THERE HAVE been so many
smokescreens surrounding the
15th District Court Judge race,
that we want to finally clear the
air. Deliberate misrepresenta-
tions, outright lies, and unfound-
"y'r~ , 4 ;:+'r }" ;+f :>"rr:"" {Y.y} :{~ } r.} i iM:G"d+?[}'' '-' i yr ,f:ยข;:: Y':{~';t~
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The DAILY ENDORSES
Governor
ZOLTON FERENCY (HRP)
U.S. Congress 2nd District
JOHN REUTHER (D)
State Senate 18th District
PETER ECKSTEIN (D)
State Rep. 53rd District
BOB ALEXANDER (HRP)
County Commissioner
District 14
DIANE HALL (HRP)
County Commissioner
District 15
MARTY WEGBREIT (HRP)
University Regents
District Court Judge,
District 15 (two seats)
DON KOSTER
GEORGE ALEXANDER
Preferential Balloting
Referendum
YES
County Manager
NO
Referendum
State Ballot Issues
A (Gas tax funds may not be
for mass transit)
NO
B (Vietnam Veterans' Bonus)
YES
C (Repeal of state sales ta
food and drugs)
YES
eusedr
ax on
To The Daily:
I WOULD like to respond to
the controversy over the UFW
support activities of Ms. Fojtik
and myself over the past year
and a half.
In the first place, my partici-
pation in political struggles has
always been to promote the
goals of the organization and not
simply to use my identification
with the group for my own
political career. Too frequently
people who involve themselves
in political organizations do so
with personal motives in mind.
Much of the work that is ne-
cessary to any successful pro-
gressive activity involves behind
the scenes work that gets little
public credit. The case in point
is the UFW Boycott Committee.
I have spent about 20 hours en
the picket lines for the UFW
during the east year and a half
including the mass demonstra-
tion against the injunction
where I too risked arrest. The
important thing to me, though,
is that the UFW won the con-
frontation through large num-
5