f ef idia ai ," Eighty-Four Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan old"fa I Im 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 News Phone: 764-0552 THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1974 Vote 'yes' on rent control THE HOTTEST POLITICAL potato of the 1974 city campaign is the Human Rights Party's (HRP) ballot proposal calling for rent control. In recent weeks the battle over this single issue has reached such a strained pitch as to in- clude ,nprecedented fundraising cam- paigns, guerrilla-like ferreting of oppon- ents' private documents, and thundering disputes over some City Council candi- dates' stance on the proposal. The proposal has drawn an unmistak- able economic line through the elector- ate. On one side, a.covey of realty rental management firms has gathered nearly $50,000 in contributions - requesting $15 per rental unit from each manager-and flexed its political muscle under the eu- phemistic title of "Citizens for Good Housing" (CGH). The landlords of CGH, backed solidly by the local GOP, have stacked their col- lective weight against the high-spirited --if not so well-dressed -- forces of HRP, the Tenants Union, a few liberal Demo- crats, and thousands of Ann Arbor ten- ants. THE PROPOSED REGULATION of local rents has become such a flashpoint that the Democratic party has offered its constituents a non-decision on the matter: Each council candidate has been authorized to speak independently on the issue, but the party will not take a stand - fearing, no doubt that a strong slant in either direction would offend large numbers of voters. Ann Arbor's voters have no time for such self-preserving neutrality. Certain- ly, as rent control's opponents argue, the plan may generate higher property tax needs due to lower assessments. Indeed, as HRP readily admits, rent control is no final solution. THE DAILY URGES the people of Ann Arbor -- especially the tenants-to vote "Yes" April 1 on this vital proposal. We applaud HRP's efforts to bring about a concrete change in the condition of life in this city ,- a change which, while admittedly flawed, will certainly be for the better. Between now and Monday, Citizens for Good Housing will virtually bombard the electorate with flashy advertising and high-sounding phrases on the awful harm that a little rent control will do to our city. NONSENSE! WHEN WAS the last time your landlord got so righteous and moral as to spend money to nake you more comfortable? Why was there no "Citizens for Good Housing" during all the years that housing, despite high rents, has been atrocious? Let us join together as tenants and human beings, and make these "good housing" advocates live up to their title. Good housing is also housing we can af- ford. Vote Yes on Proposal A on Monday. -THE DAILY STAFF Support dope ballot proposal NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO Ann Arbor took an historic step towards legal- izing marijuana by enacting a city ordi- nance making use and sale of the drug punishable with a five dollar fine. This was an important and necessary action. However, last summer the Republi- cans who now control City Council saw fit to repeal that law - though they of- fered only emotional rhetoric to back their position. In next Monday's municipal election, the voters will have the opportunity to re-instate essentially the original law as an amendment to the City Charter. The amendment must be approved. Such approval will demonstrate that the people of Ann Arbor recognize that marijuana should not be given a high police priority and the Police Depart- ment's time can be better spent fighting real crimes. CRITICS ASSAIL THE measure for set- ting-up legal penalties which con- flict with present state statutes pro- scribing a jail sentence and stiff fine for TODAY'S STAFF: News: Jeff Day, Mott Gerson, Rob Mea- chem, Sara Rimer, Judy Ruskin, Judy Sandler, Sue Stephenson, Becky Warn- er Editorial Page: Brian Colgan, Marnie Heyn, Cindy Hill Arts Page: Ken Fink Photo Technician: Tom Gottlieb marijuana use. These sanctions clearly do not fit the "crime" of using a drug conceded to be no more harmful than alcohol. The proposal would also require city police to arrest and the city attorney to prosecute under the local ordinance. Re- quiring law enforcement personnel to obey the local statute would prevent ar- rests for dope use made within 'the city boundaries from being prosecuted under the unrealistically harsh state laws. Moreover the measure thus becomes a first, albeit small, step in the direction of citizen control of the police force and its priorities. Others argue the five dollar fine has no place as a charter amendment. How- ever if the voters approve the proposal, it cannot be rescinded by the conserva- tive City Council which is clearly not re- flective of the majority in this town. Only another vote by the people could change the amendment - that is how democracy should operate. FINALLY, MARIJUANA USE is a fact of life here and across the country. Because of its public acceptance and relatively harmless natture, marijuana should not be branded an illegal sub- stance. A "yes" vote next Monday underscores that attitude. Cast a ballot for putting marijuana in its proper place. Vote yes. -THE DAILY STAFF Letters to GEO To The Daily: THE ORGANIZING Committee of the Graduate Employees Or- ganization (GEO) is working this week to encourage each depart- ment in the University to have a departmental meeting of all TA's, SA's, and RA's. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss: 1: Proposed draft for GEO's con- stiution. This draft includes such items as provisions for the demo- cratic election of officers and Ex- ecutive Board (the first such elec- tions will take place following the MERC certification election April 1, 2, 3), membership, setwards from each department, etc. Cop- ies of the draft are going out to employes' mailboxes this wee k (also available in our office Rm. 9, 1st floor Michigan League). 2. Bargaining priorities. GEO wants feedback as to which de- mands are most important to the membership. 3. Election of reps from depart- ments which don't already have them. 4. General questions about un- ionization. WE WANT to ensure a demo- cratic union. Because it is not really possible to have full-fledged discussion at mass, meetings, the departmental level will be the most important at which the member- ship can discuss its views and con- vey them to their reps ("stewars" after certification of the union). We want a vital union whose pol- cies are set by the membership - not a union run by an entrench- ed, undemocratic leadership. If your department would like help in setting up your meeting, speakers, etc., come by our office or call: 665-7174. -Organizing Committee, GEO To The Daily: IN UNIVERSITIES, unions, elec- tions and bargaining are deceit ex- pressions - not dirty words - to- day. This is true for good reason, as Kenneth Galbraith, Harvard eco- nomist, pointed out in The New Industrial State (1967). In t h e production of arms land control of the U.S. Congress the indas- trial complex has grown superior to the government. Nor are state legislators able to resist the svs- tem of production by nationally extensive corporations. The fod- eral administration has recently surrendered to the beef, wheat and oil interests. Boards of Regents bestow honorary degrees on the heads of General Motors, vi ton companies and recording corpora- tions. The industrial vate nas overgrown both government and the market of the people. But the University faculties and the teaching fellows in higher edu- cation have not yet lost their free- dom, though threatened by the ex- tending dependence of depart. ments upon the structure of tech- nological society. Present i-sues in Washtenaw County are a re- flection in miniature of the situa- tion encroaching steadlg upon the independence of teachers in thi country. THE PROJECTED me-ger of the National Education Association and the Federation of Teachers failed in February. Three milion teachers are now open to the :*- tacks of their critics e'xapt fcr state and local organizatirs. The model of the corporatit and the army will be imposed if the asankl on the freedom of faculties s'e- ceeds. Billions of dollars a&e avail- able for arms and salaries >f le;is- lators, though they have failed to halt the spread of inflation. That inflation which created studem shortages by favors of the Presi- dent to industries has become the excuse assigned for emIomV i'; person and finance. (Petitioners for support of Nixon cast a shadow similar to thr- seen in night marchers forty ysirs ago in Munich and Nuremberg.) Freedom to make money by The bankers and freedom to arbitrarily issue executive orders have, in this combination, planned the program of human life in America. Cenor- ship of the media and the excision of freedom for the liberal core of professors proceed apace as the ideas of industrial corpora&ir'ns af- fect the universities. Only a choice between resistance and surrender to these trends remains. THE FREE market is gone, thy: free action of politicians has al- most disappeared. Commeacement oratory partly conceals the fact that educators consider computers more important than the line atts. In the election under MEPRC (Michigan Education Resaurces Commission) by the TeacYng Fel- lows at the University of Michigan- and that in Eastern Michi an Uni- versity the question of the distri- bution of institutional res irces is at stake. Who will have a genui.e choice of action? As the AAUP (Asso'ation of University Professors) is devotcd to higher education, the Federation of Teachers has its prinmary roots in the K-12 range of personnel. Whichever wins, the arts and s - f The Daily To The Daily: An Open Letter to the Graduate Student Assistants at the University of Michigan AS OF THIS date, most graduate students at the Univeristy of Mich- igan are probably aware that a "consent" election to determine whether or not to unionize all graduate student assistants, w i ll take place on the Ann Arbor cam- pus during the first week of April. This election was organized through the efforts of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), under the guidance of the Michigan Employment Relations Commis- sion. The graduate teaching assist- ants in the Department of Micro- biology were first informed about this election by an official memo from the office of Charles M. All- mand, Assistant to the Vice-Presi- dent for Academic Affairs. This memo, written with a slight but detectable anti-union slant, w a s delivered to the students in our department on March 23, 1974, ap- proximately one week before the scheduled election. According to the GEO circular, entitled "Why A Union" -this organization p u r- ports to represent, or' would like to represent,. all graduate student assistants at the University of Michigan. If this is true, then why was the first announcement of thi election delivered to the graduate students in our department via an Administration memo? ALL OF the graduate students in our department belong to the Or- ganization of Microbiology Stu. dents, which is dulv registered as a graduate student organization at this university. Why did not the GEO contact our organization in order to inform us of both its de- sire to represent our teaching as- sistants and the merits of union- ization? Furthermore, none of the graduate students in this depart- ment have ever bha- imformed as to the platform and/or the goals of the GEO, which is seeking to be- come the "sole hn' exclusive bar- gaining agent" of all graduate stu. dent assistants on this camipus. We agree with *he CEO that the University administration h a s been highhanded and uncomprom- ising in is past deaings w i t h graduate student asssant, ard that this has culminated in the un- ionization issue. However, t h e vague inflammatory rhetoric and reference to "militant actimn" found in the above-mentioned GEO circular serve :>niv to fuel emo- tional responses, and do net in any way explain or desc-be the facts about unionization. Th~ graduate studentassistantr at the Univer- sity of Wisconsin-in Madison were unionized a few years ago. Why has the GEO not ei-borated on the advantages and disadvantages which the union at Visconsin mst have experienced !,v tpe present? IF THE GEO .inccralv wishes to represent all gradiuate student as- sistants, then it must make its plans for furthering and inroving the status of all graduate student assistants readly available to all interested partde. Onv intelli ent, mature discussion among all grad- uate student asstants knowledge- able about the facr ;o.ccrning un- ionization can give rise to a voting response which is truly represent- tive of all gradate assistants on campus. This is especially import- ant in view of the act that only "a simple maio-ity of 'he vtes cast decides the election". -Eric J. Hansen and seven others Graduate Teaching Assistants The Dap.irment of Microbiology March 25 rent control To The Daily: I DON'T KNOW if it's possible to design a workable long-range rent control plan for an unisolated point in geography like the city of Ann Arbor. John Kenneth G a l- braith, an important proponent of national controls doesn't think so. Walter Heller doesn't think so. I find nothing in the current local ef- fort that would change their minds. One suspects that the proposed rent control charter amendment is one of those knee-jerk issues that, within certain constituencies, no candidate interested in survival dares oppose. I have to doubt that there exists a sincere proponent of that amendment who knows what it says and understands what it will do. I doubt, further, that a single reputable economist, of any per- suasion, can be produced who will endorse that amendment as sound. It is kept alive as an issue be- cause its own intrinsic sex appeal is given the added impetus of poli- tical demagogery. Legitimate con- cerns are being Nixonmalously manipulated and politically exploit- ed. I confess to the fleeting notion that Mr. Herb Stein et. al. might have moonlighted the job. So much for the rhetoric. But bear with me a bit, and then make your own judgment. FOR STARTERS, it souid be in- structive to comnare a counle of r ,.'+ v'. '. T_'"w^ }r :v rp; }ti. i ;f FS /'y1~! fi-'' ;SY'w'~d $: Z + 2? . Y ,, 1''. ;.}X. ,-.3'f;>, , }''. ? i'? t . . a ;. t c ', x + , l,^/i r : t r . ,. ;: interest payments and deprecia- tion. Not bad. On the other hand, a retiree who has acuninated $33,000 equity in his former home- stead which he now owns "free- and-clear", would receive only $47 in cash flow under the amendment, no reimbursement of principal pay- ments, no tax deduction for in- terest and very little for deprecia- tion. It should also be noted that the city's tax base will suffer a treduction directly corresponding to the decimation of that aged cit- izen' s life savings. It turnsout that the effective rate of return to the young speculator is over 200 times that to the retiree! It requires no particular foresight to anticipate impending trouble from that sort of inequity. A CHARTER amendment should be as flawless as human judgment can make it. But this one, I fear, is quite prolifically flawed. It is po- tentially inequitable, mechanically untenable, legally suspect, an ad- ministrative nightmare, and, per- haps worst of all, has been pre- sented in an unconscionably un- democratic manner. It favors so- phistication and affluence over the small investor, leverage over equity, housing in poor repair over that which has bseen well-main- tained, and the investor having extraordinary sources of financing over the ordinary citizen. I sub- mit that much of that can be achieved without a charter amend- ment. Nonetheless, a maze of le- galistic jargon, seven thousand nine hundred and fifty dreary words long, has been ground out to that end. Everyone who will vote should try to read that document. I say try because it is, indeed, very difficult reading. It is printed in barely legible pint-sized type, in language that is the kind of sub- section under sub-section upper- middle bureaucratese which one su- spects was invented by the legal profession to insure self-employ- ment. It seems to go on and on in- terminably, partly because it does. That the electorate should be ask- ed to vote on a proposal thus pre- sented makes a travesty of t h e democratic process. HOWEVER, ANYONE who does take the trouble to read it, and the time to cut through the phony tinsel to the real tinsel behind it, should discover the following: It would encourage a landlord to paint walls, but not to insulate them; it rewards washing the win- dows; but not covering them with storms; an ailing toilet stool is likely to get repairs, but not ie- placement; it promotes a sparkling surface even as the substance suf- fers. It is a very cosmetic c(n- cept. It is marked neither by compari- son nor imagination. Nor does it in any way address the basis of the problem it describes. It could have made an honest attempt. It could have exempted senior citizens who own only a single unit, for exam- ple; instead, it would virtually wipe them out. It could have pro- vided some relief to a floundering central business district by de- controlling high-rise units c o n - structed over commercial; instead, it would effectively deny such de- velopment which may be vital to CBD survival. It could, in fact, have assaulted the very shortage of units it decries by simply de- controlling newly constructed units; instead, it would almost cer- tainly discourage any further city development and, thereby, exacer- bate the very scarcity of housing which helped spawn it. THE AFFLUENT are twice- blessed under the amendment: They are financially qualified for larger mortgages, and they c a n aford to hire professional trades- men for repairs that others must perform themselves - both of which boost return to the investor. To find the judicious nature and almost superhuman expertise in construction costs and accounrinig techninqu that will h ernieired of ment of tradesmen might suffer, the legal profession should reap a bonanza. And even as the income of those tradesmen declined, the rents in the satellite communities where most reside would almost surely begin to wend their way up- ward. And that's the tip of the ice-berg. The amendment's ramifications are endless; as over-crowding evol- ved into over-flowing, they could well embrace all manner of corrup- tion. and black-marketeerin, as well. The claim that this reit con- trol proposal is the best yet writ- ten is obviously nonsense. That claim had to be made, however, partly because a charter amend- ment lacks the flexibility of an ordinance, and partly because there is no example extant of suc- cessful rent control within the ar- tificial confines of a single city. THE SINCERITY of its propon- ents, notwithstanding, as P r o f . Galbraith pointedly observed in a. letter of last summer, responsibil- ity for any deleterious effects from such measures must fall 01 those who help institute them. The pro- posed amendment does identify a valid problem - the market's failure to respond adequately to low and middle income hosing needs - but it fails to provide a valid solution and should be de- feated. -Zeke Jabbour March 25 To The Daily: YESTERDAY, I re :eived a slick, expensive brochure from Ann Ar- bor's landlords who have disguised themselves as "Citizens for Good Housing." From what I :an gather, this distorted and dishorest mailing was sent to tens of thousands of city residents at a cost of close to $10,000. We the renters of Ann Arbor are paying for this anti-rent control campaign fromthe dollars we pay to these landlords for our apart- ments. I find that infuriating. Therefore I just informed my landlord that I wil be dedcting $5 from my next moati a rent and sending it to the Human Rights Party rent control camaign. I strongly urge other tenants who feel as I lo to deduct this amount from their rent and pass it on to any group wic is working for the passage of Proposition A for Rent Control, such as the Inn Arbor Tenants Union and IIRP. -Dennis Raymond March 18 Richman To The Daily: LA RAZA LAW Students at the University of Michigan School of Law are united in their support of the United Farm Workers Union and the boycott of non-UFW lettuce and grapes. We feel this issue is of considerable significance to the 2nd Ward electorate and believe that we are in a unique position to comment on the merits of the two candidates for City Council in this regard. Both Ms. Kozachenko, the I-u- man Rights Party candidate and Ms. Richman, the Democratic candidate publically support the United Farm Workers and pledge to promote their interests and those of all economically oppres- sed groups if elected to C i t y Council. In Ms. Kozachenko's case her public statements are w e 11 supported by clear cut action. She has been active in picketing local stores which sell non-UFW lettuce and grapes and helped organize a petition drive in the dormitories to continue support of the lettuce boy- cott. Ms. Richman, on the other hand, has taken no comparable affirmative action to support leer public statements. On the c o n- trary, Ms. Richman's personal ap- petites contradict her public posi- tion in support and make her credibility on this issue doubtful. in the City Council and urge our fellow students to do likewise. --La Raza Law Students University of Michigan Law School March 27 To The Daily: I WISH TO EXPRESS congratu- lations to Bill Heenan on a well written article, covering the Fifth Ward race. Although it is a tradi- tionally conservative Ward I've found surprising interest in HRP's stance on womens' issues, rent control, and directing the city to- ward serving the people of Ann Arbor rather than the business in- terests. However, there is one misquote in the article. I . am strongly op- posed to any city layoffs in any de- partment, police included. Cut- backs should be made instead in the amounts currently spent on excessive administrator's salaries, sophisticated technology concen- trated on arrests rather than pre- vention, and reduction in the num- ber of patrol cars substituting foot patrols instead. Within the reduced police bud- get, personnel should be redirected away from victimless crimes to- ward prevention of violent crimes with increased expenditure for programs similar to the indepen- dent rape squad proposed by HRP. Finally, there should be more police emphasis on crimes committed by corporations against the people of Ann Arbor. Is the landlord who steals an ex- tra $50 per month fromyou in ex- cess profits, or the employer who makes you work under unsafe con- ditions or discriminates against you to save costs, any less a thief than someone who steals your tele- vision set? I think not. Jesse Hall March 26 Tenants union To The Daily: THE ANN ARBOR Tenants Un- ion endorses the following candi- dates for city council: HRP Beth Brunton, 1st ward HRP Kathy Kozachenko, 2nd ward HRP Harry Kevorkian, 3rd ward Dem 'James Kenworthy, 4th ward HRP Jesse 'Hall, 5th ward These candidates, with the ex- ception of Margo Nichols whom we feel has no hope of winning, are the only candidates who strongly support adoption of the rent control ballot question. We feel that the luke-warm support for the rent control ballot question by the first and second ward Democrat candidates betrays the great need of their largely tenant constituency for rent control. We oppose the third and fifth ward Democratic candidates, because they oppose rent control. James Kenworthy signed the rent control petition and has shown firm sup- port for rent control and other ten- ant interests. He has a good chance to defeat his Republican opponent who should be thrown out with his fellow Republicans at all levels of government for their many crimes and betrayals from Watergate and Cambodia to Packard-Platte. WE URGE OUR members, other Ann Arbor tenants and progressive thinking people of Ann Arbor to turn out en masse and VOTE RENT CONTROL Monday. Jim Henle Dave Raaflaub Bob Ball Ann Arbor Tenants Union March 27 I ..t... t The n ini.hnuld By THE ANN ARBOR COMMITTEE TO IMPEACH NIXON On Friday at noon, March 29, the Ann Arbor Committee to Impeach Nixon will be ' sponsoring a rally on the diag and a march to Congressman Marvin Esch's local office. Representative Esch has been evasive and non- committal on the impeachment issue. For many months, he insisted that he could not "prejudge the case," despite the undisputed facts of Nixon's secret bombing attacks on Cambodia, Nixon's au- thorization of the clearly illegal "Huston Plan," and Nixon's formation of the "plumbers" (a secret police force, accountable only to the White House, which engaged in illegal acts such as burglary and wiretapping). Despite this blatantly illegal and unconstitutional behavior on the part of the President, Esch has attempted to cast himself as a fair and even- handed juror, unable to make a decision without all of the facts. While it is true that all of the facts have not yet been determined regarding possible presidential involvement in the Watergate cover-up, possible bribery in connection with ITT and the dairy industry, and possible presidential tax fraud, it is clear that Nixon must be removed for his unprecedented abuses of power which are not in dispute. Recently, Esch finally did give us a statement regarding what he believes to 5be an impteachabe offense. In a letter to President Nixon, Esch said that failure to obey a House Judiciary Committee subpoena would be grounds for impeachment. .Un- der such circumstances, Esch said, "I believe you would be in contempt of Congress which would con- stitute grounds for impeachment." Esch's statement was certainly a step in the right direction considering his previous lack of a position. Still, it was sadly inadequate. In his letter, he persisted in condemning those who have "succumbed to emotionalism and on the basis of an incomplete record of evidence concluded that you are guilty of impeachable offenses." He disnisses those colleagues who have taken a position as "not living up to their constitutional responsibilities." These statements suggest that Marvin Esch is unwilling to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Presidency remains accountable to Con- gress and to the people. If we permit Nixon to slide by despite his arrogant excesses, we will be aiding future Presidents' unconstitutional, unilateral, and monarchial decisions. As a representative in Congress, with the power to speak out and help end Nixon's imperial presi- dency, Marvin Esch has failed miserably. It Is crucial that we have a strong, united force o Friday to make it clear to our Congressperson that, with November only seven months away, he better start shaping up soon. Impeachment march on Esch AP, # O 4 't 1. A Q III gr im 1 1 a ! 14 rq ru "4tr>ka r p3 ' a " '1 l , . ; ti , s i i i f - *w + _ 1j I m