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14e Sirriigan Daits
Eighty-two years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
City council candidates speak out
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Doily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1973
Dial-a-solution to -mass transit
Editor's Note: In advance of next Monday's
city primary election, The Daily, as a public
service, will be publishing statements from all
City Council and Mayoral candidates, except
for those unopposed. This is the first of a
series.
FIRST WARD
Morris Thomas
Democrat
uncontested
Andrei Joseph
HRP
uncontested
(Stephen Raymond)
HRP
Has withdrawn from the race, but name
is still on ballot.
David Wiarda
Republican
uncontested
SECOND WARD
Carol Jones
Democrat
uncontested
Clan Crawford
Republican
uncontested
Lisa North
HRP
LISA NORTH, 20, is an urban studies ma-
jor at the U of M.
"The local Democratic Party has refused
consistently to either oppose the business
interests or support progresive action in
city council. As co-chairperson of the BRP
city council committee, I have had ample
exposure to both types of action or in-
action."
"The Democrats opposed HRP ordin-
ances for tenants rights. These would have
been a step towards a housing situation
responsive to tenants, not landlords. As
police broke the picket lines at CPHA,
Democrats fought against an anti-strike-
breaking ordinance with teeth in it. Con-
sumer protection (including unit pricing)
legislation lies buried in a dead end com-
mittee. The Democrats even opposed talk
of community control of police. An im-
portant part of my campaign will be a vig-
orous attack on this record. As blatantly
demonstrated on city council "progressive"
Democrats consistently voted with "conser-
vative" Republicans to stifle efforts for
change. The Democratic record, or lack of
it, shows the need for a strong third
party."
"THE PROCESS of building HRP as an
alternative to the Democratic Party should
continue. Part of this means keeping HRP
a radical party. For a councilperson this
means speaking out on the issues the other
parties ignore. It means using campaigns
and city council as platforms to raise de-
mands for womens rights, community con-
trol of public services, a steeply graduated
income tax, and gay rights.
Another part of building the party is
making sure HRP is a grassroots organiza-
tion. Too often in the Democratic and Re-
publica parties discussion and decision mak-
ing is restricted to a few leaders at the
top. In contrast HRP meetings are open to
diverse points of view. Anyone should be
able to find out what is going on in the
party."
"There should be an emphasis on ex-
panding the party's basically student con-
stituency. The concerns of students go far
beyond the boundaries of Ann Arbor. Prob-
By JOHN PAPANEK
ANN ARBOR is under siege.
Not unlike most American cities, the post-
war prosperity and mobility boom led increas-
ing numbers of Ann Arbor citizens away from
confining, inconvenient and slow public trans-
portation to the fast, reliable, convenient and
private automobile. '
Owning a car was a necessity, and in those
days no one gave a thought to the serious
problems an over-population of automobiles
might someday cause.
Now, it is cars, not people, that dominate
most of our living space. Public transportation
is stigmatized, left only for low income groups
who cannot afford cars. More and more roads,
parking structures, shopping centers, gas sta-
tions and garish drive-in burger joints grow like
a cancer along our roadways. The city itself
has become a bastard-child of the automobile.
Scarcely a step can be taken without "looking
both ways;" the honk of the horn has replaced
the song of the bird; and the smell of exhaust
has all but obliterated the fragrance of the
spring grass.
The automobile is not about to become ob-
solete. It remains the fastest and most conven-
ient means of transportation available. But
it delivers a few built-in catches:
It is a major contributor to air and noise
pollution; it extracts nearly 34 per cent of all
the City's developed land for streets, roads,
parking structures and support facilities; and
a single automobile costs its owner between
$1200 and $1500 a year to operate.
WHILE THE OVERWHELMING emphasis for
transportation in the city is on the automobile,
what does this mean to those unable to support
the expense of owning a car? Are the elderly
expected to sit shut into their homes all day,
having to walk up to a mile whenever they
need a quart of milk? Do young people and
children have to depend on their parents for
transportation all the time? How much more
land will fall to the bulldozers for more roads
and parking structures?
These problems have been tackled by the
Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA),
which has designed a public transportation plan
that may be the salvation of the city.
It is the AATA's belief that enormous com-
munity benefits can be effected if the emphasis
of Ann Arbor's public investment can be shifted
away from concessions to the automobile, in-
creasing the relative importance of public trans-
portation. To effect this radical change, the
AATA has striven for a system that most close-
ly approaches the private automobile in terms
of comfort, personal convenience, reliability and
speed.
Here is the system that the AATA proposes:
-Door to door service virtually anywhere
within city limits;
-Service in response to a telephone call, com-
pletely eliminating knowledge of timetables and
schedules from the public burden;
-Highly personalized, direct home-to-work
and home-to-school and home-to-shopping a r e a
service.
-A ridership target doubling that carried by
the existing bus service in the first year, with
a fifth year target of diverting at least five per
cent of all intra-city trips to public transporta-
tion.
-A standard $.25 fare for each trip, inde-
pendent of transfers and travel distance. Re-
duced rate monthly passes, family passes, sen-
ion citizen passes, school children passes, and
low income passes will make speedy door-to-
door transportation anywhere in the city with-
in the financial means of every resident.
PRESENTLY THE AATA operates six bus
lines from 6:45 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Monday
through Friday. Cash fare is $.35 for adults and
$.20 for school children. The bus system car-
John Pahanek is the most recent inductee to
ried approximately 650,000 passengers in the
1971-72 fiscal year. The system's total operating
cost was $450,000, with revenues accounting
for approximately half the cost, and $234,000
being provided by the City's general fund.
The present bus system is posting ridership
gains of between 10 and 15 percent per year,
but still represents only two per cent of total
intra-city travel.
The new system will operate from 6:30 a.m. to
11:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to
6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The present
system does not operate on weekends.
The system will thrive on precise synchroni-
zation of Dial-a-Ride minibusses, operating in
11 neighborhood zones plus a downtown loop,
with express busses operating between the Dial-
a-Ride zones..
A one-year field test of Dial-a-Ride, sup-
ported by the State of Michigan Bureau of
Transportation and Ford Motor Company's
Transportation Research and Planning Office,
yielded findings that prompted the AATA to
endorse the proposed expanded system.
According to the AATA's report of January 18,
1973, the Dial-a-Ride test showed:
-Many Dial-a-Ride passengers were lured
from their automobiles. According to an AATA
survey taken in January and June, 1972, 50
per cent of the users were formerly automobile
drivers or passengers,
-Dial-a-Ride reached many passengers who
did not formerly use public transit.
-The average waiting time between tele-
phone call and doorstep pickup was 10 minutes,
and average riding time was 13 minutes.
The most encouraging manifestation of a
similar transit system is the Telebus system in
Regina, Saskatchewan (population 150,000). In
operation since the middle of 1971, Telebus has
been totally absorbed into the community and
maintains unqualified support from taxpayers
and city government.
BY FAR THE most appealing quality of Ann
Arbor's proposed system is the $.25 fare, which
as the AATA report points out, is low enough
not to be an impediment for any population
group to use the service, while high enough
to place a value on the service in the minds
of the users.
Based on estimates culled from the one-year
Dial-a-Ride test study, the AATA expects the
650,000 public transit passengers in 1971-72, to
rise to 1.3 million in the first year of the new
system's operation.
The system will require a fleet of 15 express
busses and 40 Dial-a-Ride vehicles, five of which
will be specially equipped to accommodate
handicapped passengers. To support ;the in-
creased vehicle load, the city will need to
construct a new 35,000 square foot storage gar-
age, an enlarged office complex and mainten-
ance facility.
It is estimated that the operation will cost
approximately $2 million yearly, with the bulk
of the funding to be provided by a proposed
city charter amendment calling for an additional
2.5 mill property tax. If passed by the voters in
the City's April 2 election, taxpayers will be re-
quired to pay an additional $2.50 per $1,000 as-
sessed valuation.
This tax would raise some $1.5 million, while
the State Transportation package gasoline tax
would add another $200,000, leaving approxi-
mately $250,000 to be covered by revenue.
WHEN IMPLEMENTED, intra-city travel
would be this simple: A person desiring a bus
calls a central dispatcher, who would send a
Dial-a-Ride minibus to the person's front door
within ten minutes. The driver would collect
a $.25 cash fare, or punch a monthly pass.
If the user's destination were in the same
zone, he would be driven directly there. If he
wished to travel to another zone, he would be
taken to a transfer point where an express bus
would be waiting to deliver him either to a
major terminal point, say the University, St.
Joseph's hospital, one of the high schools or
shnning centers or he mn trnnfer to a
lems like industrial pollution, and the un-
equal distribution of wealth cannot be sol-
ved at the local level. They require na-
tional change."
"HRP must reach out to other groups
whose interests are not served by the status
quo. Minorities and working people are of
special importance. I want to raise issues
that relate to their concerns."
"Too often in the past HRP has acquired
the image of a purely election oriented par-
ty. It has seemed like the chief concern of
the party was printing newspaper ads or
burying people with a flood of leaflets. Yet
just in Ann Arbor there has been a long
history of local strikes, protests, and de-
monstrations. As a councilperson, I will
make working with such protesting groups
my highest priority."
"Injustices to women can best be fought
by a strong women's movement. Real
change for black people will come only
if there is a strong black liberation move-
ment. In fighting for rights, no group should
depend upon the whims of city councils,
even radical ones."
Franklin Shoicet
HRP
AS AFORMER Michigan Democratic
Party Political Reform Commission
member and as a former Urban C o r p s
Intern with Detroit Model Cities, I have
seen the system's inability to handle the
problems it has created. I am running to
help change that system.
We must give people an alternative that
seeks to deal with their needs through such
constructive proposals as have been initiat-
ed by HRP this past year. I will not (as
others have been doing) give city officials
an excuse for inaction by emphasizing how
little the city can do.
Our most glaring problem is housing.
My campaign has emphasized rent control,
tenant-run code enforcement, and city pres-
sure on the University to use its land and
resources for more low cost housing, is-
sues which others in HRP have virtually ig-
nored (just like the Democrats and Re-
publicans).
Council has been unwilling to press for
real answers to citizen complaints about the
police, allowing policy to be made by back-
room bureaucrats. I would work to get real,
public answers to public inquiries and, as
a first step to community control, would
push for Council to publicity set law en-
forcement priorities.
Heroin addiction, in adition to wasting
human life, has a surge of rip-offs as a
by-product. Instead of $80,000 for police
cruisers, Council should be funding re-
habilitation efforts and supporting the de-
criminalizing of heroin.
I also emphasize using revenue sharing
money to fund and plan neighborhood-con-
trolled health and child care centers (in-
cluding $50,000 for a free low cost abortion
clinic); city pressure on the University to
meet its child-care responsibilities to its
student and employees; revamping the Hu-
man Rights Department so that it will en-
force laws to protect blacks, women, gay
people, and students from discrimination;
and support of HRP consumer-ecology pro-
posals, such as the non-returnable contain-
er ban and unit pricing.
I am proud that my allegiance is to HRP,
and not to some minute sub-group such
as the Rainbow People's Party or the
Chocolate Almond Caucus. Neither of these
two factions has shown any ability to con-
vince those who don't think like they do.
In addition to the activities mentioned
above, I was Community Organizing Di-
rector for the local Vietnam Moratorium, a
founding member of the white support coal-
ition for BAM, coordinator of student sup-
port for GM and 'U' worker's strikes, and
an organizer for the Mayday demonstra-
tions. Since September, 1971, I have been
an HRP activist. I'm a law student, with
a BA in Political Science.
David Sinclair
HRP
GIVING PEOPLE direct input into de-
cisions that affect their day-to-day lives
is what HRP is supposed to be all about.
But HRP has disenfranchised people's ideas
with meetings conducted under torturous
parliamentarian rules.
I intend to (1) hold regular informal
meetings in dormitories and neighborhood
houses for people to discuss their ideas and
find out what's going on; (2) make my
phone number (761-1709) and my address
(1520 Hill St.) available so people can bring
their problems and suggestions to me; and
(3) help set up public hearings and "com-
mmnity control" commissions.
Some people argue that City Council can't
do anything. I don't believe that. The
council spends millions of dollars, writes
laws, controls the police, approves plastic-
burger restaurants and does hundreds of
other things. Most importantly, it has poli-
tical clout that cannot be sneered at.
Instead of wasting time with abstract
rhetoric or symbolic tokenism, we need
concrete proposals so we can take control
of our own lives.
ABORTION CLINICS - Women should
pay what they can afford and receive the
services they need at subsidized clinics.
TENANTS RIGHTS - Exorbitant rents,
rip-off damage deposits and landlod ne-
glect can be fought by a tenants rights
commission.
CHILD CARE - Subsidized neighborhood
facilities run by the children and parents
involved.
FOOD CO-OPS - Paying $1.50 for a doz-
en apples will stop when the city subsidizes
food cooperatives throughout the city.
HEALTH CENTERS - Especially since
St. Joseph's decision to flee, neighborhood
centers must be built to handle basic health
needs.
POLICE CONTROL - Charges of police
misconduct will be personally investigated
until a community control board is estab-
lished to police the police.
PEOPLE'S RIGHTS - Information about
everyone's legal rights will be made avail-
able through media and meetings to mini-
mize everyday illegal intimidation.
MASS TRANSIT - Low-cost 24-hour bus
service should help eliminate the threat
of rape and the need for cars.
RECYCLING WASTE-Subsidies to com-
munity waste recycling will directly im-
prove the ecology here.
PROGRESSIVE HIRING - More 'peo-
ple from oppressed groups must be hired
at equal pay so the city can start relating
to people who are exploited here every
day.
* * *
David Sinclair has been a laborer, a
college student, a draft resistor, a civil
rights advocate, a legal defense fundraiser,
a poet, an editor, and is now a fulltime
community worker and organizer with the
Rainbow People's Party. He is 27 years
old, a graduate of Dartmouth College and a
member of the Ann Arbor Cablecasting
Commission. He was deemed "psychotically
anti-authoritarian" by the U.S. Army.
Alexander Stevenson
HRP
THIS PRIMARY election is important to
Ann Arbor and especially to Students
because the Human Rights Party has a
chance to gain a majority of council votes
in the April election. I wuld like to re-
present the people of the second ward with
one of those votes in City Council. I offer
to the Human Rights Party my determina-
tion to end once and for all the depend-
ence of the workers movement on capital-
istic alternatives. We want to construct a
party that can bring to a succesful conclus-
ion the revolutionary process in this coun-
try. This can be done only through the
reality of action, not through reformist
changes in the system in an attempt to get
certain candidates elected.
Human Rights Party voters must nom-
inate a candidate who can win in the April
election. Vote for Alexander J. Stevenson
and end misrepresentation in the political
process.
S.
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A.
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Letters:
To The Daily: falls in
I AM WRITING in reply to a let- ed crit
ter written by Margaret Miller, herself
SGC Member, published Feb. 8. tive; r
Ms. Miller makes a great show telligen
of statistics to justify why a re- boorish
cently vacated SGC seat should all who
have been, and was, filled by no fidentica
one other than a black female. Ms. females
Miller believes that the application diction
of racial and sexual criteria for by Ela
choosing a new Council member selected
reflected an "enlightened" and af- she is
firmative" policy. SUCH
I find this line of thinking pernic- and is9
ious. thing i
I find this line of thinking per- justify3
nicious. raciala
One of Ms. Miller's arguments is appear
that SGC members should ideally ions.
represent the student body. Indeed, I hav
they should. But in back of the no- Leapha
tion of representative government membe
rests the idea that representatives views.
should mirror the ideas and inter- represe
ests of their constituency. To as- that I
sert that representation should be I am n
based upon solely physical criteria I onl
of race or sex, regardless of a re- her "en
presentatives' ideas or programs reconsi
smacks of fascist corooratism. "ideal"
In spite of Ms. Miller's protests I fear
to the contrary, her line of reason- the tra
ing is both racist and sexist. overly
She appears to assume that a ness. T
person, because of his or her race and so
or sex (oddly enough, Ms. Miller wittingl
did not mention religion or national traits.
origin) has views that are stereo- -
typically and exclusively black or
.1:i- meti nrfamnla hic :
SGC
Council a stereotype?'
to some arbitrarily contriv-
erion and proves himself or
to be liberal or conserva-
adical or reactionary; in-
t or dull; well-mannered or
; therefore and necessarily,
share that criterion a r e
al. In other words, all black
who fall under SGC's juris-
are "ideally" represented
ine Leaphart, the recently
d SGC member, because
black.
[AN ASSERTION would be
patently absurd, but every-
n Ms. Miller's attempt to
Ms. Leaphart's selection on
and sexual criteria w o u I d
to bear out such conclus-
'e no complaints about Ms.
rt's performance as an SGC
r, as I know nothing of her
For all I know, she might
nt me perfectly, and for
would be thankful, although
neither black nor female.
y hope that Ms. Miller and
nlightened" compatriots will
der their notions about
representative government.
that they have fallen 'nto
p that awaits those who are
zealous in their righteous-
rhey have fought for so long
fiercely that they have un-
ly adopted their enemy's
-Adam Simms
Grad
other side of the expressway. fated two incorrect facts concern-
These are all part of the traas- ing Satyricon. Number one: the
portation problems in Ann Arbor. Film was ordered in regular print,
The Ecology Center is trying to received Cinema-scope print; the
solve this problem and push for projectionist later said that was the
alternate transportation systems in only type of print the film comes
the city. Part of the April ballot in, and the projectionist was able
is a bonding proposal concerning to contact one cinemascope lense.
roads and bridge repairs. People Hence only one projector was
at the Center have urged that this equipped for the showing, making
bond issue be expanded to include for impossible quick reel-to-reel
bike paths, ramps for wheel chairs, changeover. The second source of
and overhead walkways for pedes- the problem was related to a time
trians. At present there is no fund- Factor that we had no knowledge
ing for this kind of project. of until the first showing; t h a t
A public meeting has been called >eing United Artists incorrect state-
a A ro pubicPeetng be calleda ment of time of showing for
at the Ann Arbor Public Library Satyricon. Their time estimate:
on Tuesday, February 13, at $ p.m' 120 min. when it actually was 20
The meeting will include a publiL min. longer.
forum on all three issues, with re-
presentatives of the city and the United Artists, when confronted
Ann Arbor Transportation Author- with their mistake, conceded that
ity participating.-they were in error, but it is doubt-
T environmentali tful that any sort of reparations are
The evrn nt mpcn-forthcoming.
cluding both physical and economic oth rrmina.
aspects, is going to be discussed at Another problem which may have
this meeting. An inventory of group been less apparent to the audience,
attitudes toward mass transporta- but nevertheless was very distres-
tion systems will also be consider- sing to us, was the poor quality
ed. We think it's important to sup- of sound during the 1st half of
port the Ecology Center's efforts the movie. Investigation of t h e
to solve Ann Arbor's transporta- equipment by the projectionist
tion mess. Go to the meeting on Mackie, revealed the audio-ground
Feb. 13. wires ,had been cut; hence poor
quality sound. Sounds like some.
-Jeanette Burns thing strange happening?
Feb. S The problems that occurred were
lessened by the patience and un-
C11t derstanding of the audience and the
surprising agility of Mike, the pro-
To The Daily: jectionist, who was able to make
TNT 1?Qn XTm n a m: Cis._ --o - -n , n aa-- :n AAA
mission charge was not picked out
of the sky; as if an additional $0.25
(compared to Cinema Guild) would
make us rich. In fact, that is, dia-
metrically opposed to our entire
theory of showing low-cost movies
here at the University. We have
found that it takes money to run
a consistant series of high cali-
bre films. One week the co-op mak-
es a profit, the next week it loses
money. Cinema Guild, for instance,
has been in bad financial trouble
for a while. We first started as
'Collective Eye' film series in the
peoples Ballroom, charging $0.50
or $0.75 donation and hall rental
was free. The films rental ranged
from $0-50 and cost of publicity
subtracted from gross equaled no
profit and sometimes losses. Mov-
ing to the University meant audi-
torium rental went up to $140 per
night and the movie rental costs
increased to $200 - $500. Satyricon
costs for example were $500 in ad-
vance vs. 60 per cent of gross,
which ever is greater. As it was,
we grossed $2000, 60 per cent of
which goes to United Artists and
a large percentage' to publicity
leaving us with a total of about
$440 to continue the film series.
When you consider that it costs
United Artists about $3.00 to ship
a few reels of celluloid all over
the country, $1.25 seems unjust, but
not when you consider that to
see the same film in a theatre
charges range from $2-$3.
We hope that this explanation
kne hppn n pnir-atly r,.nnci%?to
Al
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