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Vol LXXXVIII, No. 76 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, December 9, 1977 Ten Cents 12 Pages
Mavericks i
By KEITH RICHBURG
A first year law student and an under-
graduate student government activist
are giving Ann Arbor Democratic party
regulars some severe headaches as the
filing deadline for City Council candi-
dates nears.
In the Second Ward, law student Con-
nie LaClair is thinking of bucking tradi-
tion by challenging Democratic incum-
bent Earl Greene for the council seat.
In the First Ward, Jasper DiGuiseppe
has taken out nominating petitions,
much to the chagrine of the party hier-
archy which prefers party activist
Susan Greenberg.
DiGUISEPPE readily admits he is
running as a Democrat "because I want
to win and the city doesn't let inde-
pendents file.
"If it comes down to my true philo-
sophy, it's probably closer to socialist-
worker," he says. "I'm more a philoso-
phy candidate than a political can-
didate."
LaClair, however, is a veteran of
local Democratic politics and, thus, is
considered a more viable candidate
than DeGuiseppe in her challenge to
party stalwarts. A former organizer of
the local Carter for President cam-
paign, she is currently involved in State
Sen. William Fitzgerald's (D-Detroit)
run for governor.
DISCUSSING both LaClair and
nayforce
Greene, city party chairman Victor party regulars are c
Adamo says, "Both are good. Both rep- is throwing the war
resent the main positions of the Demo- mary, costing the ci
cratic party in this city." and $7,000, according
LaClair has not yet taken out nomina- office.
ting petitions for the Second Ward, "One good thing ab
saying it depends on her class load next that it keeps ie De
term. She maintains, however, that she says LaClair.
is "seriously considering" a challenge The incumbent wh
to Greene. to oust, however, to
"My primary objection to Earl as a being called too busy
candidate is the fact that he doesn't time to council.
have the time to devote to Council,"
charges LaClair. "Frankly, I'm con- "SHE SAID THAT
cerned about the progress he's made on she would have mor
council." council, which is bulls
THE LAST THING LaClair is ple," Greene conten
worried about - and the biggest thing think that's true."
De
oncerned about -
d race into a pri-
ty between $6,000
to the city clerk's
out the primary is
mocrats honest,"
om LaClair wants
akes umbrage to
to devote enough
as a law student
e time to put into
hit, pure and sim-
ds. "I just don't
m primar
Green says a primary will be an un-
neccessary drain on money in the
Second Ward: "It's very difficult to
raise money for a primary. What little
funds there are will be split between her
camp and mine."
Greene, a music teacher and a
singer, also says he doesn't look
forward to a primary campaign in
January and February that will take
him outdoors in sub-zero tempera-
tures because it will hurt his "bad
throat. But I don't want to sound like
a crybaby," he adds.
City Democratic Party Chairman
Victor Adamo says he has discussed
See DEM, Page 2 Greene
'Truth in
renting' law
proposed
By RICHARD BERKE we're proposing will deal effectiv
vely
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
BATTLING THE SNOW that blanketed Ann Arbor yesterday, two men, above,
found scant protection under umbrellas from the raging elements. At left,
New York Metropolitan Opera soprano Phyllis Curtin, left, and local vocalist
Constance Barron, right, plod through the blinding snowfall. Curtin is attend-
ing the Edison exhibition at the Union Gallery.
Snow blanket sets
city in slow mOotion
By EILEEN DALEY
The fool who sang, "Let it snow,
let it snow, etc.", didn't have to
drive a car down I-94 or wait outside
for a bus yesterday.
Plenty of Ann Arborites had to
weather such hazards as an ornery
semi-blizzard hit the area, dumping
about five inches of powdery snow
amid predictions of at least five
more inches for today.
THE STORM locked Ann Arbor
into slow motion as cars and buses
crept down slick city streets\ and
highways, air traffic was delayed,
and bundled-up locals braved a
biting wind and growing drifts.
City streets were described as
"slow moving with lots of traffic"
by Ann Arbor police. Several acci-
dents,enone of them serious, were
reported.
Dial-a-Ride service was running
an hour behind schedule, according
to dispatcher Dianne Knight.
"WE'RE GETTING a lot of calls,
and there's lots of people we can't
get to," she lamented.
State Police reported all high-
ways were in "terrible" condition.
The Coalition for Better Housing
(CBH) has kicked off a drive to puta
referendum on the April city election
ballot which would prohibit landlords
from including illegal and unenfor
ceable clauses in their leases.
Entitled the "Truth in Renting Act,'
the proposed city charter amendmen
would also require landlords to give
their tenants specific information abou
their legal rights.
AT THE START of each lease term
landlords would be required to give
tenants a written notice stating that:
-certain clauses -the tentant signe
my be illegal and therefore unenfor
ceable;
-tenants have rights and obligation
which may not be described in their
leases, such as the right to withhold
rent when they live in a dwelling in need
of repairs; and
-tenants can get detailed infor
mation on their legal rights and duties
by contacting their own lawyer, a free
legal aid service, or as Tenants Union
lawyer.
CBH, WHICH was organized in Sep
tember to stage a "tent-in" protesting
the campus housing pinch, is also
proposing the "Fair Rental Infor
mation Act," which would require the
city to prepare a new booklet ex
plaining the rights and duties of local
tenants.
CBH members are circulating
petitions throughout the city to secure
enough signatures to place the
legislation on the ballot. At a press con-
ference last night, leaders of the group
said they see no obstacle to getting the
needed 4,000 signatures by the January
deadline.
The "Truth in Renting Act" proposal
comes at a time when the legality of
city lease clauses has been questioned.
A study by the Public Interest Research
Group in Michigan (PIRGIM) recently
revealed that of Ann Arbor leases
examined, all were found to contain
"illegal, unenforceable, or abusive
clauses.'
"THE PIRGIM study proves that it's
a very prevalent practice among Ann
Arbor 'landlords to put false infor-
mation in leases about tenants' rights
and duties," said Greg Hesterberg,
CBH treasurer. "We think the two laws
g
t
a
n
s
t
e
it
t,
e
d
s
r
-
d
with the problem by putting more in-
formation in tenants' hands, and by
keeping landlords from giving them
false information."
The "Fair Rental Information Act"
proposes that the city pay for a tenants'
rights booklet consisting of three sec-
tions: one written by impartial authors
selected by the mayor, one written by
pro-tenant attorneys, and one written
by pro-landlord attorneys. All city lan-
dlords would be required to distribute
the booklet to their tenants.
The city already puts out a tenants'
rights booklet, but Democrats on City
Council have had trouble getting a
revised booklet approved by their
Republican counterparts. A vote on a
proposed revision of the booklet has
been shelved twice this year because of
partisan conflicts.
See GROUP, Page 12
See SNOW, Page 2
S YRIA CHIEF SEEKS SA UDI BA CKING:
Sa dat blasts Arab foes
CAIRO (AP) - President Anwar
Sadat, to thunderous approval from
hundreds of thousands of his country-
men, promised peace and blasted his
Arab detractors as "stupid dwarfs"
yesterday in his bitterest counter-
attack yet in the war of words
between Arab hawks and doves.
Shortly after the rousing, national-
istic speech to an estimated 350,000
Egyptians in the heart of Cairo,
Sadat went into talks here with
Jordan's King Hussein, who is trying
to mediate the Arab dispute over
Sadat's direct peace initiative with
Israel.
MEANWHILE, Sadat's chief an-
tagonist in that dispute, Syrian Presi-
dent Hafez Assad, was in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, meeting with King
Khaled and other Saudi leaders in an
effort to win their backing in his cam-
paign against the Egyptian.
After an airport welcome of hugs
and kisses, the Syrian president and
the Saudi monarch, King Khaled,
drove to the royal palace for a
working lunch.
Kuwait announced that Assad to-
day would visit that oil-rich sheik-
dom, which like Saudi Arabia has re-
mained uncommitted in the current
Arab uproar over Egyptian Presi-
dent Sadat's direct dealings with
Israel.
OIL-RICH Saudi Arabia is impov-
erished Egypt's main source of finan-
cial aid, so Sadat needs at least Saudi
neutrality as he pursues his one-man
peacemaking.
"Did not these stupid and ignorant
dwarfs hear what I said in Israel?"
Sadat, speaking from a balcony of
Abdin Palace, asked the cheering
crowds before him in Republic
Square.
He was referring to his speech to
the Israeli Parliament last month,
when he demanded that all occupied
Arab land be returned and a Pales-
tinian state created.
"Weewantnpeace basedaon justice,
but we do not want peace at any
price," Sadat declared, striking back
at critics who accuse him of betray-
ing the Arab people.
Fired
Scity;
Sofficial,
appeals
By KEITH RICHBURG
The city accountant fired by. Cityl
Administrator Sylvester Murray
Tover the recent Ann Arbor! invest-
ments debacle will appeal to get his'
1job back in a hearing scheduled 'for
FTuesday morning.
In an Ann Arbor Inn conference
room, Marc Levin, who was fired by
Murray last October 5, will present
his side of the story to a three-mem-
ber appeals board, which will then'
consider reinstating him. The ap-
peals board consists of a former
University associate dean, a city
department head, and a city employe
"considered a peer of Levin 's."
ATTORNEYS FOR both sides will
present witnesses at the hearing,
which is expected to retell the entire
story of how the city almost lost $1.4
million through a bad investment and
then tried to cover it up in the budget
report for fiscal year 1976-77.
11 City labor attorney Melvin Musko-
vitz, who will be trying to convince
the board to !uphold Levin's firing,
would not disclose whether Murray
himself will be called as a witness at
the hearings. He did indicate that
witnesses would be called, but said,
"I'd rather not talk about that."
Neither Levin nor his attorney
could be reached for comment.
AFTER THE hearing, the appeals
board can either let Murray's deci-
sion stand, or it can overrule Murray'
and reinstate the deposed city ac-
countant. The appeals board decision
can be appealed one more time- to
Murray himself. After that, the only
recourse would be a court suit.
Asked whether he though the
Sadat
Hide-and-seek scholarships
Suit may invalidate
LSA election results
By DAN OBERDORFER
Almost all students wish someone else would pay for
their education. Well, if you're from Ingham County and
your geneology shows a direct line to a World War I
veteran, you might be in business.
Or if you are a woman graduate of the Medical School
preparing to go out as a medical missionary-preferably
Presbyterian-chances are your education could be paid,
at least in part, through one of the roughly 500 special
scholarship funds controlled by the University.
AND, IF YOU are also a foreign-born Oriental woman,
an American Indian, or a descendant of Seth Harrison,
you might have a free ride through school.
Most of these special scholarships come from con-
tributions by private individuals. Roughly half are
distributed under the auspices of Ivan Parker, associate
director of the Office of Financial Aid.
"As a general rule, academic merit is more likely to
much as full tuition plus $250/month for the neediest
graduate student presently receiving the Levi Barbour
Scholarship for Oriental Women, to as little as $50/month
for tuition under any number of the scholarships.
Many of the contributors have established specific
eligibility requirements for their scholarships. There are
scholarships for men and scholarships for women. There
is even one for women in Oxford Housing. Some are open
to students only from certain towns or counties while
If you're a foreign-born Oriental
woman, an American Indian or a de-
scendant of Seth Harrison, you might
have a free ride through school.
By STEVE GOLD
As LSA Student Government (LSA-
SG) election workers began the lengthy
process of validating and counting the
election results last night, members of
the Bullshit party took the first steps
toward filing a suit in an attempt to in-
--irlna s tePrin
dates before the election, he had their
consent to remove what he considered
were slanderous posters, or any posters
up in excessive numbers.
The Bullshit party also charges that
the election was improper because it
occurred less than the 14 days normally
«,...« . . t ,-F1... .7 ,..: . . 0
others are restricted to students in particular departmen-
ts.
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