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August 03, 1976 - Image 4

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Publication:
Michigan Daily, 1976-08-03

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The Michigan Daily
Edite -ind rnanaged by Students at the ,
University of Michigan<.i .:..:...
TI sday, August 3, 1976 ui FP , A
dews Phone: 764-0552
Remenher: Vote today.
THE DAILY UPOES the voters to take time out and
particip.t e in todav' primary election.
This year. tbo primary will afford voters the oppor-
tunity to cast bln s in several races - races that have
an effect on boti -tate and local levels. While all Michi-
ganders today rcper Senate and Congressional choices,
local voters will e decisions in such important races
as sheriff, cou -,ro-ecutor, judgeship, county commit-
sioner and drin commissioner. Very rarely does the K
public fa e such n wide array sof races, candidates and ,
Voting is not a chore, but a constitutional, right
many more wottkt he wi. e to ta ke advantage of. Visit the
polls today and tnk n't in this vital primary vote.
JAY L T' JIM TOBIN
fuioilDireeto t
, ".AINli -1 r ANN MARIE LIPINSKI
SEditors
JE ' 1 tsr . . Arts Editor "
OIs .01t OVH . .. .... .........Night Editor
GEOROE .LOBENZ . . . Night Editor
MIKE NORTON Night Editor
PHILLIP BOKOVOY Assistant Night Editor pInrefer wthosWho ca ' bck . not
LANI .ORDAN Assistant Night EditortL
STU McCONNELL Assistant Night Editor as messy!'
JENNY MILEOR Assistant Night Editor
BARR /AH Assistant Night Editor
Mailbag: On candidates, clericals

tenant issues
To The Daily:
While not er.dorsing any can-
didate for today's primary elec-
tion, the Ann Arbor Tenants
Union Committee for Political
Devetlopment is offering an
evalittion of the candidates for
prosecwtin attorney and sheriff
which it believes will enable
tenant voters to understand the
candidates, and the nature of
the partiCular off ie. We will be
providing a more complete eval-
nation before the November
elections.
Gearge Steel, mne of the two
candidates on the 1emocratic
ticket for prosecuting attorney,
was the only candidate who re-
qiested a chance to speak be-
fore a Tenants Union meeting.
steeh's campaign progrant, as
well as his record, show him
to be an ally of teiasnts. While
heading the constumer affairs
dis ision of the prosecutors of-
fice in Genesee Ct'unty, Steh
spearheaded a dri e which ob-
tained over one million dollars
for cons'imers.
LIIKE HIS OPPONENT, Ron-
aId Keys, Steeh helieves that
the prosecuttion of violent crim-
es would be the top priority.
They both believe that the pres-
ent Reptblican administration
is spending too much time on
drug related and other nonvio-
lent crimes. They also contend
that the present prosecutor
seeks publicity, not convictions.
Therefore, we find- it significant
that Steeh, would also make the
prosecution of white collar
crime a top priority.
Steen has already prosecuted
landlords for illegal price list-
ings on rental units, and taken
action on fraudulent home im-
provement schemes, nursing
home abuses, and false adver-
tising practices. On the other
hand, while Keys told the TU
in private conversation that con-
sumer affairs would be one of

his top priorities, he did not
talk about this at all during
the candidates night sponsored
by the League of Women's Vot-
ers.
In the race for sheriff, we
find that the incumbent Sheriff
Frederick sPostill, is the most
syimpathetic to tenant causes.
None of the other candidates,
RLepuiblican or Denodat, have
said anything about the itnport-
ant issues facing tenants. Pos-
till has told us that under his
administration, the Sheriff's De-
partment, which is responsible
for evictions, makes every. ef-
fort to see that the tenant is
not thrown into the street, and
that on the contrary, an effort.
is made to find another place
for the tenant in question.
THE TENANTS UNION feels
that most "legal" evictions are
tnjitst, bit if they do occur,
they should be carried outswith
all doe consideration for the
tenamnts.
All the other candidates, in
osir opinion, are running to
overturn whatever efforts Sher-
iff Postill has made to intro-
duce progressive reforms into
the Sheriff's Department. They
are traditional and conservative
police officers, who have one
year of experience several times
over. While we do not know
the particulars of the brawl in-
cident involving Sheriff Postill,
we believe that it has been
blown out of proportion to
smear Postill politically.
We hope this evaluation has
proved helpful and we would
like to remind tenants that they-
are a majority in Ann Arbor,
and that any candidate who
does not confront tenant issues
and actively seek the support
of tenants should be taken to
task.
The Ann Arbor
Tenants Union
Committee for
Political Development
Aug. 2

clerks and drains
To The Daily:
Saturday's election edition
was excellent. However, two
of the races that you did not
cover merit attention.
The County Clerk is respon-
sible for a staff of 30, and a
half-million dollar budget. The
three Democratic contenders
for this position are Rose Mel-
ton, William Gagnon, and Janet
Klaver. Melton works for her
father, bail bondsman Harold
Moon, a former candidate for
sheriff. Gagnon is a long-time
Ypsilanti township official,
Klaver is board chairwoman of
the Summit Medical Center,
which provides low-cost medi-
cal care. (Since the County
Clerk should be a non-p'litical
position, Klaver seems like the
best choice.)
THE DRAIN Commissioner
supervises the county's water
resource planning and manage-
ment, and there is a close three
person Democratic contest; 1)
Ronald Allen, plumber and
chairman of the Ypsilanti
T o w n s h i p Planning Com-
mission, has been endorsed by
the Southeast Michigan Build-
ing and Trades Council; 2)
Thomas Blessing is assistant
director of the Ann Arbor Ecol-
ogy Center, and was head of
the research and planning divi-
sion of the St. Paul, Minn.,
pollution control agency; 3)
Thomas Bletcher; deputy drain
commissioner since 1973, and
Sierra Club member. (Bletcher
has the edge in experience,
Blessing has more 'environ-
mentalist" credentials).
Though the sheriff's race was
discussed, I believe several
points need amplification. The
Daily stated that Democratic
candidate Chuck Broderick's
promise to hire Doug Harvey as
undersheriff was a "despic-
able suggestion." Those read-

ers who do not know anything
about Doug Harvey slhould talk
to someone who lived here when
that tyrant was Sheriff. As the
Daily commented, "Sheriff
Postill is the best thing to hap-
pen to the department in
years." I only hope that the
trumped-up Chelsea' wedding
incident will not keep people
from voting for Postill, a man
who has done so much to hu-
manize the department.
Gary Sanders
Editor's note: In addition to
the candidates Gary Sanders
mentioned, Roy Deciert, a
drain inspector in the drain of-
fice, and land surveyor Howard
Taft, are vying for the Repub-
lican drain commissioner vote.
Dechert is from Saline and Taft
is from Ann Arbor. Current
County Clerk Robert Harrison,
a Republican, is running unop-
posed for that position.
Clericals
To The Daily:
Decertification is threatening
the hopes and futures of 3000
women and men at the Univer-
sity. If it succeeds, clericals
will again be at the mercy of
University management. Job
security will be meaningless,
and pay increases will be sub-
ject to the xwhims of individ-
ual bosses, departmental bud-
gets and University fiscal poli-
cy. Once again, promotions will
be based on luck and looks in-
stead of competence or senior-
ity.
The rights, and benefits that
the union and contract have in-
sured clericals are much too

important to sacrifice to a group
whose most effective argument
for decertification is one of
greed - "The union didn't give
me enough". The answer to
their argument is not to destroy
the union, but to give it the
strength to achieve in subse-
quent contracts what the first
one lacked.
IN FACT, with its organiza-
tional talents, this group could
easily shape any future con-
tract in any way they--desired
- if they would work creative-
ly instead of destructively, and
if they would work for the good
of 3000 men and women instead
of in their own self interest.
Furthermore, the decertifica-
tion organizers could have ans-
wered their own arguments
against partisan fighting within
the union with positive action to
stabilize and strengthen the un-
ion. But they haven't, and cler-
icals are threatened with a re-
turn to their position as the
serfs of the University.
Although I'm no longer em-
ployed at the University, I still
feel strongly about the struggle
for equity and justice that union
members are involved in. I ad-
mire the spirit and sacrifice 4
those men and women who are
struggling for a better working
life.
I hope that the ideals and
determination that organized
the union will reunite Univer-
sity clericals against decertifi-
cation and give them the
strength to gain a better con-
tract.
Linda Hennessey
July 28

Letters should be typed and limited to
400 words. The Daily reserves the right
to edi eersor length and grammar.

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