Page 2-The Michigan Daily, Thursday, September 10, 1987 1

Conservatism
Ann Arbor seems to have
changed its liberal ways

. By BRIAN BONET
The days of famed University
ativist Tom Hayden and large scale
protests commonly seen in Ann
Arbor during the 1960s and 1970s
oppear to be over due to a wave of
conservatism that has swept over
toe city in recent. years. Although
this attitude seems to be widely
apparent, many community mem -
bers are leery to brand Ann Arbor a
wholly conservative or liberal city.
According to a University pro -
fessor of history and sociology
Robert Sewell, "There are some ob-
vious flux (to conservatism) in the
last couple of years." But Sewell
said this trend is not new to Ann
Arbor. "I gather historically it has
been a swing city," he said.
In the last 30 years there have
been four Democratic mayors and
six Republican, but the Repub -
licans have held the mayoral seat
for 19 of those years.
The political party balance in the
nn Arbor's City Council appear
to uphold Ann Arbor's present
conservative trend. Although Dem -
ocrats currently hold a 7-4 majority
on the council, the Republicans
scored a major victory in April with
the election of Mayor Gerald
Jernigan.
Last spring Jernigan vetoed the
renewal of a city council task force
charged with overseeing the city's
relationship with Juigalpa, Nicar -
agua - a project which had strong
i support from local Democrats.
Many contend Ann Arbor
presidents are now more concerned

with themselves than political
issues. Area Saab, BMW, and
Mercedes Benz dealerships have
reported a significant increase in
sales over the last five years as an
increasingly career-minded city
population has replaced activist of
the Vietnam era.

conservative or liberal.
"I think I'd be hard pressed to
call Ann Arbor a conservative city,"
said Lou Velker, chairperson of the
Republican Party of Washtenaw
County. "I think Ann Arbor is a
moderate to liberal city."

'People view (Ann Arbor) as being extremely liberal,
but it's not as liberal as people view it.'
- Suzanne Shaw, Ann Arbor Democrat

Daily Photo by DANA MENDELSSOHN
An Ann Arbor resident boards an Ann Arbor Transit Authority bus on the corner of State and Washington
Streets. The bus system reaches out to many parts of the city and the surrounding areas.
City busses: aticket to ride

State and local officials don't
know which party holds the
majority of city residents, since
neither city hall nor the state
registers voters by party affiliation.
But both local party leaders agree
that neatly categorizing Ann Arbor
as either Republican or Democratic
city is difficult.
"Most people don't align
themselves with parties," said Jon
Bhushan, former president of
College Democrats. "They align
themselves with logic."
Suzanne Shaw, chairperson of
the Democratic Party of Washtenaw
County, agrees. "People here, I do
believe, consider themselves as
independent. I don't understand
some of the voting patterns," she
said.
Both city Republican and
Democratic leaders are also hesitant
to bill Ann Arbor as either

"People view (Ann Arbor) as
being extremely liberal, but it's not
as liberal as people view it," said
Shaw.
Much of Ann Arbor's
liberalism, said Velker, is based on
broad, social issues but conser -
vatism, he added, stems from issues
closer to home. "I think that a lot
of the people that pay a lot of the
bills are a little more conservative
because of the effect it has on their
pocket book," he said. "In Ann
Arbor I think we have some people
who see a need for social programs,
but they see some limit."
"The scale by which you judge
seems to differ in differing parts of
the country," Velker said. "Even the
most liberal person in Traverse
City might be considered moderate
in Ann Arbor.

By MELISSA RAMSDELL
Many University students fail to
take advantage of the Ann Arbor
Transportation Authority, the city's
bus system which can take riders to
many locations in the Ann Arbor
area and provide them with door-to-
door service at night, according to
an AATA employee.
"It's a very economical way to
go to school. If you add up the
costs of parking, insurance and
maintenance of a car, the bus is a
better deal," Micheal Boden, an
AATA spokesperson, said.
Most riders agree the main
advantages of using the bus service
are that it saves on gas money and
parking hassles. "I think they're
good because it's more trouble to

have a car in Ann Arbor than it's
worth," Lesley Young, a recent
University graduate, said.
According to Boden, AATA
buses are extremely reliable with 95
percent of the busses arriving at
scheduled stops on time. She said
any delays usually occur during the
evening rush hour between 3:30 and
5:00 p.m. But she said riders are
never kept waiting more than five
minutes. A Daily investigation of
several routes confirmed Boden's
statement.
The busses take students to
popular area shopping centers,
movie theaters, and parks. For
example, students can take the
Number Six South Industrial bus
from the Michigan Union to


FROM.

ONE

NEWCOMER...

Briarwood Mall for $1.20 round
trip. The trip which starts from the
Union every half hour at 23 and 53
minutes past the hour takes about
20 minutes to get to Briarwood.
The Number Six also stops
across from Kroger's, the Ann
Arbor Municipal Airport, Meijer's
grocery store, Arborland Mall, and
Washtenaw Community College.
Students can also use the
Number Three Huron River bus to
go to Fuller Pool, located on Fuller
St., and Gallup Park, an Ann Arbor
city park.
Boden said bus routes five and
six attract the most student riders
because they run through such
student-populated areas as State St..
and Packard St.
For those students travelling at
night, the AATA offers a door-to-
door night taxi service called "Night
Ride." The service, which operates
from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.,
costs one dollar. Boden advises
scheduling rides ahead on busy
nights to avoid a wait.
The AATA has also extended its
door to door "A-Ride" services for
disabled students to include even-
ings and weekends, as well as the
normal weekday hours. Their long
range goal is to equip every bus
with a wheelchair lift.
Formerly, the "A-Ride" took
disabled students only to campus
locales such as libraries and class-
rooms, but now they take the
handicapped to their doorstep, and
bus officials have received a
favorable response from the
community.
Most of the AATA buses have
an aerodynamic design and large
tinted windows. These newer buses
provide a relatively smooth ride and
a comfortable climate. However,
older buses tend to shake and rattle
with every pot hole.

6
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