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U.S. House race
A tenacious Pollack fights Pursell, the odds
Race for
White Ho
Believe it? This thing is finally drawing ti
By Michael Lustig
After 12 years in Congress, Republican Rep.,
Carl Pursell has acquired a level of seniority.
He sits on the House Appropriations
Committee, ranks second on the education
subcommittee of the appropriations commit-
tee, and is the Republican Party's deputy mi-
nority whip in Congress.
Pursell
Pursell has a reputation as a moderate Re-
publican and helped create the "Group of 92,"
a group of Republican members of Congress
from the early 1980s who believed some of
President Reagan's policies were too extreme
for them.
Pursell was first elected to Congress int
1976, winning by merely 344 votes. Since
then, he has won each race easily. But not so
this time. The strength of his opponent, State4
Sen. Lana Pollack, has focused all eyes on the
Second District, which stretches from Livonia,
a Detroit suburb, west to Hillsdale and Branch
Counties. Most people say the race is too'
close to call, even though Pursell's campaign
recently released polling data showing he leads
her by 20 points.
Close or not, he has raised nearly $1 million
to spend on the campaign. It is the most ex-
pensive race for a Michigan House seat and one
of the costliest in the country.
While he returns to the district most week-
ends, Pursell remained in Washington until
mid-October because Congress was still in
session. He missed many scheduled campaign
stops.
Pursell has campaigned as an
environmentalist, a stance on which Pollack
has launched her most vicious attacks. While a
state senator in the early 1970s, one piece of
legislation he authored, the Resource Recovery
Act, which promoted incentives for recycling
over using landfills, won him the state Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency's legislator-of-
the-year award.
See PURSELL, Page 16
By Michael Lustig
Michigan has not been represented in
Congress by a woman since 1975, when
Martha Griffiths, now the state's lieutenant
governor, left office. If Lana Pollack has her
way, she will become the state's third con-
gresswoman in history.
The odds are stacked against her, however.
She is running against the well-financed, six-
term incumbent, Republican Carl Pursell, and
history shows that over 98 percent of incum-
bents in 1986 were re-elected.
Pollack campaigns with a mission: to prove
that incumbents, once elected, are not elected
for life. "We need to win to show others in
both parties that we can take on a mediocre in-
cumbent and win," she said.
Pollack, 46 and a University graduate, be-
lieves she will win a close race. She knows the
value of a vote. In 1976, she campaigned for
Al Wheeler, who was running for . ayor of
Ann Arbor. She was knocking on doors, ask-
ing people if they had voted and met a woman
who said she hadn't. Pollack returned later, and
when the woman still hadn't voted, she picked
up the woman's pink jacket from a chair, put
it on her, walked herto a polling site, and
watched ber enter the voting booth. Wheeler
won the election by one vote.
Pollack has raised over $750,000 in what
has become the most expensive congressional
race in Michigan - and one of the most costly
congressional races nationally.
It has been a bruising race. Pollack has gone
all-out on Pursell. She calls him a follower
and a mediocre legislator. "Carl Pursell has
faded into the woodwork," Pollack said. "I'm
willing to say 'Stop! This is wrong.' Too
many politicians don't."
She also accuses him of flip-flopping on
By Michael Lustig
Long before the first round in the presiden-
tial primary season, the Iowa caucuses, several
of the top Democratic candidates were out of
the race. Most obvious was Gary Hart, who
emerged in the 1984 campaign with "new
ideas" and gave up his Senate seat in 1986 to
run in 1988. He lost it all when it was revealed
he had an affair with a Miami actress, Donna
it. Dukakis bala
every year, but 1
lions of dollars f
Dukakis beie
stronger with an
and would cut b
reduce the budg
nrPCi the MnccnrhrncPttc hndorpt
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budget deficit but has not proposed how to do By Michael Lustie
Rice.
For six months, candidates criss-crossed the
country, shaking hands and kissing babies in
primary after primary. When all was over in
June, Michael Dukakis, 55, the governor of
Massachusetts, was at the top of the pile.
Dukakis left the Democratic Convention in
July with a vice presidential candidate, Texas
Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, and a substantial lead in
the polls over his Republican rival, George
Bush.
Dukakis was first elected governor of Mas-
sachusetts in 1974, lost in 1978, and was re-
elected in 1982. Bentsen, 67, served as a repre-
sentative in Congress from 1948 to 1954, and
defeated Bush in 1970 when he was first elected
to the Senate.
Critics have tried to paint Dukakis as a
"liberal," but Dukakis himself has made his
simple message:"good jobs at good wages."
He does not want to raise taxes, but said he basic research fu
would as a last resort. He has conceded that Initiative.
some cuts will have to be made to reduce the
11(XU 11GI~.VIUS a% U LSL f""UU.L By most accounts, George Bush should have
ad to borrow hundreds of mil- had an easy going in the Republican primaries.
from pension funds this year. He certainly has the resume to be president:
eves nationavense wi eight years as vice president, director of the
increased conventional force, CIA, U.S. envoy to China, chair of the Re-
ack some defense spending to publican National Committee, U.S. ambas-
et deficit. He opposes aut sador to the United Nations, and U.S.
representative from Texas.
After a few early scares in some primaries,
Bush, 64, began winning by huge margins,
which drove his competitors quickly out of the
race. From March until the Republican Con-
vention in August, Bush just sat. He allowed
the Democrats to go about their business, and
even went fishing during the Democratic Con-
vention.
Bush left the Republican Convention with a
vice presidential candidate, Indiana Sen. Dan
Quayle, 41, and a sense of attack. He fired
away at his opponent, Michael Dukakis, over
Dukakis's veto of a bill which would have re-
quired Massachusetts teachers to recite the
pledge of allegiance every day and over
Dukakis's prison furlough program. One con-
victed murderer who was furloughed escaped
and was caught after raping a woman and stab-
Dukakis bing a man. Dukakis then ended the program.
Bush's standings in the polls soared during
nding for the Strategic Defense September as he shed his past image of a
"whimp" and someone who stays in the shad-
See DUKAKIS, Page 12 ows while others do the work. He has been
consistently
his messag
However, n
is too close
Bush has
president."
sponsibility
education.
2~
Pollack
votes. Pursell has at times voted for and at
times voted against funding for the Nicaraguan
contra rebels. He voted for Civil Rights
See POLLACK, Page 13
To contr
posed a "fl
everything
0 State House race
Birkett faces uphill battle in bid to unseat Bullard
U.S. Senate race
Dunn needs money, a miracle to depose
By Joshua Ray Levin'
Perry Bullard, running for his ninth
consecutive term as the state representative
from Ann Arbor's 53rd District, has a long
history of representing student concerns in
Lansing.
Bullard
During his tenure in the State House,
Bullard has established himself as a progressive
leader and powerful statesperson. He has been
the chairperson of the House Civil Rights
Committee and the House Labor Committeej
and now serves as the chairperson of the influ--
ential Judiciary Committee. He is also cur-t
rently serving on the Taxation, Corrections,t
Elections, and Towns & Counties committees.
During his career, Bullard has championed
such student-related legislation as a Student
Bill of Rights in 1984, which deemed several
points of the then-proposed University code of
non-academic behavior illegal; the Financial
Assistance to Parents of Dependant College{
Students bill in 1981; the Student Representa-
tion on University Governing Boards proposal;
and the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
and the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
Perhaps Bullard's most significant legisla-
tion in recent years in the eyes of University
students has been the FOIA and OMA, which
require the state government - and the Uni-
versity - to keep their records and to conduct
their daily activities open to the public. The
FOIA and OMA were points of contention last
semester since many have accused the Univer-
sity Board of Regents of abusing the FOIA and'
OMA by not revealing their actions while se-
lecting University President James Duderstadt.
Bullard has also been active in broader legis-
lation. He has lobbied for state divestment
from South Africa, more lenient fines for mi-
nors arrested for possession of alcohol and has
See BULLARD, Page 12
By Joshua Ray Levin
Rich Birkett, the Republican candidate for
the State House of Representative's 53rd Dis-
trict, has been politically active since he first
came to Ann Arbor in 1970. At that time, he
was an activist against the war in Vietnam;
currently he works with Amnesty Interna-
tional. In 1986, Birkett launched an unsuc-
cessful campaign for State Senate and has
vowed to keep running for office until he's
elected.
Birkett stands out as a strong civil libertarian
in social issues and a conservative on financial
issues. He has pledged never to support a tax
increase although he said he would support
renovations in the tax system and would call
for a taxpayer's "Bill of Rights," which would
shift the burden of proof of tax liability from
the taxpayer to the government.
Birkett is strongly committed to challenging
the use of intrusive governmental procedures
such as electronic surveillance devices, sobriety
checklanes, forfeiture laws, and what he con-
siders the unconstitutional confiscation of
property based on the possession of illegal
drugs for personal use. Other planks of Bir-
kett's platform include reducing the influence
of special interest groups in government and
preserving the autonomy of cities to determine
fines for possession of controlled substances.
Birkett has intriguing views on several stu-
dent issues. When asked if he supported in-
creased funding for the University, Birkett re-
sponded that "the University would have to
show clear need for additional revenue." Birkett
places the responsibility on University admin-
istrators to show that the state money which
By Fran Obeid
With University tuition hikes becoming an
annual ordeal, financial aid has become a
pressing concern for students. U.S. Senator
Donald Riegle has addressed this concern by
co-sponsoring and voting for increased funding
for several financial aid programs.
These programs include the Pell Grant Pro-
gram, Guaranteed Student Loans, State Student
Incentive Grants, and the Work Study Pro-
gram.
Even with a 100 percent liberal rating by the
watchdog group Americans for Democratic
Action, "Riegle has extensive support out of
both Michigan and national business
communities," said campaign manager Kevin
Gottlieb. The senator is a "strong advocate of
the free enterprise system and of capitalism...
and an enthusiastic supporter of entrepreneurial
activity," Gottlieb added, terming Riegle as an
"economic moderate."
Riegle has voiced his objections to the
space-based Strategic Defense Initiative and has
voted for all amendments to reduce its funding.
In campaign literature, he states: "Creative
arms control is clearly a more reliable and in-
expensive method of dealing with strategic
problems than relying on the development of
new weapons capabilities, which only con-
tribute to the destabilizing arms race."
Besides his outspoken stance on "Star
Wars," Riegle has co-sponsored legislation that
demands that the United States not violate the
SALT II Treaty as long as the Soviets remain
within the treaty's guidelines.
Riegle has also appeared on national news-
By Noah Finkel race, fort
If elected to the U.S. Senate, Republican through e
Jim Dunn says he will not accept honorariums The rea
or speaking fees. He says he will not accept a handful
campaign contributions from any corporation war chest
which is regulated by a committee on which he race, Rieg
sits. And he says he will vote to reform cam-
paign financing laws "to reduce the depen-
dence... on special interests."
Small wonder, since Jim Dunn currently has
only $350,000 with which to run his cam-
paign compared to the over $4 million in
campaign funds which Democratic incumbent
Don Riegle has amassed.
Two weeks ago, Dunn lost his suit against
the Republican National Committee which al-
legedly promised Dunn nearly $640,000 but
then backed away from the deal.
Opinion polls show Riegle with as much as
a 4:1 lead, and if Dunn hopes to win the Sena-
torial election, money is crucial. "I'm 100
percent convinced I'll win - if I can get the
message out," he said.
And it looks as if Dunn will only be able to
"get the message out" if he can raise the
money needed for an advertising blitz.
Normally, a candidate with little money can
become known through the free media - re- in the pc
ports by newspapers and television news unknown
;hows. But the media has virtually ignored the
Birkett
the University receives is being properly used
to benefit students and not the administration.
See BIRKETT, Page 13
Riegle
casts, criticizing Reaganomics and denouncing
administration officials.
See RIEGLE, Page 12
PAGE 8 WEEKEND/NOVEMBER 4, 1988
WEEKEND/NOVEMBER 4, 1988