The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 4, 1994 - 5 Mayoral, council hopefuls debate city's budget crisis By JAMES M. NASH For the Daily Ann Arbor's budget crisis loomed like a dark cloud over a debate last *night among candidates for City Coun- cil and mayor. The 13 candidates for city office charted a more fiscally responsible path for Ann Arbor, with most advo- cating a review of all city services to determine where cuts can be made. Republicans and Democrats alike said the city is spending beyond its means. The two Libertarian candi- dates said the city should drastically reduce services and bid out contracts to the private sector. When asked to name the most important issue facing Ann Arbor, most candidates cited quality of life. A few others mentioned crime. Reflecting the views of many of her peers, 2nd Ward Republican in- cumbent Jane Lumm said, "We have to balance quality-of-life issues with he budget crisis we are facing right now." Lumm suggested privatizing Experts to discuss efuture of By JOSHUA GINSBERG Daily Staff Reporter With Korea playing a pivotal role in U.S. foreign policy recently, two experts on the country, K.A Namkung *nd Bruce Cumings will speak on contemporary Korean issues and the role of the United States. The discussion, which will fea- ture government officials and policy makers, will take place tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Hutchins Hall. Bruce Cumings, a professor at Northwestern University, lived in South Korea for more than two years and visited North Korea in 1981. He *o-edited the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, and now co-edits The Journal of Korean Studies. His book, "The Origins of the Ko- rean War," was co-winner of the 1982 Harry S. Truman Award and won the 1983 John Fairbank Award of the American Historical Association. K.A. Namkung became founding deputy director of Berkeley's Insti- te of East Asian Studies in 1977. He eft Berkeley to work as a visiting fellow at Korea University's Asiatic Research Center. Returning to the United States, he was named execu- tive director of the Asia Society in New York. He is currently director of the Seton Hall Project on the United States and East Asia at Seton Hall University. The panel will discuss issues such s the development of nuclear weap- ons in North Korea, the role and cur- rent policy of the United States and the economic ramifications of an un- cooperative North Korea. The three major issues Namkung plans to discuss are: U.S relations with East Asia; The future of non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction; and, * U The shape of foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. "Korea is a political hot spot," said Korean Student Association President Min Jung Kim. "It's not just an issue for Korean students." Namkung agreed. "For non-pro- liferation as well as the leadership role of the U.S.," issues in Korea should be important to everyone, he said. 0 The discussion is sponsored by the Korean Students Association. some city services. The Libertarian candidates went further. "The only way we can main- tain the quality of life is by reducing the size of government," said Dou- glas Friedman, Lumm's opponent. Stephen Hartwell, the 4th Ward Democratic candidate, stressed the significance of fiscal constraints. "All issues coming before the council are driven by the budget," he said. Hartwell said the council should not make cuts before prioritizing all fis- cal items, a proposal endorsed by Lumm and Democratic mayoral can- didate David Stead. Hartwell's opponent, Republican Kathryn Renken, disagreed with Hartwell's assessment of the top city issue. "Without a doubt, the most important issue is safety," she said. Lee Pace, the Republican candi- date in the 3rd Ward, also named safety as the No. I issue. He said neighborhood watchdog programs would supplement police presence to increase citizen safety. First Ward incumbent Tobi Hanna- Davies, a Democrat, could not cite a single-most pressing problem. "The most important issue to me is solving problems instead of letting them fes- ter," she said. The candidates offered conflict- ing assessments of the condition of Ann Arbor's downtown. Those who bemoaned the state of the downtown proposed a range of solutions. Hanna-Davies said the city should build low-income housing downtown, which she claims would increase foot traffic in the downtown area while alleviating the parking crunch. Pace suggested offering tax abate- ments to lure businesses to Ann Ar- bor and to retain them. Friedman disagreed. "Tax abate- ments don't work because one busi- ness gets an abatement and the rest end up paying more," he said. Renken said a transportation shuttle to downtown -similar to one used during the summer art fairs - would ease transportation and park- DUGLAS KANTER/Day Republican Mayor Ingrid B. Sheldon and Democratic challenger David Stead face off at yesterday's debate in the Ann Arbor Public Library. ing problems. She also proposed a museum to anchor the downtown. "I think we need to be visionary in this regard," Renken said. While most candidates devoted their closing statements to admonish viewers to vote and support their party, the 5th Ward contenders ended the debate with a rhetorical clash -- the most heated of the debate. Democrat Elizabeth Daley ac- cused her opponent, Republican Peg Eisenstodt, of misrepresenting her involvement with the West Side Plan- ning Association. Eisenstodt has claimed membership in the associa- tion but has attended meetings only since June, Daley charged. Eisenstodt responded by dismiss- ing her opponent's governmental ex- perience. "Her focus is narrow," Eisenstodt said of Daley. "My oppo- nent skirts the issues and contradicts herself when she speaks." Candidates campaign for votes in the Diag, Fishbowl By JODI COHEN Daily Staff Reporter Some students stopped to talk, oth- ers just took the literature and some continued walking after saying, "No, thank you." Ann ArborMayorIngridB. Sheldon, the Republican incumbent, and her daughter, Amy Sheldon-Cell, distrib- uted campaign literature for Tuesday's election on the Diag yesterday. "Some take the literature and some don't. I think (students) are curious and it's part of learning about what's around you. They seem to be pleased that a candidate is seeking them out," Sheldon said. The mother-daughter team arrived on the Diag around 12:30 p.m. and stayed for several hours. "We don't have a set plan. We want to get more publicity to students and make them more knowledgeable about the is- sues," Sheldon-Cell said. Other politicians campaigned at the University for student votes yes- terday. Democrat Lynn Rivers, 15th district candidate for the U.S. House, also talked to students and handed out literature in the Fishbowl. Sheldon said she chose the Diag because most students pass through there during the day. "It's the place to be," she said. Her daughter agreed that the Diag was an effective place to campaign. "It is a good place to meet students and find out what their concerns are," Sheldon-Cell said. Many students said that having her daughter pass out literature was a valuable campaign strategy. Engineer- ing junior Kia Taylor, said, "I think that it's nice that the family is out here supporting her. It will show U-M stu- dents that her mom is aware of what goes on at campus because her daugh- ter goes here." Sheldon-Cell is a second year graduate student in the University's MBA program. Sheldon-Cell acknowledged that the literature campaign will not reach all students. "A lot of people are anti- literature, but some people have al- ready told me that they are voting for her," the incumbent's daughter said. For students who will be voting in the Ann Arbor election for the first time, Sheldon's campaign strategy will be especially influential. LSA first-year student Suzanne Sessine said, "It helped me because I don't know anything about the election." Another new voter agreed. Ramon Johnson, an Engineering first-year student, said, "I think she is reaching out by being here herself. I plan on calling her to see what she stands on because I am a new voter and don't know much about the issues yet.". The mayor said that many stu- dents stopped to have conversations with her about various issues. "I have had a chance to have a couple of good conversations. ... Safety and security issues are the kinds of incidents that students are very anxious about," the Republican said. By standing on the Diag in a "Michigan mom" sweatshirt, the mayor hoped to show that she could relate to her constituents. "I hope students will find out I'm a regular, ordinary person. I want them to know that I am accessible to them," Sheldon said. The mayor campaigned at the University because of the importance of the student vote. She said that sta- tistics have shown that students can have a very big impact in November elections. This year is the first time since 1963 that the mayoral race will be held in November. Beside campaigning on the Diag yesterday, the incumbent publicized her candidacy through television com- mercials and aerial banners during football games. She said that it is important to "do anything you can to reach out and introduce yourself." JiH--J' U.S. House candidate Lynn Rivers talks to students in the Fishbowl yesterday. CARR Continued from page 1 recall the trucks voluntarily, but the automaker refused. GM has vigorously defended the trucks' safety and vowed to fight any recall order in federal court. Ed Lechtzin, aGM spokesman, said the company welcomes the new investigation."It's a perfectly appropri- ate thing for the representative to do." GM's opposition to the original study is not surprising, said Kenneth Campbell, associate research scientist at the University's Transportation Re- search Institute. "It's normal for the industry to fight these things," Campbell said. "GM has chosen to dig their heals in here." If a federal court found the GM trucks unsafe, it could spark dozens of lawsuits against the company. Pena scheduled aDec. 6 public hear- ing in Washington on whetherthetrucks should be recalled. In a letterMonday to the Transportation Department, GM proposed taking the issue directly to court and cancelling the hearing. The Transportation Department has not re- sponded to the proposal. "We've given them a half-million pages of documents," Lechtzin said. He said the hearing will not likely uncover any new information. Pefla welcomes Carr's scrutiny and will cooperate with the investigation, said Transportation Department spokesman Richard Mintz. Pefia said 150 people have died in fires after GM truck crashes that would have been survivable had it not been for the exterior fuel tanks. Critics of GM have promised to bring survivors and families of victims of such crashes to testify at the public hearing. GM made about 9 million of the trucks. The automaker moved the fuel tanks inside full-size truck frames be- ginning with 1988 models. The com- pany estimates 6 million of the 1973- 87 pickups are still in use. Campbell said the trucks were popu- lar with many consumers since the dual exterior fuel tanks gave greater range from a single trip to the gas station. "It met a particular market niche," Campbell said. "So GM kept making them and people kept buying them." -The Associated Press contributed to this report. Shaman Drum to hold grand-opening By DANIELLE BELKIN For the Daily Although its doors have been open since September, tomorrow marks the grand opening of Shaman Drum Bookshop. The new store has qua- drupled in size and boasts a plethora of scholarly works. The expansion ofthe store, opened in 1980, has enlarged its retail space from 900 to 4,400 square feet. The store's title base, which expanded to 25,000 this year, will eventually top 30,000, said Trade Manager Keith Taylor. The store specializes in academic and scholarly works in the humanities including philosophy, literature, his- tory and cultural studies. Taylor said this has kept itdifferent from other, larger book stores. As a result of the increase in the title base, the store has added to its poetry and fiction sections. Also new is an electronic media section with some experimental literature on disc for computers and CD-ROM. The expansion comes at a time when superstores are replacing inde- pendent bookstores, Taylor said. Be- cause superstores seem to be paying less attention to the scholarly works that are the expertise of Shaman Drum Bookshop, the expansion seemed ap- propriate. Growth has been gradual, but it is not a new phenomenon for Shaman Drum owner Karl Pohrt, who opened the store 14 years ago. Taylor said the physical change to the space adds to the store's atmo- sphere. The bookshelves are constructed to appear as if in one's home library. "It's more comfortable. I like the construction of space and the woods that were chosen - birch and solid cherry. It's more comfortable," said customer Jim McDonald. Most people who frequent the bookshop are loyal University clien- tele, professors and graduate students. Most undergraduates are acquainted with the shop because they buy some textbooks there. "(We'd) love to be able to move out into the (Ann Arbor) community to a greater extent from the academic community, but the community is daunted by the nature of the store," Taylor said. Aside from providing a good se- lection of specialized topics, the store offers a calendar of events that in- cludes readings and talks. The bookshop also has publishing parties for local authors and people associ- ated with the University. Events range from a party to cel- ebrate the publication of a book about race in California to a reading to honor Native American History Month. Assistant Manager Curt Holtz said, "It's great to have the space to breath. And the new space allows more free- dom to move, quite literally." The grand opening begins Sat- urday at 6 p.m. and includes live music, refreshments and door prizes. ..* ***".* .* Csobble: Gobble! Friday Q U-M Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Club, men and women, begin- ners welcome, CCRB, Room 2275, 6-7 p.m., 994-3620 Q U-M Ninjutsu Club, beginners welcome, IMSU, Room G-21, 6:30-8 p.m., 994-3620 Q Chinese Christian Fellowship, on contemporary issues in Korea and the role of the U.S., Hutchins Hall, 2 p.m., 764-7738 Q Reform Chavurah Havdalah Service, Hillel, 7:30 p.m. Q "Love Etty: the Journal of Etty Hillesum," Mendelssohn The- ater, 7:30 p.m. Q "Bridges to Cuba," LSA Build- Proponents of Economic Con- version, joint meeting, Michi- gan League, Conference Rooms 4 and 5, 7-9 p.m., 761-7967 Q "Ann Arbor's Biggest Pollution Problem: Clean Water," Guild House, 802 Monroe, 5 p.m., 662-j 5189 Q Ethiopian Gift Package Party, T1..1a1A fl- 01 1 Z Food Gatherers is the food rescue program serving Washtenaw county since 1988. It distributes roughly a ton of food every day to 70 different community agencies serving people experiencing hunger. Sbow your su mport and belt make this holidy season a hlv one for alf i