6- The A igan Daily-- Election '94 - Monay, November 7, 1994 0 . .' The Michij 1.5. 1~4O u se 13th District Schall, Rivers differ inpeo poitcs and personalt The Body: 435 seats, 16 from Michigan; Currently controlled by the Democrats, 256-178. All appropriation bills begin in the lower house, which is governed by strict rules of debate. The Democrats have controlled the House since 1952. Members serve two-year terms. AW State.Ols The Body: 110 sea The Joab A two-year term, pays $ By SCO RWOODS Daily Staff Reporter The race for Michigan's 13th con- gressional district is a classic clash of conservative and liberal ideologies. The district contains the university town of Ann Arbor and the more conservative blue-collar communities of western Wayne County. The district's current representa- tive, William Ford (D-Ypsilanti Township), won with 52 percent of the vote in 1992, largely because of his popularity in Ann Arbor. Ford retired this year, and vying to fill his seat are Democrat Lynn Rivers and Republican John Schall, two people who differ greatly in personality, poli- tics and approach. Rivers currently represents Ann Arbor's 53rd district in the Michigan House of Representatives, and served eight years on the Ann Arbor School Board - 1984-1992. She has a famil- iar style in public, has a reputation for personally responding to constituent mail and is very open about her back- ground and her life. Like fellow Republican candidates Spence Abraham and Joe Mikulec, hall has never been elected to pub- ic office. Atop his credentials is his appointment as chief of staff of the Department of Labor during the Bush administration. Schall is a self-de- scribed policy wonk, and is more likely to talk about numbers than gran- diose themes. Schall has called this race "a real grass-roots campaign." Both candi- dates have done the door-to-door cir- cuit, but they've both turned to the electronic media for exposure. Schall has produced a series of radio spots, but Rivers has found $200,000 to buy time on stations in the expensive De- troit media market. They have met several times in head-to-head debates. Chambers of commerce, community organizations and radio stations have all sponsored forums starring the two. But the most notable debate never materialized. Schall had agreed to appear at a Nov. 1 debate at the Law School spon- sored by University student groups. Schall backed out just days before the event, choosing instead to appear at two fund-raisers. Schall said he re- gretted the decision, but responded that a candidate needs money to get out his message. So far, the campaign has been grounded in ideological differences, but the candidates have taken occa- sional shots at one another. In an early October debate, Rivers criticized Schall for missing several elections while working in Washington. "I missed some votes; I admit it," Schall said. Schall then pointed out that Rivers had herself missed 10 meetings of the Ann Arbor School Board while she was its president. Rivers said she had been having health problems, which eventually led to a hysterectomy. But the sniping has been a side- show to the real political differences between the two. In early October, Schall signed the "Contract With America" in Wash- ington with more than 300 other GOP House candidates. He has made the tly 53rd District state, Served on Ann Arbor SchoolY 5492 president 1990-92x . in Biological Anthropology, University of 3, Law Degree, Wayne State University, 1992. , two kids. Pro-choice, wants legislative reform in is universal health coverage (prefers a ief of Staff of the Labor President Bush, 1990- nestic Policy Council for contract-which includes a balanced- budget amendment, middle-class tax cut and increased defense spending - a centerpiece of his campaign. Schall says that by signing the contract, Republicans have been ex- plicit about what they plan to do. "What we've done is turn politics on its head," Schall has said repeatedly. Rivers opposes the contract, call- ing the balanced-budget amendment "a gimmick" which will cut deeply into Social Security, Mecidare, and programs like student grants and loans. Rivers is running on her history of public office, stressing issues such as legislative reform, fighting for the rights of gays and lesbians, and her pro-environmental record. in political science, University of Michigan, JFK School of Government, 1984. io children. rofife, supports a balanced-budget 500 child tax credit and building more Dwer taxes, opposes unfunded federal' tes. "We're going to phase out what we're doing now," Rivers said, "and we're going to help business, con- sumers and industry find cleaner, greener ways to do business, because if we don't we're all out of luck." Schall has more moderate posi- tions on environmental issues, but can point to his assistance in drafting the 1990 Clean Air Act. He also sup- ports less risky environmental pro- posals such as a national bottle bill. Both candidates responded to a request by Public Interest Research Groups in Michigan to sign on to a "Green Voter Pledge." Of 16 mea- sures on their list, Rivers signed on to all 16, and Schall agreed to support nine. Big issues in the 13th District: Health Care Rivers prefers a single-payer system, but will support a variety of plans that would achieve universal coverage and affordability, among other goals. * Schall maintains the health care system is broken for only 15 percent of Americans. He advocates indi- vidual medical savings accounts and portability of coverage between jobs. Education ® Both candidates are graduates of the University, and enthusiasti- cally support the recent restructuring of the federal student loan program to eliminate banks as middlemen. Crime Both candidates support a "three strikes" policy for violent felons. * Schall advocates building more prisons and keeping guns out of school. He has used Rivers' vote against such a law to portray her as weak on crime. * Rivers says she opposed Michigan's "guns in school" law on the grounds that it didn't provide for education of students expelled from traditional schools under the law. * Rivers says conservatives' poli- cies on crime have been tough and dumb. She supported the crime bill, noting especially her support of the funding for additional police officers and the assault weapons ban. s Schall criticized the crime bill as being full of social spending. A Schall is anti-abortion rights, Rivers is pro-abortion rights. By JONATHAN BERNDT Daily Staff Reporter Differences abound between the candidates for Michigan's 53rd state House district, but not in the usual places. Looking to fill congressional can- didate Lynn Rivers' seat are Republi- can Renee Birnbaum, an attorney who has lived in the district for 12 years, and Democrat Liz Brater, who has taught English and public policy at the University. Brater also served one term as Ann Arbor mayor and was a member of City Council. While the two may have different political ideologies, they share stances on a variety of issues. Both say they would be advocates for the area's three colleges. Birnbaum urged watching the University's infrastructure and con- tinued funding for research and the highly ranked programs in medicine, law and nursing. She suggested elimi- nating waste and overspending in other areas to increase higher education's portion of the state budget. Brater agreed, saying the budget needs to reflect the state's priorities. "The U-M in particular has seen a shrinking share (of the state budget)," she said. "That's not good public policy. U-M is the flagship of our system. We should take pride in that institution." 53rd District Ex-mayor Brater faces attorney Birnbaum to fill Ri' As for helping with the current burdens of college costs, both candi- dates advocated expanding the exist- ing work-study programs. Brater also favors restoring the Michigan Educational Trust program, something gubernatorial challenger Howard Wolpe has promised to do. The program, which was closed to new contracts in 1991, invested money in a child's name and guaranteed tu- ition at any public college in Michi- gan. It also could be applied toward costs at an out-of-state or private school. The two also stressed the impor- tance of improving public schools and assuring funding for local districts. "One of our major goals needs to be to make sure the money guaran- teed is going to be there," Brater said, referring to the funding formula ap- proved by the voters last March. Known then as Proposal A, the constitutional amendment raised the state sales tax to six percent. It also raised taxes on cigarettes and phone calls in exchange for an income tax cut and the virtual elimination of property taxes as a method of school funding. Some economists predict the re- placement plan may come up as much as $1 million short in two years. Birnbaum supports school choice and charter school programs, which 53rd Michigan Ren Birnbaum Political; Republican from Pittsfield Twp. Career: Non-practicing attorney. Family: Married, two kids. On the Issues: Would look at voucher systems to i flexibility of education, throwing money at problem doesn't always solve them, providing other after-s( activities for children wIl discourage them from ge involved in gangs and violence, pro-choice, notes s doesn't always agree with Gov. Engler. Political: Democrat from Ann Arbor Career: Former Ann Arbor council member and mayor. Also has been an instructor irn the University's English Department and Institute f Poicy Family: Married, two kids. On the Issues: Feels state government should not unfunded mandates on local governments, working public schools and not competing with them will do improve them, pro-choice, access to weapons is too House District she said can be tailored for children with special needs or interests. She added that such steps do not preclude reform- ing the public school system. Brater said such programs drain money from the public schools. "We have competition - it's called private schools," she said, adding that magnet schools in the public system Schroer faces stiff challenge from GOP's Straub SSecretary of Statea ASix-term A ustin appCars to beidriver's seat ifn rac vS. iller * Mud flies as GOP charge Austin absent from polls in '92, while Dems call Miller inexperienced. By KAREN TALASKI Daily News Editor Candice Miller, the Republican challenger for secretary of state, isn't spinning her wheels in this election. Although the job as head of driver and motor vehicle registration is far from glamorous, she is determined to win the position. Her opponent, however, says Miller may be too determined. Rich- ard Austin has been secretary of state for 24 years and decided to run for re- election only to help his flagging Democratic party. The cam- 53 paign has taken a detour down the muddy road of politics, some- thing Austin doesn't appreci- ate. Moreover, Austin said Robert Kolt, Austin's spokesperson, Miller's constant references to age are inap- propriate. At 81, Austin is in top physical condition and able to complete an- other four years in office, Kolt said. "(Austin's) opponent has run a very nasty campaign," he added. "The Republicans in this race have done everything they can to discredit the secretary." That includes claims that Austin did not vote in the 1992 election. When records were found to prove he did cast a ballot, Republicans said they were falsified. Miller, the 40-year-old Macomb County treasurer, said age is not an issue for her. She is more concerned with Austin's ability to fulfill the du- ties of the office. "It is simply time for a change," said Miller, who also supports term limits for politicians. "I know going into this (election) eight years is as long as I can be here. My opponent thinks he needs 28 years. I think the people in Michigan will disagree that." with With more than 180 offices, about 2,100 em- ployees and a $142 million bud- get, the secretary of state has a sig- nificant amount of responsibility in Miller Michigan. The secretary of state has four primary duties: driver and motor ve- hicle administrator, director of elec- tions, state safety commission head and state historian. Among Austin's accomplish- ments are a successful 14-year effort to enact Michigan's safety belt law, the creation of evening hours for secretary of state offices and elimi- nating the requirement of a front license plate, saving the state mil- lions of dollars. Miller, who was Harrison Township's supervisor for 12 years, wants to decrease the time people have to stand in line at the offices. She plans to implement technol- ogy that would make license re- newal possible through a touch-tone phone. Austin has suggested similar changes, Miller said, but only after her action plan was made public. Austin may be a gentleman, but that his time in office must end. Miller flatly states, "It's time to sweep out the corners." By JONATHAN BERNDT Daily Staff Reporter Coming from different ends of the political spectrum, the candidates for the 52nd state House seat differ more in methods than goals. Incumbent Mary Schroer went to Lansing with her own seat in the Legis- lature two years ago after serving as a legislative aide for state Sen. Lana Pol- lack (D-Ann Arbor). Republican challenger Marty Straub would like to take his experience as an engineer with General Motors Corp. and now a small business owner to help make Michigan friendlier to industry. "If not for the private sector, there is no economy," he said. "We can't view government as a solution to any prob- lem without recognizing the private sector is the provider of all we have." With the current boom in the state economy, some predict a downturn in a few years. "I don't buy into all the gloom and doom projections," Straub said. "A prudent government body will start making cuts to reduce the impact of a downturn by the time we get to it." But Schroer said cutting spending or taxes to boost business may not be wise. "I don't think we should look at indi- vidual taxes. We ought to sit down and figu out what we to do with that surplus," she said, refening to the'state's rainy day fund, which stands at a record $664 million. One option is to increase state ap- propriations to public universities. But based on current performance, the can- didates balked at that idea. "As a parent Fcould certainly look at the administrations and criticize them for how some of the ways they spend money," Schroer said, encouraging stu- dents to question their universities. "I don't like that they raise tuition every time things get a tight. Teesgot to be an upper level (on tuition)," shie said. Straub said schools should imple- ment cost-containment measures, like other state departments. Both said aid programs to students were not effective and suggested work- study programs as a partial solution. The two also have opposing phi- losophies as to how K-12 public schools should be funded and improved. "The important thing is that funding follows students," Straub said. He said state money should only go to accredited programs, but should also go to religious schools, which is cur- rently prohibited by the state Constitu- tion. "When (the U.S.) Constitution was written, the problem was govern- ment interfering with the matters of the church. I'm not concerned about funding going to schools which inci- dentally happen to teach religion." He added that charter and magnet schools could be designed with a focused curriculum, and neighborhoods should be allowed to establish programs in their schools to keep students in their districts. 'That's the same kind of competi- tion we see all the time. The free market is key to all of this," Straub said. Schroer disagreed. "Children aren't widgets. It's tough to apply market forces to education. Quality control is difficult," she said, Butshe saidcharter and magnet schools should be used to explore other educational philosophies. "I don't want to see charters as an opening to private and religious schools," she said. Straub has attacked Schroer for being soft on crime, noting her vote against stiffer penalties for marijuana possession. She called the bill, which set a five- year maximum sentence and up to $20,000 fine for having less than 10 pounds of the plant, "a little harsh." Schroer supports some forms of gun control, increased spending on preven- tion programs and community policing programs, such as Ann Arbor's foot patrol and bicycle officers. Straub sup- ports "three-strikes" laws and sees some crimes deserving only two strikes or one. "There is no justifiable reason - given the impact on a person or society could provide for students wi interests. The two also said combat would require a variety of e "We need to educate chil to resolve conflicts in other N through violence," said B who favors gun control, tru tencing and "three-strikes" 2nMIchigaNHow 4Politic repres uaidet * ~ " " Far ill OntOf Mar