16B - The Michigan Daily Voter Guide - Thursday, November 2, 2000 -- a---- ----- _ _ w The Michigan Daily V 3 seats on Supreme Court up for election 'A Team' hopes to expand regi By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter MICHGAN SUPEME OUR Runn. With three incumbent justices on the Marl ballot, the usually overlooked Michigan Robi Supreme Court race has attracted a great deal of attention this year and can- DNo; didates have pumped record amounts of Dem money into their campaigns. Incum . Three of the seven-member court's five Republicans are running to retain occup their seats, and each faces Democratic Attor and Libertarian opposition. Reside Although the candidates' parties are eta not listed on the ballot, the three incum- Rob bent justices were nominated at the Nomin state Republican Convention while incum their challengers were each nominated occup at their own party's convention. Reside Justice Clifford W Taylor, who is C running for a full-eight year term, was Cliff appointed by Gov. John Engler in 1997 Tayl to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Nomin He had served on the Michigan Court Repu 'f Appeals since 1995. Incum le believes the role of a judge is to Yes "interpret the law - not to make law." Occup Tavlor, who has been endorsed by the Supr Cour Police Officers Association of Reside Michigan, said it is not the role of Lansi Supreme Court to make inquiries to "see if there's a technical reason" to for the throw out a criminal conviction. favor of Challenging Taylor is Democratic and relig nominee Marietta Robinson, a special- The m ist in medical malpractice law. said, is Robinson has served as an adjunct pro- constitut fessor at Wayne State University and larly am the University of Detroit Law Schools. idea that Robinson contends she has never been In the " politically active and promises to bring Justice "fairness, experience, independence, appointe good judgment and a complete lack of last year. any political agenda to the office." Marki She said the Republican incumbents a judge are "against individuals and in favor of Appeals special interests," namely insurance assistant companies. States, s Also on the ballot is attorney Robert the elect W Roddis, who was nominated by the "Wha Libertarian Party. Roddis, a specialist in doing?" civil-business law who also made a run be exe VOUCHERS Continued from Page 15B Yes! spokesman Greg McNeilly said. "Quality education is a civil right." McNeilly compared picking a school to shopping for groceries, saving quality would fail without competition. "Public schools will become better with the increase in competition between the pubic and private domains," he said. "If we can save one child, then it is worth it." Laura Wotruba, a spokeswoman for the anti- vouchers group ALL Kids First!, countered McNeilly's position, saying vouchers are too sim- plistic. Wotruba said research shows smaller class sizes and increased parental involvement are more effective in improving schools. "It will hurt kids in the long run," Wotruba said. "We would be using public money to support two school systems. Who is this going to help? Who is going to be left behind?" Wotruba said public money should stay in pub- lic school systems and not be used for private or parochial education. "Private schools do not fol- low the same regulations as public schools," she said. "Private schools can pick and choose the stu- dents to be admitted. They do not have to reveal how they spend their money. Public schools do." ing for an eight-year term: etta nson ated by: ocrats bent: ation: ney ence: mora ert W. Roddis ated by: Libertarians bent: No atlon: Attorney, ence: Grosse Pointe Farms ord W. or ated by: ibiicans et bent: ation:. eme t justice ence: ng Running for a four-year term: Stephen J. Markman Nominated by: Republicans Incumbent: Yes Occupation: Supreme Court justice Residence: Mason David H. Raaflaub Nominated by: Libertarians Incumbent: No occupation: Attorney Residence: Ann Arbor Edward MR Thomas Nominated by: Democrats Incumbent: No Occupation: Wayne County Circuit judge Residence Detroit Running for a two-year term: E. ThomasR Fitzgerald Nominated by: Democrats Incumbent: No Occupation: Appeals court judge Residence: Owosso Jerry J. Kaufman Nominated by: Libertarians Incumbent: No Occupation: Attorney Residence: Huntington Woods Robert Young Nominated by: Republicans Incumbent:. Yes Occupation: Supreme Court justice Residence: Detroit should be established to better accom- modate people who work during the day and want to represent themselves. Seeking to serve the remaining two years of the term to which he was appointed in 1998, Justice Robert P. Young Jr. is a firm believer in judicial restraint. "The judiciary is not an auxil- iary legislature, nor is the judiciary free to intervene in public policy decisions of the political branches and remake them,"Young said. Young previously served on the Michigan Court of.Appeals and is a for- mer corporate secretary and general counsel of AAA Michigan. He was also a regent at Central Michigan University. E. Thomas Fitzgerald, the Democratic nominee, has served on the Michigan Court of Appeals since 1990. Thomas is also an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Coolev Law School in Lansing. "There is no one running who has more experience than Tom Fitzgerald," said Michael Shore, a spokesman for the Fitzgerald campaign. Shore con- tends that, having been elected twice to the Court of Appeals, Fitzgerald "owes his allegiance to the people and no one else," while the incumbents are "wholly owned subsidiaries of the Chamber of Commerce" who "reword state law into a way that is favorable to big business." Also in the race is Libertarian candi- date Jerry J. Kaufman, who describes himself as a "civil rights labor, and con- sumers' action" attorney. ie has lec- tured at the University of Michigan on exam writing and his campaign is total- lv self-financed. "The court does not need three to six months to issue a deci- sion," Kaufman said. Rulings should be issued in two to four weeks, he said, and the court should be able to handle 450 cases per year instead of about 120 as it handles currently. Kaufman said he refuses to engage in "mudslinging," arguing that political attacks tarnish the process of electing impartial justices. H( promised that if elected he would return at least half of his pay to the Michigan State Treasury. By Lisa Koivu Dail' StaffReporter While one may often hear the term "the A-Team" during the next few days before the election, the term is not referring to the 1980s television hit - it's the campaign slogan for Wendy Anderson and Susv Avery, the two Republican candidates for seats on the University Board of Regents. Anderson and Avery are graduates of the University's Dearborn campus. Avery currently serves as the vice president of Travel Michigan, and Anderson spends her time taking care of her two young children. Anderson has previously worked as a legislative staff members for several state senators. Both candidates would like to work to improve the relationship between the University's Ann Arbor campus and its Flint and Dearborn campuses. "The two satellite schools have really grown in stature. I don't know if Ann Arbor believes that Dearborn and Flint are up to that high of a level" Avery said recently during an appearance on WKAR-AM 870 with host Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics. Avery said graduating from the Dearborn cam- pus gives them a different perspective from any of the regents, because no one currently on the board has attended either of the University's satellite campuses. "There is a difference in perspective when com- ing from a background like Wendy and I - we need to be heard," Avery said. Third-party candidates hope to include students on board Wendy Anderson Party. Republican Incumbent: No Occupation: 'Homemaker Residence: Commerce Twp. A, By Lisa Koivu Daily Staff Reporter While their opinions may differ, three of the I I candidates for seats on the University Board of Regents have at least one thing in common - they are all students here at the University. Scott Trudeau, an LSA senior run- ning with the Green Party, Rackham student Tim Maull, a Libertarian Party candidate, and Reform Party candidate Nick Waun, a Greek and Roman archaeology junior at the University of Michigan at Flint, all hope to do what has never happened before: Become the first student to serve on the board. Maull said it is important for a student to be on the board because all the deci- sions made by the regents affect students. "Students have the right to organize politically and put a student on the board. In this way they can control their own destiny," Maull said. Waun said a student is needed on the board because of the ability to under- stand what students need. "Most regents are alumni. lo get a current student per- spective you need someone who walks among the students," he said. Waun said he is most concerned about the amount of money the University spends. "The University is spending S30 mil- lion on renovations for Hill Auditorium, S400 million on the new Life Sciences Institute and so forth," Waun said. "I'd See STUDENTS, Page 18B i* I Supreme Court in 1992, is in legalizing "drugs, pornography gion." main issue in the race, Roddis whether the justices uphold the ion. "I don't think it's particu- biguous," he said. "I reject the the constitution grows." race for a partial four-year term, Stephen J. Markman, who was d to fill a vacancy on the court , is the Republican nominee. 'nan, who previously.served as of the Michigan Court of and as a U.S. attorney and attorney general of the United aid the most important issue in ion is the role of the judiciary. t do we want our justices to be he asked. "Do we want them to rcising adult supervision or should they ... be interpreting the lan- guage of the law?" In response to Democratic claims that the incumbents all speak with one mind, Markman said the justices show-a lot of independence from one another and have a great deal of support for their hes- itancy to throw out criminal cases simply over technical matters. "The three incumbent justices ... have the endorse- ment of every responsible law enforce- ment organization in the state," he said. Democratic nominee Edward M. Thomas has been a Wayne County Circuit Court judge since 1990. "I have always been independent and have never compromised my integrity for personal or political reasons in mak- ing judicial decisions," Thomas said on his campaign Website. With respect to the incumbent jus- tices seeking re-election, Thomas said "they are trying to limit access of indi- viduals to courts." "There's supposed to be diversity and independence of thought" on the court, he said. "It's really curious that the three of them go around together." Libertarian nominee David H1. Raaflaub has been a tenant and securi- ties lawyer for 20 years. He believes the most important issue in the Supreme Court race is the erosion of constitutional rights, especially the Second Amendment guaranteeing Americans the right to bear arms. The prohibition of marijuana, he believes, is a violation of the 10th Amendment. "The constitution is being changed but not by the process designated for i Scott Nick Tm Waun Maull _TrUdaW Party: PyParty e tarian Green /,Reform School: School Raekham LSA . Flint campus Year:Year Graduate Senior Junior (Dt F ?Stop by the UAC office, 4( doing so," Raaflaub said. He also believes "night courts" "if we can save one child, then it is worth it," - Greg McNeilly Kids First! Yes! spokesman Proposal I would require teacher testing on aca- demic subjects in both public and nonpublic schools that redeem tuition vouchers. Kids First! Yes! points to similar programs in other states where vouchers have succeeded. "There is nothing worse than what is happening right now," McNeilly said. "Look at Milwaukee's program. Their program works" But Wotruba highlighted several differences between Michigan's proposal and the other vouch- er systems. "Other programs have a lottery system where if there are more students than openings in the private school system, students will be chosen at random. Michigan does not have this," she said. "Other pro- grams have an income qualifier for students to be able to use vouchers, aiined for low income fami- lies. Michigan does not have this." LOCAL Continued from Page 15B of an act passed earlier this year that prohibits local governments from suing gun manufacturers. The city of Detroit had pursued a lawsuit against gun manufacturers but was unable to proceed when the law took effect. Opponents of the proposal acknowledge that local control is important, but say the proposal was not structured or thought out carefully. One problem opponents have with the proposal is its vague word- ing, especially concerning the term "intervention." "We really don't know where the line would be drawn," said Martha Johnson, iceepresident of governmental affairs of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. But Sheldon said the proposal is written in a specific manner to have the desired effect. "Constitutional language is usually quite broad, and this is where Drafters' Notes (for the amend- ment) come into effect," Sheldon said. "They sup- port and define what we consider to be intervention." According to the Drafters' Notes on the ballot, a supermajority vote by the Legislature would be necessary for states to intervene in or increase their role in municipal'government, property or concerns. Municipalities are defined in the propos- al as "a city, village, county, township or any municipal authority: Opponents argue that because dissenting votes from only 37 representatives or 13 senators would be enough to keep a bill from passing, the proposal would give legislative control to the minority party. If citizens are unhappy with a piece of legisla- tion, the state's Constitution currently allows them to collect a certain number of signatures to suspend that law until the next general election. According to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, this is "a more democratic approach" than Proposal 2. Sheldon said a two-thirds vote is not uncommon in the Legislature, but when a superrmajority vote is required, it is usually forsan issue that needs seri- ous thought. In this case, she said, the issues deal with the "quality of life" in communities, and the concerns vary by region. Opponents complain that Proposal 2 would create discontinuity across local borders, in public infra- structure such as road care and storm water manage- ment, local billboard ordinances and business regu- lations. But Proposal 2 supporters believe these are all local issues that should be regulated "according to the needs of a community" Sheldon said. Proposal 2 would not require a supermajority vote for any legislation granting more control to local governments.,., &i 0% j6 Tjcoming TIAC 1 UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES CENTER OW E0 . . - ....................