Monday, October 29, 2012 - 7A

The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, October 29, 2012 - 7A

DEMOCRATS
From Page 1A
emphasized how establishing
Democratic leadership of the state
House could establish easy access
to the state's public universities,
provide equal rights for women
andmembers of LGBT community
and enact economic fairness.
"Part of the problem right now
is that there's no balance; the
governor and the House and the
Senate - they're all Republican,
so there's no dialogue, there's no
public process, things go really
quickly," Driskell said in an inter-
view after the event. "If we had
the House back in Democratic
hands, we would actually be able
to make some momentum on that,
and (the state government would)
be more moderate."
Both the Michigan Republican
Party and statewide Democratic
Party have targeted the 52nd dis-
trict election as a critical battle.
Matt Frendewey, the spokes-
man for the Michigan Republican
Party, told The Michigan Daily
last week he believes Ouimet will
SANDY
From Page 1A
ington are in a safe place."
While the University keeps tabs
on students studying or working
abroad through a travel registry,
Fitzgerald noted that domestic
"travel is more difficult to track.
However, he said the media
frenzy that has surrounded the
arrival of the hurricane should
be effective in keeping traveling
students and faculty informed
of the dangers of the inclement
weather.
"The good thing in this situa-
tion is that this storm has been
getting lots of media attention,
so any groups traveling to the
East Coast certainly are aware
of the storm and able to make
informed decisions about their
travel," Fitzgerald said.
LSAseniorAliciaTirpak,aMIW
participant, said she was notified to
stay home from her internship at
the U.S.StateDepartment,since all
federal offices would be closed on
Monday.
She said she will likely stay
inside but is worried she may
need to leave at some point for
amenities she didn't have time to
gather prior to the warnings.
"I intended to get food before,
but apparently the grocery store
nearby is out of food and water
that you would want if the power
went out. I just thought it wasn't
worth the time to go so I really
PARKS
From Page 1A
Between 60 percent and 80
percent of the annual millage
funds are allocated for city park
maintenance activities, such as
natural area preservation, park
security and recreation facility
maintenance, according the City
of Ann Arbor.
Another 20 to 40 percent of
the millage funds support city
park capital improvements,
including historic preservation,
recreation facilities and park
equipment acquisitions.

Smith said in the past six

retain his seat, and Republicans
will retain their majority in the
state House.
"When you compare what the
Republican leadership has done
in the House now, compared with
the Democratic leadership two
years ago, there's just absolutely
no comparison," Frendewey said.
"The Republican majority has the
best interest in mind for middle
class families."
Speakers at the event focused
particularly on Driskell's election,
deeming it one of the most impor-
tant races in the state.
When former U.S. Rep. Mark
Schauer (D-Mich.) noted Driskell
would be one of many Democratic
leaders headed to the state House
this year, he was met with some of
the loudest applause of the night
from the audience.
Referencing the need to oust
Ouimet, Irwin said he agreed that
Driskell's election would be an
indispensible .part of the Demo-
crats' effort to gain the majority in
the chamber.
"I've been working real hard
with (state Rep. Kate Segal (D-
Battle Creek)) to try to get Demo-

crats elected all over the state, but
when you look at the statewide
map, it becomes clear that the path
to the gavel goes through western
Washtenaw," he said.
The rally also served as a get-
out-the-vote effort, coming a little
more than a week before Election
Day. Segal, who could become
the first female Speaker of the
state House if the Democrats win
a majority, told the audience to
bring friends with them to the
pollingstations.
"November 6 is our day. Get
out the waders, get out the pon-
chos, get out whatever you need
to get out there and hit the doors,
because the only thing that will
beat us is ourselves if we don't go
out and vote," she said. "We have
to do everything we can to make
sure no voter stays at home."
Debbie Dingell echoed Segal's
sentiments, urging the audience
to vote and reverse the losses of
Democrats in state governments
and Congress in the 2010 midterm
elections.
"We need you," Dingell said.
"We just need *you these next
eight days."


don't have that much food," Tir-
pak said.
Tirpak said she is also con-
cerned about renovations occur-
ring near her part of the building,
which may make it particularly
vulnerable to high wind.
"I am actually a little bit.con-
cerned (because) there is con-
struction next to us," Tirpak
said. "It makes me nervous that
it might get loose or something
through or something since it is
at out room's level."
LSA junior Elana Firsht, fel-
low MIW participant, said she
also plans to stay inside until
the storm passes, noting that
her office at the Brookings insti-
tution, an independent policy
research firm, is closed Monday.
"I don't think it's a very good
idea to go outside right now," Fir-
sbt said.
Two members of the Univer-
sity's Debate Team, LSA junior
Kevin Hirn and LSA senior Kyle
Deming, have been at a compe-
tition at Harvard University in
Cambridge, Mass., since Friday.
The team was scheduled to
leave Monday evening, but they
learned Sunday they would be
stranded in the Boston area until
Tuesday afternoon. As of Sun-
day, the team's flight has been
rescheduled twice, first forTues-
day morning and then for Tues-
day afternoon. Aaron Kall, the
director of the debate program,
said debaters had to extend their
rental car and hotel reservations

through Tuesday.
"We're cautiously optimis-
tic and planning for a Tuesday
departure," Kall said.
Kall said the team's remaining
debate against Michigan State
Universityscheduled for Monday
is still set to occur as of Sunday.
The team is scheduled to host its
17th annual high-school debate
tournament Friday, an event
which is expected to attract
more than 700 high-school stu-
dents, debate coaches andjudges
from around the country.
Kall said he is somewhat con-
cerned that traveling teams, as
well as the Harvard debaters,
may miss the tournament, but
he has taken-comfort in the fact
that the trajectory of the storm
is not expected to directly hit
Boston.
"There's certainly a chance
the competition could be post-'
poned tomorrow, but the hotel
hasn't lost power or anything,"
Hall said.
The Michigan women's golf
team is in Kiawah Island, S.C.,
for the Edwin Watts Palmetto
Intercollegiate competition.
Though South Carolina is south
of the storm, travel from states
throughout the East Coast has
been affected.
However, ,Athletic Depart-
ment spokesman Tom Wywrot
said the team's non-stop, com-
mercial flight is departing 'as
scheduled, as far as officials are
aware.

KALLGREN
From Page lA
Despite her determination,
victory for Kallgren will be
challenging. Aaron Kall, the
director of the University's
debate program, said winning
40 percent of the vote would
be an admirable finish for Kall-
gren, noting that it is difficult to
estimate election results since
it's not a particularly competi-
tive race and outside firms usu-
ally only poll in contentious
races.
Kall said much of Kallgren's
success depends on the level of
competition in Michigan for the
presidential race. If Republi-
can presidential nominee Mitt
Romney increases campaign
resources in the state, some of
the results could trickle down
to legislative races, he said.
In the 2010'midterm election,
Dingell won by a 17 percent
margin against Republican con-
tender Rob Steele, a local cardi-
ologist, though Kall noted the
election was affected by factors
such as the Republican wave
that allowed the GOP to claim
the House and the U.S. Senate
and the lack of a presidential
race.
Still, Dingell's margins of vic-
tory have noticeably decreased
in the last few elections as he
ages and deals with redistrict-
ing that provides him differing
constituents.
"I have never taken a cam-
paign for granted," Dingell said
in a statement. "The people of
southeastern Michigan rightly
expect me to earn their votes. I
intend to keep talking with vot-
ers about the accomplishments
we've brought here together
and about the challenges we
face ahead."
Dingell also emphasized job
creation as the most important
issue in the nation, adding that
there is still extensive work to
be done in establishing afford-
able health care policy and
protecting Social Security and
LIBRARIES
From Page 1A
ing doesn't fulfill many stan-
dards under the Americans
with Disabilities Act, and its
upkeep is becoming increasing-
ly difficult and more expensive.
Though library officials
said the $65 million will be
enough to demolish the cur-
rent library and construct a
new one, opposing groups have
expressed concern about fund-
ing the project.
Katherine Griswold - the
treasurer of Protect Our Librar-
ies, a local movement against
the proposal - said the 30-year
bond on the millage may cause
the interest rate to match the
actual construction cost. She
noted that construction works
usually end up being over-bud-
geted.
Griswold said the bond
would be a burden for all Ann
Arborites, particularly senior
citizens who pay property tax in
the city of Ann Arbor.
"If the public would have
known we're talking about a
cost 130 million dollars for 30

years, I think that we would've

Medicare.
"I will continue to fight for
the people of southeastern
Michigan, because the fight
for making sure their voices
are heard in Washington never
ends," he said.
Kallgren said what sets her
apart from Dingell is her ability
to. connect with her constitu-
ents as she did in the 27,000
canvass stops she says she's
made this season.
"It's easy to see everything
as statistics and not real people.
Living in this community my
whole life, I'm building real
relationships with people in the
district," she said.
Wearing square-framed,
wire glasses, Kallgren hopes
voters see her as a neighbor and
a peer, just like them, who can
amplify their voices in Wash-
ington.
"They are ready for a
change," Kallgren said. "Some
of them are rather taken aback
that you are running for Con-
gress and standingat their door.
They're not used to that."
A native of-Wyandotte, Kalb
gren has lived Downriver her
whole life. Her husband works
in customer care at a plastics
factory in nearby Southgate, a
city where pockets of automo-
tive manufacturers sustained
a challenging blow during the
economic downturn.
As a consultant for the scrap-
book retailer Creative Memo-
ries, Kallgren owns and runs
her own leg of the company out
of her Trenton home. During
her time leading the business,
she said she became cognizant
of the vast challenges of busi-
ness ownership amid a tough
economic climate, and became
inspired to set her sights for
public office.
"You realize that there is no
minimum wage for a business
owner," Kallgren said. "You can
wake up at six in the morning
and work until midnight and
realize you made five cents an
hour. That drives the building
of your business: having built
been engaged," Griswold said.
She added that rebuilding the
library should not be a top pri-
ority of the city, noting there
are more urgent needs, such
as enhancing the Ann Arbor
Transportation Authority.
"No vote is not a vote against
the library system," Griswold
said. "It's just saying lets step
back ... We can come up with a
better plan."
While library officials argue
that the current building has
insufficient meeting spaces for
community events, Griswold
said downtown Ann Arbor
already has enough venues for
large gatherings.
However, Ellie Serras - the
chair of the Our New Library
Campaign committee, an orga-
nization in support of the
millage - said holding large
numbers of events at alterna-
tive locations is unrealistic. She
noted that requests for meeting
space have increased 20 percent
since 2009.
"The demand for that build-
ing exceeds capacity today,"
Serras said.
Last year, the library hosted
11 events at which attendees

were forced to split between

something on your own, surviv-
ing by your own wits, is part of
the American dream."
Kallgren said her experience
in small business has helped her
understand why many Repub-
licans believe that President
Barack Obama's policies have
hindered the growth of their
companies.
"There was no politician sit-
ting at their desk helping them
along. It was their own sweat,"
she said.
She said she believes govern-
ment needs to "keep their hands
off" businesses by no longer
punishing them with excessive
taxes and regulations.
Kallgren added that she
prides herself on selling strictly
American-made products, and
when she found out one of her
products was made in China,
she wanted to transfer produc-
tion to the United States.
However, after approaching
officials at her husband's plastic
factory, she discovered an Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency
regulation prevented the plas-
tic from being molded in the
United States.
"Government can be heavy-
handed and kill jobs," Kallgren
said. "They say they want to
create jobs but they actually
kill jobs if they don't have a bal-
anced approach."
Kallgren said if elected, she
will work to promote job growth
in Michigan by. decreasing the
tax burden on businesses and
cutting back on excessive regu-
lation. As Kallgren continues
her efforts, she said she hopes
her message will ultimately win
out at the polls.
"The current administra-
tion believes that if you throw
money at a problem you will fix
it," she said. "I think you need to
appeal to the best things in the
American spirit: to help people
to want on their own two feet. I
think Americans want to work
hard and that's the spirit of
being American: building your
own American dream and your
own pursuit of happiness."
two floors because the library
did not have enough space,
according to Serra. She said the
library hopes to bring more pre-
sentations and book reviews to
Ann Arbor with the new audi-
torium.
Additionally, she said the
current building does not uti-
lize energy efficiently, in part
because the building's heating
and cooling are controlled on
two separate floors, and a new
facility would help alleviate
these issues.
"Renovating (the) cur-
rent building doesn't work ...
Rebuilding will make the build-
ing much more energy effi-
cient," Serras said.
Serras said that library esti-
mates from four years ago indi-
cate that the cost of rebuilding
the library is within 10 percent
of the cost of renovation, add-
ing that construction costs and
interest rates are the lowest
they have been in several years.
She added that a renovation
would also be greatly helpful
for citizens with special needs.
"We have a visually impaired
library in basement, but people
can't get down there without

the help of staff," Serras said.


years, the park millage has
supported numerous projects,
including renovations of the
Gallup Park canoe livery, recon-
struction of the disc golf course
at Mary Beth Doyle Park and
development of the Swift Run
off-leash dog park.
Smith also indicated that the
renewal of the millage will pro-
vide for the initiation of new
projects, which could include
trail improvements at the Les-
lie Science and Nature Center,
tennis court replacements at
Windemere Park and baseball
and softball field renovations at
Veteran's Memorial Park,
The path toward renewal.

began on June 19 when the Parks
Advisory Commission - which
suggests policies and provides
advice on park development -
unanimously passed its recom-
mendation for the millage.
On Aug. 9, the recommen-
dation went before Ann Arbor
City Council, which unani-
mously voted to place the
millage renewal on the Nov. 6
ballot.
Aside from PAC and the Ann
Arbor City Council, Friends of
the Park is a committee orga-
nized in support of the mill-
age renewal, and there are no
known committees opposed to
the measure.

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