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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
michigandaily.com
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
DETROIT
Bankruptcy
court hears
final set of
arguments
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Robert Crawford, a professor at the University of St. Andrews, gives a pubilic presentation about T.S. Eliot and the Scottish indepndence Referendum in Angell
Hall Monday.
FACULTY GOVERNANCE
SACUA reworks poicy
regardin fitness to work
Judge to determine
feasibility of
adjustment plan
by Nov. 7
By WILL GREENBERG
and NEALA BERKOWSKI
Daily News Editor
and Daily StaffReporter
More than a year after the city
of Detroit became the largest
municipality to declare Chapter
9 bankruptcy in U.S. history, the
decision regarding the city's pro-
posed plan of adjustment and the
beginnings of a new financial life
is now a reality.
In the closing arguments of
Detroit's bankruptcy trial, the
city's legal representation held
the floor most of the day, asking
to confirm the plan of adjust-
ment by reiterating the status of
deals with creditors, the fate of
the Detroit Institute of Art's art-
works and the pensions of city
workers. The next step will be
for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ste-
ven Rhodes to decide whether
Detroit's plan of adjustment is
feasible. This decision will come
on Friday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m.
Bruce Bennett, the attorney
from law firm Jones Day who is
representing the city, reminded
those present to not lose sight of
how much has been accomplished
in the 15 months and 8 days since
Detroit filed for bankruptcy last
July - a quick proceeding com-
pared to other municipality bank-
ruptcy cases. The city has come
up with a broadly consensual
plan - which includes agreement
from all parties - that would dis-
charge $7 billion in claims and
reinvest $1.7 billion in the city,
Bennett lauded the city's over-
all efficiency in compiling a plan,
calling it "remarkable" that a
thorough plan was created in a
timeframe that was "not widely
expected when the case began."
He added that the timing also
helps to mitigate the negative
effects that an ongoing bankrupt-
cy has on a city.
"It is for your honor to take the
next big step and confirm this
plan," Bennett said to Rhodes,
adding that he'd like to see a
ruling from the judge before
Thanksgiving.
See DETROIT, Page 3
Existing protocol
may conflict with
ADA standards
By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA
Daily News Editor
The Senate Advisory Commit-
tee on University Affairs con-
vened for its weekly meeting in
the Regent's Room of the Flem-
ing Administration Building
Monday afternoon to discuss the
Fitness for Duty policy.
Muchofthe group's discussion
centered on language regard-
ing revision of the policy and its
accompanying professional stan-
dards as they relate to University
faculty and staff. The Fitness for
Duty policy offers protections
to University employees in the
event that they find themselves
physically or mentally unable
to perform their jobs, including
possible financial compensation
during their investigation and
one year of severance pay if they
are let go due to their condition.
SACUA Chair Scott Masten,
a professor of business econom-
ics and public policy, said the
group was making progress and
had recently heard from the
Office of the Provost about the
"source of conflict" regarding
the Americans with Disabilities
Act and the University's current
standards of fitness for duty and
medical conditions.
Currently, the ADA places
emphasis on "job performance,"
and not the reason the individual
is unable to perform their job,
unless they choose to disclose
their disability. The law spe-
cifically forbids officials from
making assumptions about the.
reason a faculty member is fail-
See SACUA, Page 3
ANN ARBOR
Taylor plans to
model Hieftje's
goals, leadership
Mayoral frontrunner focus instead on the city's neigh-
borhoods.
will maintain Julie Grand (D-Ward 3),
Kirk Westphal (D-Ward 2) and
atmosphere in incumbent Chuck Warpehoski
t (D-Ward 5), who will all serve
City Council on Council in 2015 due to being
uncontested candidates, each
By EMMA KERR have associations with Taylor
Daily Staf Reporter and Hieftje. During her cam-
paign for her Council seat, Grand
With two new Ann Arbor endorsed Taylor for mayor over
City Council members slated to councilmembers Sabra Briere
assume office and the upcom- (D-Ward 1), Steve Kunselman
ing election of Ann Arbor's first (D-Ward 3) and Sally Petersen
new mayor in 14 years, times are (D-Ward 2). Warpehoski and
changing. But when it comes to Westphal were both publicly
mayoral priorities, these changes endorsed by Hieftje.
might not be so drastic. Taylor said throughout his
The local Democratic primary campaign that he believes Ann
resulted in a near majority victory Arbor is headed in the right
for mayoral candidate Christopher direction, and Grand and West-
Taylor, who currently serves on phal have also applauded much of
the Council representing the third the current Council's work under
ward. While Taylor was not pub- Hieftje.
licly endorsed by current Mayor Grand would not explicitly say
John Hieftje (D), his campaign whether she supports Hieftje,
focused heavily on maintaining a but said because Taylor won the
council that is a continuation of the primary with a platform of con-
currenudiibcil and embodies the tinuing Hieftje's work, it is clear
ideals a igoals set under Hieftje's the public feels confident that the
leadership. city has been in good hands with
Development has been one of the incumbent mayor and will
the most divisive issues among be with Taylor as well. Taylor's
councilmembers in recent years record reflects a voting history
and was also a hot topic during similar to that of Hieftje's.
the mayoral primary. Hieftje has "I'm not saying that I am or
been a more ardent supporter that I'm not an ally (of Hieftje),"
of downtown development pro- Grand said. "I'm very pleased
grams compared to other Council with the job that the mayor has
factions which have been more done. And if you look at Chris
hesitant to allow new building Taylor's victory, that is reflec-
projects and have advocated for a See COUNCIL, Page 3
TERESA MATHEW/Dally
Attorney Mike Behm, a Democratic candidate for the University's Board of Regents, speaks with the Daily Oct. 8,
With an ee on affordabili
BehmI7hopDes for regent seat
HEALTH
Medicaid
enrollment
grows in
Michigan
Healthy Michigan
Plan garners more
participants than
predicted
By AMABEL KAROUB
Daily StaffReporter
Open Enrollment for 2015
health insurance plans is fast
approaching, and hundreds
of thousands of Michiganders
have recently signed up to
receive state aid to pay for their
healthcare plans.
The Healthy Michigan Plan
- Michigan's Medicaid expan-
sion -was approved in late 2013
and began accepting applica-
tions April 1. Six months in, the
number of enrollees in the plan
has already far exceeded pro-
jections for the firstyear.
Michigan is one of the most
recent states to expand the
Medicaid program. The plan
provides health care to Michi-
gan residents ages 19 to 64 with
incomes below133 percent of the
federal poverty line. For an indi-
vidual without a family to sup-
port, this would be an income of
$16,000 or less per year.
Medicaid is a social welfare
program that began long before
President Obama's 2010 Patient
Protection and Affordable Care
Act. Beginning in 1965, this pro-
gram providedfundingforstates
to expand health care to low-
See INSURANCE, Page 3
Candidate hopes
to foster more
collaboration with
Flint, Dearborn
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily StaffReporter
Attorney Mike Behm, one
of the Democratic candidates
for the University's Board of
Regents, is running on a plat-
form of decreasing tuition to
make the University more acces-
sible and working to increase
collaboration with the Univer-
sity's satellite campuses in Flint
and Dearborn.
In November, Behm will com-
pete for one of two spots on the
eight-member Board of Regents.
One of the open slots will be
vacated by University Regent
Julia Darlow (D-Ann Arbor),
who has opted to notseek anoth-
er term. The other is currently
held by Regent Kathy White
(D-Ann Arbor), who is up for
re-election. Two Republicans,
Dr. Rob Steele and Ron Weiser,
a former U.S. ambassador to Slo-
vakia, are also seeking election.
Regents are popularly elected by
voters from across the state of
Michigan.
A Flint native, Behm moved to
Ann Arbor in 1985 to study Eng-
lish at the University. Active on
campus, he wrote for The Michi-
gan Daily and sang in the Michi-
gan Men's Glee Club, the second
oldest club in the country, and
eventually sang a capella with
the renowned group The Friars.
After graduation, he attended
law school at Wayne State Uni-
versity in Detroit and currently
works as a litigator in Flint.
Recognized by the Ameri-
can Trial Lawyers Association
as one of the top 100 lawyers
in Michigan, Behm also served
as president of the trade asso-
ciation Michigan Association for
Justice in 2011.
"The mission of that group
is to protect peoples' Seventh
Amendment rights, to be able
to have a jury in front of their
peers," Behm said. "I think that's
something that's very impor-
tant."
Before deciding to run for
regent, Behm was an active
member of the Democratic Party
for much of his adult life. In 1996
he worked as a volunteer lawyer
for the Clinton campaign, and
in 2004 he created programs to
educate citizens about elections
to discourage voter intimidation
and urge people to vote. He also
served as a delegate to the Dem-
ocratic National Convention in
2008.
Behm said he decided to run
for regent on a platform of mak-
See REGENTS, Page 3
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