Monday, July 26, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Mayoral candidates spar over issues Hieftje, Lesko remain tense in close race to democratic primary By DYLAN CINTI Daily StaffReporter Marked by heated disagreements and personal accusations, Ann Arbor's upcoming mayoral democratic prima- ry continues to see its two candidates remain neck and neck in the race. The city's two democratic candi-. dates - current mayor John Hieftje and former local political blogger Patricia Lesko - are vying for the may- oral spot in the forthcoming Aug. 3 state primary elections. According to a Jun. 4 poll conducted by AnnArbor.com, local voter support for Hieftje and Lesko is split at 44 per- cent for each candidate. As the may- oral race continues to heat up, the two candidates have also leveraged accusa- tions against one another. Lesko used a recent public debate to accuse mayor Hieftje, who's served as mayor of Ann Arbor since 2000, of questionable backroom dealings, according to a Jul. 10 article by AnnAr- bor.com. "Has there been backroom dealing? Absolutely," Lesko said in the article. A visibly annoyed Hieftje respond- ed by dismissing Lesko's comments as "conspiracy theories," the AnnArbor. com article reported. The heatednature of the debate may have come as a surprise to some, but current Ann Arbor city councilmem- ber Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5) said it's nothing new for Lesko. "Pat's very sincere in what she's talking about," Anglin said on Sunday in an interview with The Michigan Daily. "She's a humorous person. And she can be argumentative." That argumentative streak began last August when Lesko began blog- ging about city politics under the alias "Sam Rosenthal." Her blog - a2po- litico.com - criticized Hieftje for what she considered his lack of fiscal responsibility and disregard for key public services. In a Jan. 13 post, Lesko said, "By 2008, I would have voted for Satan if he'd have run against our mayor." Instead, she decided to start her own campaign. Lesko said her campaign centers on what she calls a "return to the basics." According to Lesko, this means focus- ing more on core services the city pro- vides - like police, firefighters and public parks. "The city's infrastructure isn't being tended to," Lesko said. However, Hieftje's supporters argue that he has a firm grasp on city infra- structure and is doing the best work he can inan economic downturn. Current councilmember Chris- topher Taylor (D-Ward 3), one of Hieftje's vocal supporters, said he thinks Lesko is unfairly using the long 420Md ynand Sn. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com ANDREW LAPIN BRAD WILEY Editr irnChief Busines Maer~s 734-647-3336d 734-764-8ss alapin@umich.edu tmdbusiness@gmail.com 6 6 JED MOCH/Daily John Hieftje is the incumbent candidate. economic recession against Hieftje. "The city budget ... has experienced substantial losses," Taylor said in an interview with the Daily on Sunday. "One must consider one's success based on (available) opportunities. (Hieftje) has led city council to cut expenses ... without material impact on services." Hieftje - who could not immedi- ately be reached for comment - states on his reelection website that he will "ensure that our City continues to invest in infrastructure" and "main- tain focus on providing high-quality core City services." According to councilmember Taylor, nearly every current councilmember is likely to support Hieftje. At the moment, Mike Anglin is the sole councilmember publicly backing Lesko. Anglin said he's inspired by what he considers her honesty and commit- ment to direct communication. CUURKTSY UF VUOTE LESKO.UORG Patricia Lesko is the democratic challenger. "She's honest in what she believes," Anglin said. "She puts herself out there." Putting herself "out there" is a risk Lesko said she's willing to take as part of her goal to expand and encourage citywide communication. "Have no fear - the A2Politico will be inside city hall," Lesko said. ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT JOHN HIEFTJE: Michigan Democratic Party LGBT Caucus Michigan League of Conservation Voters Laborers Local 499 PATRICIA LESKO: Ann Arbor Police Officers Association Ann Arbor Firefighters Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Cub CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom Officehours: Sun-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2a.m. News Tips news michigandrirgd com Corrections corrections@michigandaiy.com LetterstotheEditor rothedaily@michigandaily.com PhotoDepartment photo mich ganday.com 734-764-0563 Arts Section artspage@michiandaily.rom Editorial Page opinion@michtgandaily.com SportsSection sports michigandaiy.com 734-764-8585 Sales dairydisplaygrma icom classified sales dailryclass,edgmaiLcom 734-764-0557 Finance tmdfsnance gmaicom EDITORIAL STAFF eyanKaie .ManagingEditor rkarjumich5edu EshwarThirunavukkarasu Managing NewsEditor SEIORcNEWSEDITOR:Devon Thorsb ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Caitlin Alex schiff Editorial Page Editor aschiff@urich.edu SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: Joe Stapleton ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: Nick Clift Mark Burns ManagingSports Editor ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR: Ryan Podges Sharon Jacobs and Emma Jeszke ManagingArts Editors shacobs@umich.edu and eaeszkeaumich.edu Jake Fromm Managing Photo Editor jfr rrrs4ssrrrr~sdr KatherineAxelsen Man. gnDesignsEdir kaxe@umtich.edu SENIOR DESIG N EDITOR: Coreen DeFever TorehanSharman ManagingMultimediaEditor BUSINESS STAFF Julianna crim SalesManager Hillary Szawala ClassifiedManager Meghan Rooney LayoutManager Jason Mahakian Production Manager The Michigan Dai (ISSN 0745967 is published Morday through F'iday during the tatl ard winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional ropes may be Ficked up at the taily's onie tor $J. tubscriptions for tallPterm startin in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan DailyisamemberofTheAssociated Pressand The Associated Collegiate Press. MSU-based company first tenant of NCRC BoroPharm acquires specialized lab space, recruits 'U' talent By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN Daily StaffReporter Almost a year after the University purchased the property, the research space at the new North Campus Research Complex no longer exists unoccupied. BoroPharm - a chemical manu- facturing company founded by two Michigan State University faculty members - is the first entity to occu- py laboratory space in the 174-acre, 28-building former Pfizer complex, as well as its first commercial tenant. Founded in 2005 by Rob Malec- zka and Mitch Smith, BoroPharm develops and manufactures chemical intermediates - specifically boron- based compounds - for the pharma- ceutical, agro-tech and fine chemical industries. The intermediates are more efficient and environmentally friendly than other similar products. Todd Zahn, president and CEO of BoroPharm, said there are a number of practical applications for the com- pounds his company creates. "(The compounds) are used in a variety of different applications," Zahn said. "All the way down from pharmaceuticals through to organic lighting, electronics and things like that." The company first moved into its 4,300-square-foot, free-standing building on the NCRC campus last March and will be fully operational in the space in a matter of weeks, Zahn said. The building was deliberately built away from the rest of the structures at the NCRC because its laborato- ries handle high-pressure chemistry reactions that have the potential to explode, NCRC Executive Director David Canter said during a media tour of the complex last week. Joan Keiser, the outgoing inter- im NCRC executive director, said BoroPharm contacted the Univer- sity about renting the lab space even before it had bought the NCRC from Pfizer. Once the University owned the property, it determined that it had no need for the specialized labo- ratories and decided to rent out the space to BoroPharm. "BoroPharm contacted the Uni- versity of Michigan very early on because these types of facilities are not usual and BoroPharm was aware that it was here (because) the chemi- cal industry (as a whole) is aware that we have a facility like this," Keiser said. "They contacted the University early to ask, 'Was there space? Was there space?' They were very per- sistent. I give them great credit for that." The exceptional facilities were not the only reason BoroPharm decided to move to Ann Arbor. The resources available to it because of its relation- ship with the University were also strong motivators for BoroPharm to make the move, Zahn said. "We were really interested in both the facilities and the access to the tal- ent that is at the University in terms of faculty collaborations and training students and bringing out new com- mercial opportunities where students can enhance their learning experi- ence and educational experience at *I i r ore" . _. ,Ki . ate________________ _ .