Monday, May 24, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
MAYOR
From Page 1
this before some other people ... You
know what? This is what my educa-
tion is teaching me - I have the cre-
dentials, I can do this, why not?"'
With no official campaign plat-
form yet, Bostic said he is waiting to
hear more from the citizens of Ann
Arbor about what issues are impor-
tant to them.
"We need to hear what everybody
has to say first before we can do
anything," he said. "Whatever prob-
lems come to the top we're going to
address. If it's a small problem, we're
going to address it too. I want to hear
every single problem."
There are some issues, however,
that Bostic said he already knows he
will incorporate in his platform - the
mostimportantbeing the city's budget.
"We can't really do anything until
the budget's fixed," he said. "I'm
going to tell people that sacrifices
have to be made and I'll start off by
lowering my salary. If I am elected, I
plan onloweringit to (at most) 35,000
dollars. I believe it's 41,600 (dollars)
right now for the mayor, but I'll take
it down to 35, even 34. That will be my
gesture of good will saying... I'm will-
ing to make a sacrifice."
Bostic said he hopes that by fixing
the budget, he can prevent layoffs to
Ann Arbor's first responders.
Also on Bostic's agenda are reno-
vations to the E. Stadium bridge and
a decision on whether or not to tear
down Argo Dam. Bostic said he is
REPORTS
From Page 3
you intervene in anyway."
The national AAUP's compliance
with the request was normal, Smith
said, because the AAUP prefers that
matters be dealt with at the local level.
Upon learning of the steps being
taken by the AAUP chapters, Roth-
man said he didn't feel such actions
would be appropriate.
"It can only do harm to the people
involved and I think it's really short-
sighted," Rothman said. "I'm sorry to
hear that they are proceeding with
this because it's not the whole story
and it's misleading. I certainly can't
tell them what to do, but I would rec-
ommend against doing that."
Borisov is currently in the process
of making his case in public, having
brought litigation against the Uni-
versity in 2009. The case is currently
awaiting further proceedings in the
Washtenaw County Circuit Court.
The case is currently on hold due
to an extension granted by the court
to Borisov, who is in the process of
finding a new attorney. He was pre-
waiting to take a side on the Argo
Dam issue until he has more informa-
tion on the situation.
"If (the dam) is not generating
electricity, I feel there should be no
need for it, but I'm still not ready
to make that call because I haven't
heard from anybody who uses Argo
pond," he said.
Born in Houston, Bostic said he
lived in Ann Arbor for five years before
moving back down to Texas, where he
spent most of his childhood. Bostic
added that even after settling down in
Stafford, Texas he and his family came
back to Ann Arbor occasionally on the
holidayto visit relatives.
At the University, Bostic was
involved with the National Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Colored
People and the Black Undergradu-
ate Law Association. He played var-
sity football but quit after two years
and started working at the Michigan
Telefund.
"I wasn't used to having so much
time on my hands," Bostic said. "I
wanted to work and do things for
myself, so I started working and was
able to buy a car, so I learned what
hard work gets you."
Bostic said he was always planning
to stay in Ann Arbor after graduation.
"Personally, I feel attached to Ann
Arbor - the people here, the students,
the citizens, the residents, everybody
here," he said. "I'm going to try to
stick around up in Michigan because
... this is home."
Before deciding to run for mayor,
Bostic said he was en route to law
school to become a corporate lawyer,
viously represented by Christine
Green, who is now running for the
Michigan House of Representatives.
His suit includes seven counts,
including defamation, interference
of contract, fraud, false imprison-
ment, assault and battery and mali-
cious prosecution. According to
court documents, Borisov seeks
compensation with interest, attor-
ney's fees and other relief as may be
deemed appropriate.
Borisov is not a stranger to battling
the University in court. In April 2009
he was acquitted of criminal charges
brought against him by DPS, which
alleged that Borisov ignored orders
given by officers and attempted to
leave his office with property whose
ownership was in question.
After the acquittal, University
Police spokeswoman Diane Brown
told The Ann Arbor News that DPS
had given Borisov ample opportuni-
ties to avail himself, but that he con-
tinued to intensify the situation.
. Please report any error in
the Daily to corrections@
michigandailycom.
but he said after doing some research,
he realized he didn't want to be "just
one of the heavy-handed lawyers that
would just do what they had to do for
the company."
Jon Lockard, a lecturer for the
Center for Afroamerican and African
Studies, said Bostic approached him
earlier this year to discuss his future.
"He came to me talking about
advancing his career, about being
helpful to the community, about the
determination to not let political
things affect his growth," Lockard
said. "Frankly I had no idea he was
going to run for mayor, but I did know
he was very interested in helping the
community."
Lockard spoke highly of Bostic's
caring and genuine personality,
describing the young candidate as "a
little bit beyond his years." He also
said he's excited to see a young person
running for office.
"I think it's wonderful when young
people...see themselves as part of the
community and not as on the side of
the community, and I think that's
something that should be celebrat-
ed. Whatever the outcome, I think it
should be celebrated," he said.
"If personality has anything to do
with it," Lockard added, "he's in good
shape."
After deciding to throw his hat
in the ring for mayor, Bostic said he
called Mayor Leonard Scarcella ofhis
hometown of Stafford for some guid-
ance.
Scarcella, who said he knew Bos-
tic when he was in high school and
often watched him play football, said
REGENTS
From Page 2
the administration, but the adminis-
tration has added a new clause that
says that if the police chief objects to
a grievance and the president agrees,
there will be no hearing," Smith said.
"This clause codifies the president's
authority to cover up police miscon-
duct."
Having first-hand experience with
the policy, Smith said he and Andrei
Borisov, a former faculty researcher
at the University, were informed that
a grievance they filed with the DPS
Oversight Committee would not be
considered because Coleman had cho-
sen to reject it.
The grievance alleges misconduct
and violation of DPS policies by DPS
officers who participated in an inci-
dent in which Borisov was allegedly
forced to resign in 2008.
University spokesperson Rick
Fitzgerald said the University would
not comment on the issue because it
involved a matter currently in litiga-
tion.
Another public commentator at last
A University graduate from the class of 2010, William Bostic Jr. recently a
for mayor of the city of Ann Arbor.
he's proud of the young candidate and
thinks Bostic has what it takes to sit
in office.
"I admire him immensely," Scar-
cella said. "He's biting off a huge
chunk to run ... never having any
political experience ... butI have great
admiration for what he's doing. He
seems to be an articulate young man
and has a very nice appearance, and I
think he's a very solid individual and
I just wish him every success."
Scarcella, who was first elected
mayor of Stafford in 1969 at the age of
week's meeting also raised serious
concerns about University policies
and procedures.
Linda Martinson, a former Univer-
sity student, spoke about her struggles
that were caused by a lack of central
policies when she was a student at the
University.
Martinson was a student in the
School of Nursing before her status
at the school was jeopardized and
hearings to determine her status at
the University were held without her
presence. Martinson was dismissed
from the University and was issued a
no trespassing order by DPS in August
2008.
Speaking at last week's meeting
of the regents, Martinson explained
her situation and argued for central
policies to better regulate school poli-
cies and make them more uniform
throughoutthe entire University.
Martinson is currently pursuing
her case against the University in
federal court, where she has alleged
that the University violated her right
to due process when the Dean of the
School of Nursing disregarded an
appeal decision in which her case was
to be reheard. She is seeking readmis-
29, said he is learning about the issues
facing Ann Arbor to advise Bostic on
how to campaign and form a platform.
"He's got to come up with a platform
that resonates with the people, and I
think he can do that," Scarcella said.
"Then he's got to getout and sell it and
convince the people that he's the one
with the gavel, that he's the one that
can make things happen."
[== for the rest of this story, see
R MichiganDailycom
sion to the School of Nursing, dam-
ages and attorneys' fees.
And while the topics discussed by
members of the public at last week's
meeting may have been unusually
critical of the Board of Regents and
the University's executive officers,
University spokeswoman Kelly Cun-
ningham told The Michigan Daily
that the presence of police officers
maynot have been unusual.
Responding to a question from the
Daily about whether the officers were
present because of the controver-
sial topics being discussed in public
participation or the fact that one of
the public speakers was barred from
setting foot on the University's Ann
Arbor campus after being expelled,
Cunningham said neither was the
case.
"It had absolutely nothing to do
with any of the speakers," Cunning-
ham said in an interview.
Cunningham instead said that it is
commonpractice forcorporate boards
to have security on hand during pub-
lic meetings. However, Cunningham
wouldn't comment on whether the
University typically takes such mea-
sures for Board of Regents meetings.