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.