Mayor Stephenson Prepares To Meet His Waterloo

The surprise news of the last two weeks is Republican Mayor James Stephenson filing for reelection, Following voter approval of preferential voting in November, Stephenson announced he wanted to get back to his neglected law practice and would not seek a second term.

Informed sources claim Stephenson was persuaded to run when no other candidate satisfactory to the majority of the party could be found. With preferential voting making a GOP victory difficult if not impossible, other candidates were not easy to find.

Squaring off against Stephenson will be Democrat Albert H. Wheeler and Human Rights Party candidate Carol Ernst. With a Democratic victory predicted by most political analysts, Ann Arbor will have its first Black mayor. Wheeler, an M.D., is best known locally for his work with the Model Cities Policy Board and as a member of the NAACP.

The major issue of the spring campaign is likely to be money. with Stephenson already accusing the HRP and Dems of being "big spenders." The city has been faced with a light budget in the past year, requiring layoffs and a reduction of some services. The Republicans take pride in having balanced the city's budget and reduced its debt. At the same time, no money went to social services, and little has been available for repairing local streets.

Stephenson is likely to be severely handicapped by the Republican record of the past two years in his bid for reelection. The The GOP Council was responsible tor repealing the populri $5 marijuana law, confiscating funds for a people's ballroom, undermining the city's powerful human rights ordinance, and cancelling the Blues and Jazz Jazz Festival in Ann Arbor.

Stephenson will also have to deal with the the poor record of Council on planning matter, a subject likely to hurt him among more traditional Republican supporters. The pro-business attitude, which brought in a number of fast food restaurants over citizen opposition, approval of a long term budget plan which will widen State Street and pour money into airport development (both defeated in the past at the polls), and backing of various unpopular housing and business developments in Republican neighborhoods are sure to be campaign issues. In fact, Wheeler is already saying the city needs a mayor that can represent all the citizen's needs, not just those of a few.

Eighteen people have filed for the five city Council positions to be elected in April. Primaries will determine three of the races on February 17.

In the First Ward (Campus west of State Street and Model Cities), former county commissioner Elizabeth Taylor will take on Bob Elton for the Democratic nomination. Other candidates are David Goodman, HRP, and Karen Graf, Republican.

HRP's Frank Shoichet is once again challenging Democrat Carol Jones in the second Ward, a repeat of the 1972 election which Jones won. Shoichet must first take the HRP primary, where he faces opposition from Richard Ankli. Robert T. McDonough is the Republican in the Second.

Probably the most interesting primary, and one which the Republican Party is apparently not too happy about, is shaping up in the Third Ward. Incumbent Robert Henry is facing a challenge from Paul E. Wensel, who led citizen opposition to a proposed shopping center at Packard and Platt Road. Henry, along with Stephenson and other GOP candidates in 1972, campaigned on promises to prevent the development, then proceeded to vote for it once elected to Council. Henry's support of the shopping center in the middle of this predominantly Republican ward made many GOP voters angry, and Wensel hopes to turn this anger into his own victory. While the primary winner in this ward is almost guaranteed the Council seat, some minor opposition is likely from Democrat Michael K. Broughton and HRP Everett Guy.

The city's swing ward, Fourth, has no primaries. Candidates are William Bronson, Democrat; Judy Gibson, HRP, and Ronald L. Trowbridge, Republican.

In the conservative Fifth Ward, Gerald Bell is the Republican candidate. Douglas J. White is running on the Democratic ticket, and Laurie Ross for the HRP.