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"I'm not afraid to challenge the status quo." AL WHEELER: A2's FIRST BLACK MAYOR?

"I'm not afraid to challenge the status quo." AL WHEELER: A2's FIRST BLACK MAYOR? image "I'm not afraid to challenge the status quo." AL WHEELER: A2's FIRST BLACK MAYOR? image
Parent Issue
Day
28
Month
February
Year
1975
OCR Text

Interviewed by Ellen Hoffman, David Fenton, Barbara Weinberg

Two years ago this April the progressive majority of Ann Arbor was forced to swallow rabidly conservative Republican James Stephenson as Mayor. After 24 months of abuse from city hall, it appears that this April power will finally change hands again, with the excellent possibility that Democrat Al Wheeler will win a majority of first and second choice votes in the new preferential election system.

The SUN spent three hours interviewing Wheeler last week in anticipation of the upcoming election, which we feel is critical in terms of the direction this town will take in the future. After dealing with our current Mayor, talking with Wheeler is like a breath of fresh air. We found him basically open-minded and sensitive to the various constituencies which live here, which Stephenson most certainly and self-avowedly is not. 

Wheeler has a 25-year history as a civil rights activist in Ann Arbor and around the state. We most certainly do not agree with all the positions he expresses in this excerpted talk, but we have to respect the man for what he's accomplished. Al Wheeler, 59 years old, is a reformist, not a revolutionary. But since there is no other acceptable candidate with a realistic chance of winning this crucial position, we think you'll agree after reading this that Wheeler's election would be a qualitative leap forward for Ann Arbor.

SUN: Why did you decide to run for Mayor this April?

Wheeler: First, I was so damn sick of the Republicans. I spent a lot of time in the last twenty-five years trying to change this town, and I have changed it -- I'll tell you about that, but -- we've tried to get programs and money in this community to serve a lot of people, yet it always gets tied up in that city hall, bureaucratic crap. It's worse when you have a Republican majority and Mayor, but it's tough under any circumstances. So, I said, what the hell, I'm running around doing a lot of things anyway, I might as well try to get in there where you can make some real decisions. I really believe I can offer a new type of leadership in that city hall, and that's not just a piece of crap -- I mean, I'm as different from Stephenson as North is from South. I've got broad experience -- Stephenson's experience, as far as I know it, well he's been a lawyer, he's been on the council, he's on the board of directors of one of the banks and he's been mayor -- that's all just in Ann Arbor. 

I have experience which goes across the state, and nationally, in really diverse kinds of areas. Hell, I've done a lot on human rights in this city and ending discrimination, and I have guts enough to do what I believe. I'm not an inflexible person, but I'm also nobody's patsy. A lot of folks think because I happen to have a doctorate in public health, I'm a university associate professor, and that sort of stuff, that I'm some sort of middle-class uncle tom. I'm not a very loud guy, not very obscene or vulgar, but there are times when I get burned up and I'll tell people off, cuss 'em out, and it doesn't make any difference to me if it's a Democrat or Republican.

You see, it may sound corny, but I believe that government should serve the people. Some people get uptight about it, but Ann Arbor is a very distinct community, it has more different kinds of people and cultures than most communities. I believe that we have to serve all those constituents. They all have a right to be heard respectfully, not in a sarcastic, denigrating way...

SUN: With people like ourselves, the Republicans are just 100% insulting...

Wheeler: A lot of other people suffer too for that same damn thing. If you happen to belong to the right civic club, or in the right business or whatnot, you can get a lot of respect down there, but if you don't "belong" then there are different degrees of denigration. 

SUN: It depends on who you play golf with. Could you tell us if you have ever run for elected public office in the past?

Wheeler: Never, but I've done a lot of work fiddling around in public office, worked in local and state politics, was a delegate to the '68 national Democratic convention in Chicago, and I got in trouble there. We had a guy, Channing Phillips from Washington D.C., a black fellow, and the Washington delegation had him up for president. About seven of us from Michigan voted hor him on the first ballot, and we caught hell. Another incident I remember was that we were going from the hotel to the convention hall, and there were a bunch of young people from Ann Arbor there demonstrating, so I got out and marched with 'em, and I meant it.

SUN: One of the major criticisms of the Republican majority is their lack of regard for how Ann Arbor grows, for decent, human planning. How do you feel about that issue?

Wheeler: I'm not sure we need you to grow a whole lot more. In this city, there's enough that we can rehabilitate and restore what we have in the way of homes and neighborhoods. I think we should take Community Development Revenue Sharing (CDRS) money, which the Republicans just finished mis-using, and use it to rehabilitate homes, put in trees, put in parks, provide health services and legal services. Let's take the central city and restore it, make real viable living places where folks can develop a sense of neighborhood, a sense of community.

I've been involved in this community for about 25 years now, and so I've seen where Ann Arbor was really a beautiful town. I'm not opposed to this town growing, it's how it grows. I look at Stadium, and how that went from a really nice street to what it is now, an ugly strip almost from here to Ypsilanti. I'm concerned that's gonna happen to some other places.

SUN: Could you define how you use the word "strip?"

Wheeler: I'm talking about, on the corner there's a filling station, next door to a burger join, an appliance place, a car repair shop, another burger place and so forth -- it's that kind of thing. Instead, I think we should develop sort of community convenience areas so that in some neighborhoods it might be useful to have a drugstore, a food store, etc., to make it convenient for people. But instead Republicans push big shopping centers, and I'm opposed to that kind of growth.

SUN: They make good investments for the Republican-controlled banks, after all... While we're on the subject of planning, there was great controversy last year over the McDonald's development, and we wonder what you would have done differently on that...

Wheeler: I think we have to listen to people in the areas where they live. On the McDonald's thing, I think there were good arguments -- there's already a Gino's and soon to be a Burger King in that immediate area. Thousands of residents opposed it, but business interests and other concerns were saying let's put it in. I would have been opposed to it being there...

SUN: How can these developments be legally stopped?

Wheeler: First, we have to re-examine our zoning laws on how land is used. I'm not sure that we as a council can make these things illegal, but we can certainly go to court. If 7,000 people [the number of McDonald's petition signers] are opposed to something and a new majority council takes a stand against it, I'd go into court with all the force of the city.

SUN: How do you react to the Republican Capital Improvements Plan, which calls for spending money on golf courses, swimming pools, widening State Street, and even a re-routing of the Packard-Beakes overpass highway which the voters turned down two years ago?

Wheeler: That gets into another reason why I wanted to run. I think government should be open and accountable to people. People have to understand what the hell city hall and council are trying to do. A lot of people don't even know what the Capital Improvements Budget (CIB) is. Well, what they do is for the next year they approve a capital improvements budget, which is what is to be spent the following year; then the capital improvements plan, which is what you're gonna do over the next five years. The Republican majority approved 135 million dollars to be spent over the next few years. In there they've got all kinds of garbage. There's money for new streets. But before we do a lot with new streets, we better take care of the old ones and fix 'em up. The city golf course is supposed to be a self-supporting venture, but each year the city lends it $5,000 which isn't paid back. The airport is the same thing, supposed to be self-supporting, but in that capital plan there must be nine million dollars set aside to enlarge the airport. Most people don't know that. Yet the Republicans talk about their "fiscal responsibility." We can't spend money on that kind of nonsense with the crucial economic period that we're in, when we may have to find money to feed people.

SUN: What action will you take on the human service programs that the Republicans have cut off from revenue sharing funding?

Wheeler: Well, look at the CDRS proposal. As soon as possible, if I am elected, we're gonna re-orient the Republican plan. The Democrats submitted a minority report on that. While the GOP put in $125,000 for child care services, we recommended $400,000. They had $25,000 for legal services and we came up with $120,000. It's our commitment that CRDS money will be used for neighborhood development, housing rehabilitation and human services. 

SUN: Could you comment on the cancellation of the revenue sharing money set aside for a People's Ballroom, and also the forced exile of last September's Blues and Jazz festival?

Wheeler: As far as I'm concerned, the money that was left for Tribal Funding, I would not have bothered it or taken it away. As far as the concerts and festivals go, I was involved in that when it first got going. Back in '67 and '68 all kinds of noises were made about the rock concerts, people even got arrested for putting them on. But now some of those people who opposed it are going out and enjoying it. As I've said, this is a diverse community, so people have a right to that kind of expression. I would want to feel that I could work with the people who put these things on to be sure about traffic, location, and the litter problem. But I think these are things this community should allow here and the council ought to support, as long as those who put them on accept certain responsibilities.

SUN: How do you feel about the city's $5 marijuana law?

Wheeler: Let me give you my personal thing on that. I am unequivocally opposed to hard drugs. Now marijuana, I have one concern. I have a health background, and honestly, at this moment I don't know whether marijuana is harmful to people or not. You read this guy's report and it says this and that one says it isn't and so forth. I would not like personally to encourage youngsters, say 16 or 12 to use marijuana. I think an adult has a right to do what they want. I make up my mind about smoking cigarettes or drinking whiskey, both of which have problems. So I think the $5 pot law is not bad at all. It may or may not be harmful, but if adults do that, let 'em.

SUN: How do you see the role of the Washtenaw Area Narcotics Team in relationship to the city? The accusation is documentable that the so-called narcotics team does not go after narcotics nearly as much as it goes after small time marijuana distributors.

Wheeler: We have to have police -- it's unfortunate that we have a society like that, but we have to have them. It's a matter of priorities in the use of police that we need to really examine. I have a thing that police -- now this is both a relationship and money problem -- should increase foot patrols. That wy they get to know a number of people and neighborhoods which would improve relations. As for drugs, the most important issue are the sources for large quantities of hard drugs. I would not say that we should not allow our policemen to be a part of the WANT operation. But I think we ought to look at what's being done, what WANT is about and who they are coming down on. I would support our cooperation provided they had their goals set and aren't busting kids for a few sticks of marijuana when the other stuff is out there. I have for a long time been a strong advocate of civilian control of police.

SUN: Would you fire Chief Walter Krasny? Do you think a civilian review board could work with the current police chief?

Wheeler: Let me say this about Krasny -- I've had some experiences with him for about twenty years, and there are times when he absolutely blows my mind because he is a policeman and every red and white blood cell in his body is a policeman. But there have been occasions when I've been able to work with Krasny to prevent certain kinds of unnecessary confrontations. So on April 8th I would not go down and get Cy Murray to fire Walt Krasny, but we will certainly be looking at the police department.

In this city the police get the largest cut out of the overall budget than any other city department. They get some 3 and a half million dollars a year and just got a 15% increase. Personally, I think that's out of proportion. Consider the possibility of foot patrols -- the road patrols eat up an enormous part of that budget, which must be re-examined. You know it's going to take some guts on my part to say that, because many people are in such a fog about the police that you can't deal objectively with that -- but it has to be dealt with.

SUN: There are three ballot issues that will appear in the election. Could you give us your views on the child-care, voter registration, and rent control proposals?

Wheeler: Let me take the easiest one first. I support the voter registration amendment wholeheartedly without question. Voter turnouts are too low in this city. On the second, I will say very clearly that I will not support either of the other amendments. I am in favor of rent control, I'm in favor of the city providing adequate monies for child care, which you can see in the Democratic CDRS proposal -- I support both in principle, honestly. On rent control, number one it's too long, wordy, and detailed. Secondly, it calls for the pay of people to work on a rent control board up to $8500 a year. We don't pay our council people, who have the overall thing, this should not come first. But these are not my strongest concerns. Let's say, for example, if you're buying a place to rent out, you can't use mortgage payments as part of a base on which to figure what the rent can be. Secondly, if you have an apartment complex, and you allow it to be run down, as many have, and then I buy that from you, if I rehabilitate that, those costs cannot enter into the base on which the rent maximum is considered. I think that discourages rehabilitation, by punishing me for what the previous owner had failed to do. I also feel there are concerns that aren't covered by this law -- like the deposits landlords continue to charge in spite of state law and the students which are forced to sign twelve-month leases.

As an alternative, if I'm elected and there's a majority of people on council that can work together, then I would propose a fair rental practices ordinance, which would include rent control and these other concerns. You see, if we wanted to amend one sentence in this charter amendment, we would have to go back to the general electorate to change it. There are good points in the proposal which should be included in whatever is passed from the council.

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