1. What is it that you love about Ann Arbor?
I love our community, our respect for difference, our optimism, our commitment to work together. I love our neighborhoods, the vibrant downtown, access to health care, jobs, and entertainment. I love that we are a community founded on learning and education. We are excited to do our part to improve, whether it’s to support community climate action or build affordable housing. We know the world is imperfect, but we are unbowed, excited to improve.
2. You are running for reelection against two challengers. Can you make your case why it is better for Ann Arbor to stick with your leadership instead of going for one of the other candidates?
Over the last decade, Ann Arbor has faced significant challenges: rising housing costs, aging infrastructure, a changing climate, and growing demand for city services with inadequate support from the State. I have met those challenges not with ideology or rhetoric, but with results. The question in this election is simple: do you want someone with a record of delivering service, infrastructure and quality of life improvements for this city? If so, the choice is clear.
In 2020, Ann Arbor voters passed an affordable housing millage to fund housing for our most vulnerable neighbors. I championed it. My opponent did not endorse it. In 2022, voters passed a community climate action millage to fund our work toward carbon neutrality. I led that effort. My opponent did not endorse it. In 2024, voters approved the creation of our Sustainable Energy Utility. I led it. My opponent did not endorse it. In 2026, voters authorized the sale of the Library Lane parcel to the District Library. I worked for it. My opponent did not endorse it. These were not close calls or obscure technicalities. They were the most consequential votes Ann Arbor residents have taken in a generation on the issues my opponent now says are his top priorities. On these issues and more, I delivered. The record speaks for itself.
On energy: With A2Zero we have implemented curbside recycling for everyone, year-round curbside composting, and a zero-waste Materials Recovery Facility. Solar panels, rebates, heat pumps, district geothermal. The Sustainable Energy Utility is launching in 2026, delivering 100% renewable power to residents who opt in at rates at or below DTE’s. My opponent says he wants to municipalize the energy grid. We didn’t wait. We built something real.
On housing: We are on track to more than double public housing in Ann Arbor with over 1,200 new, permanent affordable units in the pipeline for residents earning under $52,000 a year, and more on the way. This is a transformational success, but we also need to acknowledge that public housing isn’t available for everyone. The vast majority of Ann Arborites are not eligible. Seniors who want to downsize and stay in the neighborhood. Divorcing couples who want to
stay near their child’s school. Young people who grew up here, went off to college or their first job, and want to come home — but can’t find anything they can afford. These residents earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing and not enough to compete in today’s market. My opponent’s housing platform focuses on public land trusts and affordable units. We are already taking transformative action in these areas, but public housing isn’t a reality-based answer for the vast majority of workers and others who need a place in this city. I am working to expand housing options across all income levels, including new development along our transit corridors, so that Ann Arbor is accessible to everyone who wants to live here.
On immigration: When the Trump Administration came after our immigrant neighbors, Ann Arbor acted. The City Council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the 2017 Anti-ICE resolution that I sponsored and expanding our non-cooperation policy with ICE, prohibiting city officials and police from aiding federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant, and soon we will require law enforcement to display identification. We are pushing those protections as far as the law allows, and we will not stop.
On basic services: We deliver every day. Clean water. Storm water. Sanitary. A2FixIt means residents can report potholes, dangling branches, and pickup problems and get action. Nearly every Ann Arbor resident lives within a quarter mile of an exceptional city park. These things don’t happen by accident. They are the result of our sustained, focused investment in the services people depend on every day.
My opponent has a record of speeches in Lansing and on the County Commission, but I have a record of action in Ann Arbor. I have done that work with care, with respect, and with courtesy. I am proud of what we have built together, and I am asking for the opportunity to finish what we’ve started.
3. What are the three most pressing problems that you care most about fixing?
We have real world problems and I have real world solutions. Ann Arbor’s most pressing challenges are housing affordability, tackling our climate crisis, and continuing to provide outstanding city services.
4. How would you go about fixing those problems?
Housing Affordability – Ann Arbor housing prices are out of control. We don’t have enough homes for service workers, teachers, seniors who want to downsize, divorced couples who want to stay near the school, young people who want to move home. It’s not a conspiracy, and it’s not complicated. Ann Arbor is an awesome place where people want to live and we don’t have enough homes because we have prevented property owners from building more. The solution is two pronged: Build more public housing. Allow more regular housing. Thanks to the Affordable Housing Millage that I championed and drafted, and that my opponent did not endorse, we are making unprecedented investments in public housing. We have more than 1,200 units of new, permanent affordable housing in the pipeline, with more on the way. This will more than double the amount of affordable housing in Ann Arbor in just about 5 years. While this is transformational for those who qualify, this housing isn’t open to everyone. It’s only available for people who make under $52,000 or so a year.
People who make more than $52,000 a year need housing, too. That’s why we are working to allow more housing at all income levels, including duplexes and triplexes. We have vibrant neighborhoods and we’re making certain that any new homes will fit into existing streetscapes. Finally, we have protected tenants from predatory landlords, doing away with rental junk fees, requiring fee transparency, and increasing annual rental unit inspections to more than 6,000 per year. More on the way.
Tackling our climate crisis – A2Zero is our plan to pursue community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 through just and equitable means. Thanks to the Community Climate Action Millage that I championed and drafted, and which my opponent did not endorse, we are making nationally-recognized progress to implement local climate action. Curbside recycling for everyone, year-round curbside composting, and a zero-waste Materials Recovery Facility. We’re funding rebates for solar panels andheat pumps, and building district geothermal. Thanks to the Sustainable Energy Utility that I championed and drafted, and which my opponent did not endorse, Ann Arbor residents will have access to affordable, reliable, and 100% renewable energy. It’s a practical solution. I will continue this critical work to ensure Ann Arbor is at the forefront of real-world, progressive climate action.
Delivering exceptional city services – Ann Arbor absolutely prioritizes the delivery of exceptional city services to all members of our community. From clean, reliable drinking water to safe, high-quality roads to a park within ¼ mile of all residents, to solid waste removal, and exceptional and professional police and fire services, we’re working hard to deliver the services that residents expect.
5. Let’s say that your solution meets resistance or some part of your plan doesn’t work. What do you do next?
We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. I listen to residents, staff, and colleagues before I speak, learning as much as I can before I develop policy. If we develop a policy that makes sense in theory, but doesn’t work in practice, then we change course. I’m not here to cast blame or criticize. Staff needs to know that they have the Mayor’s respect, that it’s OK to try new things, even if the result is uncertain.
6. The way that we do politics in this country has been changing rapidly via Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani. What are your thoughts on this decade+ evolution in how we do politics in this country, and how has it changed the way that you approach running for office and delivering for the people?
I’ve never run for higher office because I don’t like to fight. I like to work together, to create something that works for everyone. The key to success in Lansing and Washington is to find an enemy. Politics there focuses on power and dominance and I don’t want any part of it. With me, it’s different. I value courtesy, both in public and when no one’s looking. We will never all agree on everything, but we are all in it together. We’re neighbors. Whether you agree with me or not, I’ll always treat you with respect.
7. The nation is at an extremely low ebb in democratic participation, trust in institutions, and feeling truly connected to a community. I want to give you the chance to make your case to AA Observer readers that you really care about them, and that you are the right person, with the right talents and strategy, to make meaningful changes that will improve their economic lot in life, safeguard the rule of law, make sure that they won’t be left behind, and that you can ensure their inclusion and dignity in Treetown.
I live and work in the real world. People want City Hall to provide outstanding city services, to protect their rights, and to improve affordability. I will always focus on Ann Arbor, will always treat residents, staff, and colleagues with the courtesy and respect they deserve. It’s never about me; it’s always about what I can do for residents.
8. Zingerman’s, Ahmos, No Thai, Fleetwood, or Le Dog. Where would you rather go to lunch?
I spend a lot of time downtown and there are so many great options, but I do have three regular go-tos — Blimpy Burger (2 doubles, both on plain, one with mushrooms, one with onion), No Thai (Drunken Noodles w/Tofu, Dim Mak), and Le Dog (Chicken Tortilla, with bread).