Bitter dispute over Ann Arbor's Proposition C, which would eliminate the city's primary elections and party labels in August

On a beautiful fall day a few weeks before Election Day, Proposal C supporter Christine Crockett handed out flyers to University of Michigan students near a busy South University Avenue.

It wasn't that hard to get her attention. Crockett brought her three-month-old miniature long-haired dachshund puppy with her.

Students, mostly women, stopped and cooed breathlessly, exclaiming how adorable the animal was.

“This is Cally,” Crockett said. “She’s too young for me to leave her at home. Do any of you in the city of Ann Arbor agree now? Because we want students to have a bigger voice.”

Many of the students who stopped to pet Cally said they don't vote in town. Some said they did and took fliers from Crockett; Some students said they had already voted and voted yes on Proposition C.

That's music to the ears of Proposal C campaign manager John Godfrey. He explained that this would eliminate the August primary election so that all candidates for mayor and city council would appear on the November ballot for the first time.

“The reason why the August primary is canceled is essentially because there are so many people who are unreachable and out of town, including virtually all of the university students,” Godfrey said. “This is not representative government.”

(It is noteworthy that the wording of Proposition C does not explicitly state that primaries will be eliminated.)

Local elections would also be non-partisan. Godfrey says without a “D” or “R” after their name, more candidates with a greater diversity of views and backgrounds could run.

Proposition C is the result of a power struggle between current Democratic city leadership and a Democratic caucus over competing visions for Ann Arbor's future.

Behind Proposition C is a group of City Council members who lost their seats in previous primaries. In large part, they represent residents who feel that Ann Arbor is losing its character. They don't like many of the changes they see – such as high-rise buildings and traffic adjustments for bike paths. They see the current city council in lockstep with the mayor and hostile to alternative views.

But Godfrey said the problem was bigger than those views.

“It [Prop. C] was portrayed as the sore loser movement. But that's not it at all. It's not a referendum on the city's policies, whether it should grow or not. “This is about democracy,” Godfrey explained.

The city's current mayor, Chris Taylor, opposes Proposition C — along with a who's who of Democratic state, county and local politicians from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on down — and the nonpartisan Washtenaw County League of Women Voters.

Taylor believes the proposal's promise of a more inclusive democracy is unlikely – but negative consequences are not.

He said city voters are currently winning the field of Democratic candidates in a partisan primary and the candidate with the most votes advances to the general election.

“Tens of thousands of people are voting to determine who the Democratic nominee is. That means thousands of doors knocked and thousands of conversations held. If Proposal C passes, this process will be over,” Taylor said.

Instead, multiple candidates for mayor and each City Council seat could appear on the November ballot. Taylor said since many voters want to vote for a Democrat, they will seek the support of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party. But only about 200 party members support this.

“So turn the support of the Democratic Party over to the people who live in Lodi — people who live in Superior. And bless them. They’re good people, but they’re not Ann Arbor voters.”

Taylor said another problem is that candidates representing a minority of voters, including Republicans, could win elections in this very Democratic-majority city if the other candidates shared a majority of the vote. This is not a good democracy, he said. For the same reason, the Washtenaw County League of Women Voters voted unanimously against Proposition C (along with Proposal D, which would establish a public financing system for political campaigns in the city).

“The lack of a primary, the removal of information in front of voters — that will lead to structural change that will lead to election chaos in the city,” Taylor said.

He said Proposition C will also force candidates to raise more money because they would be competing with several other candidates throughout the November election, and it will require more money to reach voters who don't typically care about city politics or City politics care about primaries.

Proposition D would require the city to set aside a small portion of its budget to boost the campaigns of candidates with fewer resources. This proposal could be unconstitutional, making lawsuits almost inevitable if it passes.

But both proposals have a good chance, says Mark Grebner. He is the founder of a voter database called Practical Political Data that is used by candidates across the state to reach voters with political mailings during their campaigns.

Grebner said most voters haven't heard much or anything about Propositions C and D. Most people see proposals for the first time when they turn over their ballot.

“People just read the language and do their best to figure it out. 'Okay, moving to a non-partisan election just seems like the kind of thing to vote for,' and they puzzle over, 'Sure.' Seems ok.'”

Grebner said he is watching closely to see whether Ann Arbor follows the pattern he has observed over the years: that a comfortable majority of voters tend to say yes to local proposals in general elections.

With more and more people voting or preparing for an election, it is no surprise that there is increasing mudslinging, recrimination and bitterness on both sides.