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Three New Faces On Ann Arbor City Council Bring Uncertain Changes

Christopher Taylor, Kirk Westphal, and Julie Grand
Andrew Cluley
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89.1 WEMU

Ann Arbor City Council will have three new faces later this year. It's unclear how the changes will impact what has often been a divided group.

Supporters of outgoing Mayor John Hieftje and the Democratic Mayoral Primary winner Christopher Taylor celebrated three city council primary wins as well.

Kirk Westphal defeated Nancy Kaplan for the second ward seat currently held by Sally Hart Petersen. She opted against seeking re-election to council in favor of running in the mayoral primary.

In the third ward, Taylor's seat was claimed by Julie Grand, and GraydonKrapohl was unopposed for Margie Teall's fourth ward position.

With SumiKailasapathy winning re-election in the first ward, and Stephen Kunselman retaining his seat on council despite the loss in the mayoral primary, it's uncertain how much will really change on council.

Westphal hopes talk of divisions on council go away, "I'm happy to be their representative, and I want to be everyone's representative.  We have to be a big tent and we want a lot of inclusiveness and make sure everyone shares a vision for the future of Ann Arbor."

The primary winners are all un-opposed in November.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.  

Like many, I first came to this area when I started school at the University of Michigan, then fell in love with the community and haven’t left. After graduating from U of M in the mid 1990’s I interned at WDET for several years, while also working a variety of jobs in Ann Arbor. Then in 1999 I joined the WEMU news team.
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